2026 Virginia Hamilton for Lifetime Achievement Recipient - Kadir Nelson

Nelson is best known for his work in children’s literature, having authored and/or illustrated more than 30 picture books published globally in multiple languages. Among his most celebrated authored and illustrated books are We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, a New York Times bestseller that also earned the Robert F. Sibert Medal, and Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, an expansive visual history of African American contributions to the nation. Nelson also illustrated The Undefeated, written by Kwame Alexander, which received both the 2020 Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. Additional acclaimed illustrated titles include Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, Henry’s Freedom Box, Ellington Was Not a Street, A Nation’s Hope, I Have a Dream, Salt in His Shoes, Dancing in the Wings, Please, Baby, Please, and Please, Puppy, Please, among many others. His collaborators include notable figures such as Debbie Allen, Will Smith, Spike and Tonya Lee, and Deloris Jordan.