‘Not Like Other Girls’ wins 2025 William C. Morris Award

PHOENIX — “Not Like Other Girls,” written by Meredith Adamo, has been named the 2025 winner of the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, which honors a book published by a first-time author. The book is published by Bloomsbury YA, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. The award was announced today by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience held January 24 – 27 in Phoenix.

“Jo, Maddie and Hudson stole our hearts from the first chapter. They are navigating some challenging friendship issues that had us crying, cheering and laughing,” said Morris Award Chair Jessica Lorentz Smith.

The award is named for William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults. William “Bill” Morris left an impressive mark on the field of children’s and young adult literature. He was beloved in the publishing field and the library profession for his generosity and marvelous enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens.

The 2025 Morris Award finalists, announced in December, include:

“Aisle Nine,” written by Ian X. Cho, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishing

“Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear,” written by Robin Wasley, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

“Shut Up, This Is Serious,” written by Carolina Ixta, published by Quill Tree Books, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers

“The Wilderness of Girls,” written by Madeline Claire Franklin, published by Zando Young Readers, an imprint of Zando

Members of the 2025 William C. Morris Award Committee are Chair Jessica Lorentz Smith, Bend Senior High School, Oregon; Rebecca Baldwin, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Ohio; Jen Blair, Beaverton School District, Oregon; Melissa M. Carroll, Sonoma County Library - Rohnert Park, California; Brandi Hamlin, St. Charles City-County Library, Missouri; Dr. Evelyn Scharf Hunter, The Chattanooga Public Library, Tennessee; Megan Jackson, Free Library of Philadelphia; Zoe Smolen, New York Public Library; Loren Spector, Los Angeles Public Library.

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association (ALA) is the only non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated entirely to America's libraries and library professionals. For almost 150 years, ALA has provided resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. The ALA serves academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org

About the Young Adult Library Services Association

The mission of the YALSA is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources, go to www.ala.org/yalsa or contact the YALSA office at e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.

For more information on the William C. Morris Award and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/yma.

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