YALSA announces 2026 Alex Awards

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has selected 10 adult books with special appeal to teen readers to receive the 2026 Alex Awards. The awards, sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust, were announced today during the ALA’s Youth Media Awards Announcements in Chicago.

The 2026 Alex Award winners are:

• “The Favorites,” by Layne Fargo, published by Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House.
• "The Girls Who Grew Big,” by Leila Mottley, published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House.
• “Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert,” by Bob the Drag Queen, published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
• “Hole in the Sky,” by Daniel H. Wilson, published by Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House.
• “Insectopolis: A Natural History,” by Peter Kuper, published by W.W. Norton & Company.
• “Plum,” by Andy Anderegg, published by Hub City Press.
• “Sonita: My Fight Against Tyranny and My Escape to Freedom,” by Sonita Alizada, published by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
• “These Heathens,” by Mia McKenzie, published by Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House.
• “What Kind of Paradise,” by Janelle Brown, published by Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House.
• “The Whyte Python World Tour,” by Travis Kennedy, published by Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House.

“After reading hundreds of books, I am confident this list has something for every reader and that the list is full of unexpected delights,” said 2026 Alex Awards Committee Chair Brooke Young.

The Alex Awards were created to recognize that many teens enjoy and often prefer books written for adults, and to assist librarians in recommending adult books that appeal to teens. A full list of official nominations will be available online at www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/alex.

The award is named in honor of the late Margaret Alexander Edwards, fondly called “Alex” by her closest friends, a pioneer in providing library services to young adults. At Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Edwards used adult books extensively with teens to broaden their experience and enrich their understanding of themselves and their world.

Members of the 2026 Alex Awards Committee are: Chair Brooke Young, Salt Lake City Public Library; Emery Courtney, Plano Public Library, Texas; Laura Gardner, Dartmouth Middle School Library, Massachusetts; Patricia Jimenez, Phoenix; Emma K. McNamara, PhD, Washington, D.C.; Megan Nigh, Kenosha Public Library, Wisconsin; Laura Phelps, Lincoln Academy, Newcastle, Maine; Megan Roberts, Virginia Beach Public Library, Virginia; 
Haley Shaw, Ohio University-Zanesville, and Zane State College Library; and Award Administrative Assistant Stephanie Costa, Salt Lake City Public Library.

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association is the largest non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to America’s libraries. The ALA mission is to empower and advocate for all libraries and library workers to ensure equitable access to information for all. For 150 years, ALA has provided resources for information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more information, visit www.ala.org.

About the Young Adult Library Services to Children

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (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 e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.

For information about the Alex Awards and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/yma.

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