2024 RUSA Book & Media Awards Announced
For Immediate Release
Sat, 01/20/2024
BALTIMORE- On Saturday, January 20, 2024, during the ALALibLearnX, the RUSA Book & Media Awards Ceremony announced the year’s best in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, audiobook narration, and reference materials and the long-awaited Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. This highly anticipated event is sponsored by NoveList, Booklist and RUSA. Winners are hand-picked by our expert selection committees that work closely with adult readers. Their tireless efforts narrow down hundreds of finalists to curate the highly regarded “Best of” lists used by librarians, publishers and booksellers nationwide.
Below is a list of the awards that were announced at the ceremony:
Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction
“We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death and Child Removal in America" by Roxanna Asgarian, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux , as the winner of the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
"The Berry Pickers" by Amanda Peters, published by Catapult, as the winner of the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
The Notable Books Council, first established in 1944, has announced the 2024 selections of the Notable Books List, an annual best-of list composed of 25 titles written for adult readers and published in the US including fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The full list of winners and annotations may be found here.
The Reading List Council has announced the 2024 selections of the Reading List, an annual best-of list comprised of eight different fiction genres for adult readers. A shortlist of honor titles, up to 4 per genre was also announced. The full list of winners, read-alikes and short list may be found here.
Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration
The Listen List Council of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced the 2024 selections of the Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration. The full list of winners may be found here.
The 2024 Sophie Brody Medal winner is James McBride for The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, published by Riverhead, an imprint of Penguin Random House. McBride tells the story of the residents of Chicken Hill, a poor neighborhood in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The Jewish immigrants and African Americans living there worked to support each other during adversity, showing the importance of community and love. Additional information may be found here.
The winner of the 2024 Dartmouth Medal for most outstanding reference work, an annual award presented by the expert reference and collection development librarians of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of ALA, is the Hymenoptera: The Natural History & Diversity of Wasps, Bees & Ants, written by Stephen A. Marshall, published by Firefly Books. Additional information may be found here.
The most noteworthy reference titles published in 2021 have been named to the 2024 Outstanding References Sources List, an annual list selected by experts of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of ALA. The 2024 selections may be found here.
Essential Cookbooks 2024: The CODES List
Essential Cookbooks: The CODES List, a committee of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), has announced the 2022 selection of essential cookbooks for public libraries. The 2024 selections may be found here.
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers’ advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more at www.rusaupdate.org.