Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

ALA announces new YALSA Executive Director

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) welcomes Candice Mack as the new Executive Director for the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of ALA.

Colleen Seisser begins term as YALSA president for 2023-2024

CHICAGO — Colleen Seisser began her term as president of the Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA) in July 2023 and will remain active on the board for one year as past- president in 2024.

Sheila Michaels named YALSA’s 2023 MAE Award winner

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has awarded Sheila Michaels, Library Media Specialist at Nixa High School in Nixa Missouri, its’ 2023 Margaret A. Edwards (MAE) Award for Best Literature Program for Teens for her Program BookBag, a community summer outreach initiative. Michaels will receive a $500 award for herself and an additional $500 for her library.

YALSA Names New Editor for Quarterly Journal, YALS

CHICAGO - The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA) has appointed Joni Bodart, editor of Young Adult Library Services (YALS).  She will serve a twelve-month contract from February 1, 2023 through January 31, 2024, to edit 4 issues of the official journal of the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Yvette Garcia Elected 2024-2025 YALSA President

CHICAGO — Yvette Garcia, Assistant Director, Sulzer Regional Library, at the Chicago Public Library, has been elected as YALSA’s 2024 division president-elect. Garcia will begin her three-year term as president-elect in July of 2023, becoming president starting in July of 2024, and remain active on the board for one year as past president in 2025.

"I am both humbled and excited by the opportunity to serve and support YASLA members and the teens they serve,” said Garcia.

Jessica Lorentz Smith receives YALSA’s Joann Sweetland Lum Memorial Grant

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has named Jessica Lorentz Smith, teacher librarian from Bend Senior High School, Bend, Oregon as the recipient of this year's Joann Sweetland Lum Memorial Grant, which aims to recognize a librarian who has planned a creative, innovative project that promotes literacy.

Adriana M. García, Claribel A. Ortega y Vincent Tirado ganan premios Pura Belpré

NUEVA ORLEANS — Adriana M. García, ilustradora de “Where Wonder Grows”; Claribel A. Ortega, autora de “Frizzy”; y Vincent Tirado, autore de “Burn Down, Rise Up” fueron seleccionados como ganadores de la edición 2023 de los Premios Pura Belpré al artista de ilustración; al autor de libros para niños; y al autor de libros para adolescentes, respectivamente. El premio rinde homenaje a los escritores e ilustradores Latines cuyas obras reflejan, afirman y celebran la experiencia cultural Latina en la literatura juvenil.

Adriana M. Garcia, Claribel A. Ortega, Vincent Tirado win Pura Belpré Awards

NEW ORLEANS – Adriana M. Garcia, illustrator of “Where Wonder Grows,” Claribel A. Ortega, author of “Frizzy”, and Vincent Tirado, author of “Burn Down, Rise Up” are the 2023 recipients of the Pura Belpré Youth Illustrator Award, Children's Author Award, and Young Adult Author Award, honoring Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children's books. The awards were announced today during ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience held January 27-30, in New Orleans.

2023 Odyssey Awards for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children and Young Adults announced

NEW ORLEANS — Taryn Beato for Simon & Schuster Audio, producer of the audiobook “Stuntboy, in the Meantime,” has won the 2023 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children. Melissa Ellard for Weston Woods Studios and Scholastic Audio, producer of the audiobook “The Honeys,” has won the 2023 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Young Adults. The awards were announced today during the American Library Association’s (ALA) LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, held January 27-30, in New Orleans.

'All My Rage' wins 2023 Printz Award

NEW ORLEANS — “All My Rage” written by Sabaa Tahir and published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House, has won the 2023 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. 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 Jan. 27-30, in New Orleans.