Printz Award

printz awardprintz awardAbout the Printz Award

The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association.  The award is sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association.  Learn more about Michael Printz via this video from cjonline.com.

Seal Licensing

Individuals who wish to buy small quantities of seals can find them in the ALA Online Store. Publishers wishing to buy bulk seals or license seal images can find more information by consulting YALSA's Award Seals Usage Guidelines and  ALA's Seals Sales & Permissions page.

If you'd like to license the winner or honor seal, please learn more here.

Visit YALSA's Teen Book Finder Database, a one-stop shop for finding selected lists and award winners. Users can search this free resource by award, list name, year, author, genre and more, as well as print customizable lists.

Current Winner & Honor Books

Winners' Speeches

Previous Winners

Suggest a Title

Policies and Procedures

Committee Contacts

Who Was Michael L. Printz

Seals

Teen Book Finder App

2023 Winner    

All My Rage

By Sabaa Tahir

Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House

"Tahir deftly tackles Islamophobia, addiction, and abuse in this story of seniors who are struggling in a world that does not seem to want them.” said Printz Committee Chair Valerie Davis.

Bone Ga

“

We Are Okay

”

, written by Nina LaCour, published by Dutton Books for Young

Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers

“

We Are Okay

”

, written by Nina LaCour, published by Dutton Books for Young

Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Reader

2023 Honor Books



Icebreaker 
By A.L. Graziadei
Henry Holt and Company an imprint of MacMillan Publishing Group.
Mickey knows exactly who he’s supposed to be: hockey star, #1 draft pick, 100% straight in a homophobic sport. With five overachieving older sisters and larger than life parents, Mickey hides his anxiety, depression, and bisexuality, and struggles to find his place in his world and with his mental health.
 
When the Angels Left the Old Country
By Sacha Lamb
Published by Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Levine Querido.
From Warsaw to America, an angel, a demon, and a rejected teenager figure out who they are, their place in the world, and how to care for the people they love. Brilliantly queer, with authentic Jewish representation, this book validates the truth and horror of the immigrant experience before, during, and after Ellis Island.
 
Scout's Honor
By Lily Anderson
Henry Holt and Company an imprint of MacMillan Publishing Group.
The Ladybird Scouts are knitting-needle-wielding-huntresses of beasts who feed on human emotions. After a traumatic event, Prue quits the scouts, but is tasked with training a new crop of junior scouts when a monster starts terrorizing the area. Prue agrees, if only to acquire The Tea of Forgetting.
 
Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality
By Eliot Schrefer
Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Penguins are queer. So are dolphins, bonobos, fish, birds, and even deer. Queer Ducks sets the record straight–or queer, by highlighting the wonders of same-sex animal behavior to prove that queerness is not, and has never been, “unnatural” -- and is instead the most common thing under the sun.
 
Members of the 2023 Printz Award Committee: Members of the 2023 Printz Award Committee are: Chair Valerie Davis, ; Ariel Birdoff, L. Butler, Amanda Kordeliski, Kaitlin Malixi, Emily Mills, and Kali Olson

Previous Winners  

View a complete list of Michael L. Printz winners and honor book authors.

More information on previous winners.