About 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.
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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.
2024 Winner
The Collectors: Stories
Edited by A.S. King, written by the author and nine others and published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House
“This collection of 10 expertly crafted—and uniquely weird—short stories for teens highlights that only when we break conventions can we discover our authentic selves,” said Printz Committee Chair Courtney Waters.
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
2024 Honor Books
Fire from the Sky
By Moa Backe Åstot, translated by Eva Apelqvist and published by Em Querido, an imprint of Levine Querido.
A member of the Sámi people in Sweden, Ánte wants to preserve his birthright of traditional reindeer herding. However, he worries his emerging romantic feelings for his best friend, Erik, put him at irreconcilable odds with his community and culture. Stark, atmospheric prose invokes an introspective look into individuality within community.
Gather
By Kenneth M. Cadow and published by Candlewick Press.
After an enormous dog arrives on his family’s land in rural Vermont, a devastating series of events forces Ian to learn to survive not only on his own but with the help of his community. Told in a distinctive voice with a nod to oral storytelling, “Gather” captures the spirit of independence, resilience and hope.
The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption
By Shannon Gibney and published by Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
In a speculative memoir, Gibney explores her past as a transracial adoptee and imagines a life where her birth mother raised her. Playing with genre and style, Gibney deftly captures the uncertainty and questioning nature of childhood as well as all the pathways life might take.
Salt the Water
By Candice Iloh and published by Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
After a confrontation with a teacher and a devastating family emergency, Cerulean's life veers out of their control, forcing them to make a difficult choice. Told in powerful, stream-of-consciousness verse, Cerulean explores a future that’s theirs alone, where they don’t have to play by anyone else’s rules.
Previous Winners
View a complete list of Michael L. Printz winners and honor book authors.
- 2023 Winner: All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
- 2022 Winner: FireKeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
- 2021 Winner: Everything Sad is Untrue By Daniel Nayeri
- 2020 Winner: Dig by A.S. King
- 2019 Winner: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- 2018 Winner: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
- 2017 Winner: March By John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
- 2016 Winner: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
- 2015 Winner: I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
- 2014 Winner: Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
- 2013 Winner: In Darkness by Nick Lake
- 2012 Winner:Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
- 2011 Winner: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
- 2010 Winner: Going Bovine by Libba Bray
- 2009 Winner: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
- 2008 Winner The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
- 2007 Winner American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
- 2006 Winner Looking for Alaska by John Green
- 2005 Winner how i live now by Meg Rosoff
- 2004 Winner The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
- 2003 Winner Postcards from No Man's Land by Aidan Chambers
- 2002 Winner Step from Heaven by An Na
- 2001 Winner Kit's Wilderness by David Almond
- 2000 Winner Monster by Walter Dean Myers
More information on previous winners.