2026 Youth Media Awards for Teens

The American Library Association (ALA) 2026 award winners and honor books for teens!

This list includes the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, the Schneider Young Adult Award -- Ages 14-18, the Odyssey Award for Young Adults, the Belpré Young Adult Author Award, the Stonewall Book Awards - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Young Adult Literature Award, the Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, the American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and the Sydney Taylor Book Award Gold Medalist.


"American Library Association announces 2026 Youth Media Award winners", American Library Association, January 26, 2026

https://www.ala.org/news/2026/01/american-library-association-announces-2026-youth-media-award-winners (Accessed February 20, 2026)

Document ID: e8e66408-a08f-4afc-9ec4-f7bb01a819ce

Updated February 20, 2026
C
Clinton Essex Franklin Library System Plattsburgh Public Library
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2026 Youth Media Awards for Teens

The American Library Association (ALA) 2026 award winners and honor books for teens!

This list includes the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, the Schneider Young Adult Award -- Ages 14-18, the Odyssey Award for Young Adults, the Belpré Young Adult Author Award, the Stonewall Book Awards - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Young Adult Literature Award, the Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, the American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and the Sydney Taylor Book Award Gold Medalist.


"American Library Association announces 2026 Youth Media Award winners", American Library Association, January 26, 2026

https://www.ala.org/news/2026/01/american-library-association-announces-2026-youth-media-award-winners (Accessed February 20, 2026)

Document ID: e8e66408-a08f-4afc-9ec4-f7bb01a819ce

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Death in the jungle /
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
How did Jim Jones, the leader of Peoples Temple, convince more than 900 of his followers to commit "revolutionary suicide" by drinking cyanide-laced punch? From a master of narrative nonfiction comes a chilling chronicle of one of the most notorious cults in American history. A YALSA...
The favorites :
Fargo, Layne,
Paper Book
To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession. NATIONAL BESTSELLER * An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice "Part...
The girls who grew big /
Mottley, Leila,
From the author of Oprah's Book Club pick and New York Times best seller Nightcrawling, here is an astonishing new novel about the joys and entanglements of a fierce group of teenage mothers in a small town on the Florida panhandle. Adela is sixteen years...
Harriet Tubman: live in concert :
Bob the Drag Queen,
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books of 2025 by Pride * Best New Books of Spring 2025 by Bustle * Most Anticipated Books of 2025 by LitHub * Biggest Books of March by Book Riot * Most Anticipated Books of March by...
He's so possessed with me
Liu, Corey
A Stonewall Honor book!  Jennifer's Body meets Heartstopper in this terrifying, tender, and bitingly hilarious supernatural horror about a boy who must save his best friend from a demon that wants to steal his heart--literally. ...
Hole in the sky :
Wilson, Daniel H.
A Native American first contact story and gripping thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse "Thrilling and personal... an important addition to the landscape of science fiction."-Pierce Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of...
Insectopolis :
Kuper, Peter,
Paper Book
This visually immersive work of graphic nonfiction dives into a world where ants, cicadas, bees, and butterflies visit a library exhibition that displays their stories and humanity's connection to them throughout the ages. Kuper's thrilling visual feast layers history and science, color and...
Legendary frybread drive-in /
Paper Book
Michael L. Printz Award Winner American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter...
One of the boys
Zeller, Victoria
A New York Times Bestseller Grace Woodhouse was the star kicker with a D1 future, but that was before she came out as transgender and quit football. Now, as senior year begins, Grace is navigating a new life with queer friends and a fresh perspective.
The rebel girls of Rome
Taylor, Jordyn
Part historical mystery, part sweeping romance, The Rebel Girls of Rome brings the stories of two young women to brilliant life: Lilah, a college student looking to understand her grandfather's mysterious past, and Bruna, a queer Jewish woman who joins the resistance during World...
Sheine Lende /
Little Badger, Darcie,
Paper Book
"Like Elatsoe, Sheine Lende is much more chill than your typical YA fantasy or YA mystery. The stakes are high, but it never feels stressful. There is little on-the-page violence, and even when things get heavy or dangerous, the reader always feels...
Silenced voices :
Leon, Pablo,
A Pura Belpré Award Honor, Young Adult A Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor In this moving intergenerational tale perfect for fans of Messy Roots and Illegal, Eisner-nominated creator Pablo Leon combines historical research of the Guatemalan Civil...
Sisters in the wind /
Boulley, Angeline,
Paper Book
A Printz Honor Book! An AIYLA Honor Book! A Good Morning America Book Club Pick! From the instant New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed comes a daring new mystery about a foster teen claiming her heritage on her own...
Sonita : my fight against tyranny and my escape to freedom
Alizadeh, Sonita
2026 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ALEX AWARD WINNER Nearly 15 million girls, including many in the U.S., are forced into marriage each year. Each of these girls has a price tag--and a story. Sonita Alizada was almost sold twice. Her price tag was $9,000. The money her...
Tall water /
Sindu, SJ,
THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE HONOR BOOK! From Stonewall Honor-winning writer SJ Sindu, author of Shakti, and celebrated illustrator Dion MBD comes a powerful coming-of-age teen graphic novel that follows one girl's journey to Sri Lanka to...
These heathens : a novel
McKenzie, Mia
Paper Book
From the "razor-sharp and outrageously funny" (Taylor Jenkins Reid) mind of Mia McKenzie comes a vibrant novel exploring how one weekend can change your whole life. LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL AND THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE . A CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK...
Trans History:
Combs, Alex L.
Paper Book
"Combs and Eakett do a fantastic job of providing readers an incredibly comprehensive and strongly researched--yet somehow compact--look into the history of trans identity." --School Library Journal (starred review) An essential introduction to trans history, from...
The unfinished
Isaacs, Cheryl
Paper Book
An American Indian Youth Literature Award Honoree In her stunning debut, Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk) pulls the reader into an unsettling tale of monsters, mystery, and secrets that refuse to stay submerged. When small-town athlete Avery's morning run leads her to a strange...
What kind of paradise :
Brown, Janelle.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A teenage girl breaks free from her father's world of isolation to discover that her whole life is a lie in this "absorbing and well-crafted" (The Washington Post) novel from the New York Times bestselling author...
Where wolves don't die /
Treuer, Anton.
Paper Book
Tightly woven Indigenous YA thriller that explores masculinity and love between generations of family Ezra Cloud hates living in Northeast Minneapolis. His father is a professor of their language, Ojibwe, at a local college, so they have to be there. But Ezra hates the dirty,...
The Whyte Python world tour : a novel
Kennedy, Travis
Paper Book
Rikki Thunder, twenty-two-year-old drummer for the scorching new '80s metal band Whyte Python, is about to have it all: absurd wealth, global fame, and a dream girlfriend. But an unwitting role as an international spy? That was definitely not part of the plan. "A rock-n-roll thrill...
A world without summer :
Day, Nicholas,
The true story of how a massive catastrophic eruption plunged the world into darkness, altering the global climate and inspiring the likes of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein--from the award-winning author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes and featuring black-and-white illustrations throughout....
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