Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers facts for kids

The Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers was a special prize given by the Horror Writers Association (HWA). This award celebrated "amazing achievements" in horror writing for young people. It was like a gold medal for the best scary stories written for kids and teens. The award is no longer given out.

What Was This Award?

The Bram Stoker Award is named after Bram Stoker, the famous author who wrote the classic vampire story Dracula. The Horror Writers Association is a group of writers who specialize in horror. They created this award to recognize excellent horror books.

Why an Award for Young Readers?

Even though horror stories can be scary, many are written just for young readers. These stories often explore spooky themes in a way that is exciting and safe for kids aged 12-15. The "Best Work for Young Readers" award was specifically for these kinds of books. It helped highlight authors who wrote great horror stories for a younger audience.

When Was the Award Given?

This award was given out every year from 1998 to 2004. It recognized books published in the previous year. For example, the 1998 award was for books released in 1998. After 2004, the award category was stopped.

Award Winners

Many talented authors won or were nominated for this award. Here are the winners for each year:

1998 Winner

• Nancy Etchemendy won for her book Bigger than Death.
  • Other nominees included The Dollhouse that Time Forgot by Mike Ford, The Angel Chronicles by Nancy Holder, and Hungry Ghosts by Ellen Steiber.

1999 Winner

• J.K. Rowling won for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This was the third book in the very popular Harry Potter series.
  • Other nominees were Something Lumber This Way Comes by Joe R. Lansdale and Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children by Angus Oblong.

2000 Winner

• Nancy Etchemendy won again, this time for her book The Power of Un.
  • Nominees included Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, Be Afraid! (edited by Edo van Belkom), and The Christmas Trilogy by F. Paul Wilson.

2001 Winner

• Yvonne Navarro won for The Willow Files 2.
  • Christopher Golden was also nominated for his book Prowlers.

2002 Winner

• Neil Gaiman won for his spooky and popular book Coraline.
  • Other nominees included Abarat by Clive Barker, Cat in Glass and Other Tales of the Unnatural by Nancy Etchemendy, and Abu and the 7 Marvels by Richard Matheson and William Stout.

2003 Winner

• J.K. Rowling won her second award for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This was the fifth book in the Harry Potter series.
  • Nominees included Even Odder: More Stories To Chill The Heart by Steve Burt, The Oracle by Catherine Fisher, The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, and A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman.

2004 Winners

• In 2004, there were two winners!
• Clive Barker won for Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War. This was the second book in his Abarat series.
• Steve Burt also won for his book Oddest Yet.
  • Other nominees were Robot Santa: The Further Adventures of Santa's Twin by Dean Koontz and Fall (from the Witch Season series) by Jeff Mariotte.