William C. Morris Award facts for kids
Quick facts for kids William C. Morris Award |
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|---|---|
| Presented by | Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 2009 |
The William C. Morris YA Debut Award is a special prize given out every year. It celebrates the best new book for teens by an author who is publishing their first young adult novel. This award is managed by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). YALSA is part of the American Library Association (ALA), which is a big group for libraries in the United States. The award is named after William C. Morris, who was an important person in the book publishing world. He really believed in helping books for kids and teens reach more readers.
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About the William C. Morris Award
This award honors new authors who write amazing books for young adults. It started in 2009. The goal is to highlight fresh voices in teen literature. The award helps readers discover exciting new stories.
Who Was William C. Morris?
William C. Morris was born in 1928 or 1929. He grew up in Eagle Pass, Texas. He passed away in 2003 in Manhattan. Morris was a publisher, which means he helped create and sell books. He was known for being very creative and for supporting books for young people. YALSA called him a "game-changer" in publishing. He wanted to make sure that books for children and teens were well-known.
How the Award Is Funded
The William C. Morris Award gets its money from the William C. Morris Endowment. This fund was set up in 2000. It became active in 2003 after Morris left $400,000 to the ALA. He wanted this money to help programs, books, and events that promote children's literature. William C. Morris was also a member of the ALA. He even received their Distinguished Service Award in 1992.
How Books Are Chosen
To be considered for the award, a book must be a "young adult" book. This means it's meant for readers aged 12 to 18. It also has to be the author's very first book for teens. About 4,000 young adult books are published each year. Around 10% of these are debut novels. The first list of finalists was announced on December 8, 2008. The first winner was A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce. This was announced on January 26, 2009, at an ALA meeting.
Award Winners and Finalists
Here is a list of the books that have won or been finalists for the William C. Morris Award.
| Year | Author | Book | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Elizabeth C. Bunce | A Curse Dark as Gold | Winner |
| Kristin Cashore | Graceling | Finalist | |
| Celeste Lecesne | Absolute Brightness | ||
| Christina Meldrum | Madapple | ||
| Jenny Valentine | Me, the Missing, and the Dead | ||
| 2010 | L. K. Madigan | Flash Burnout | Winner |
| Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl | Beautiful Creatures | Finalist | |
| Amy Huntley | The Everafter | ||
| Nina LaCour | Hold Still | ||
| Malinda Lo | Ash | ||
| 2011 | Blythe Woolston | The Freak Observer | Winner |
| Eishes Chayil | Hush | Finalist | |
| Karen Healey | Guardian of the Dead | ||
| Lish McBride | Hold Me Closer, Necromancer | ||
| Barbara Stuber | Crossing the Tracks | ||
| 2012 | John Corey Whaley | Where Things Come Back | Winner |
| Rae Carson | The Girl of Fire and Thorns | Finalist | |
| Jenny Hubbard | Paper Covers Rock | ||
| Guadalupe Garcia McCall | Under the Mesquite | ||
| Ruta Sepetys | Between Shades of Gray | ||
| 2013 | Rachel Hartman | Seraphina | Winner |
| S. D. Crockett | After the Snow | Finalist | |
| Laura Buzo | Love and Other Perishable Items | ||
| Emily M. Danforth | The Miseducation of Cameron Post | ||
| Hannah Barnaby | Wonder Show | ||
| 2014 | Stephanie Kuehn | Charm & Strange | Winner |
| Carrie Mesrobian | ... & Violence | Finalist | |
| Evan Roskos | Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets | ||
| Elizabeth Ross | Belle Epoque | ||
| Cat Winters | In the Shadow of Blackbirds | ||
| 2015 | Isabel Quintero | Gabi, A Girl in Pieces | Winner |
| Jessie Ann Foley | The Carnival at Bray | Finalist | |
| E. K. Johnston | The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim | ||
| Len Vlahos | The Scar Boys | ||
| Leslye Walton | The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender | ||
| 2016 | Becky Albertalli | Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda | Winner |
| Leah Thomas | Because You'll Never Meet Me | Finalist | |
| Kelly Loy Gilbert | Conviction | ||
| Stephanie Oakes | The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly | ||
| Anna-Marie McLemore | The Weight of Feathers | ||
| 2017 | Jeff Zentner | The Serpent King | Winner |
| M-E Girard | Girl Mans Up | Finalist | |
| Sonia Patel | Rani Patel in Full Effect | ||
| Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock | The Smell of Other People’s Houses | ||
| Calla Devlin | Tell Me Something Real | ||
| 2018 | Angie Thomas | The Hate U Give | Winner |
| Nic Stone | Dear Martin | Finalist | |
| S.F. Henson | Devils Within | ||
| S.K. Ali | Saints and Misfits | ||
| Akemi Dawn Bowman | Starfish | ||
| 2019 | Adib Khorram | Darius the Great is Not Okay | Winner |
| Joy McCullough | Blood Water Paint | Finalist | |
| Ngozi Ukazu | Check, Please!: #Hockey | ||
| Tomi Adeyemi | Children of Blood and Bone | ||
| Vesper Stamper | What the Night Sings | ||
| 2020 | Ben Philippe | The Field Guide to the North American Teenager | Winner |
| Nafiza Azad | The Candle and the Flame | Finalist | |
| David Yoon | Frankly in Love | ||
| Alicia D. Williams | Genesis Begins Again | ||
| Katy Rose Pool | There Will Come a Darkness | ||
| 2021 | Kyrie McCauley | If These Wings Could Fly | Winner |
| Echo Brown | Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard | Finalist | |
| Christina Hammonds Reed | The Black Kids | ||
| Nina Kenwood | It Sounded Better in My Head | ||
| Isabel Ibañez | Woven in Moonlight | ||
| 2022 | Angeline Boulley | Firekeeper's Daughter | Winner |
| Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé | Ace of Spades | Finalist | |
| Margie Fuston | Vampires, Hearts & Other Dead Things | ||
| Amber McBride | Me (Moth) | ||
| Cory Anderson | What Beauty There Is | ||
| 2023 | Isaac Blum | The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen | Winner |
| Jen Ferguson | The Summer of Bitter and Sweet | Finalist | |
| Elizabeth Kilcoyne | Wake the Bones | ||
| Sonora Reyes | The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School | ||
| Andrew Joseph White | Hell Followed with Us | ||
| 2024 | Byron Graves | Rez Ball | Winner |
| Hannah V. Sawyerr | All the Fighting Parts | Finalist | |
| Kiyash Monsef | Once There Was | ||
| Ari Tison | Saints of the Household | ||
| Trang Thanh Tran | She Is a Haunting |
