For the third year in a row, comics made an impressive showing in the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards! The winners and honorees for 2017 were announced early today, with March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell notably continuing its sweep that started in November with a National Book Award and continued last week with a Walter Dean Myers Award.
The third volume of March received the following awards in the ceremony at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta this morning:
- Coretta Scott King Author Award
- Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in Young Adult literature
- Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for children’s nonfiction
- YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
In addition, four more comics or comic-adjacent books were recognized in other categories. The Pura Belpré Illustrator Award went to Raúl Gonzalez for his work on Lowriders to the Center of the Earth, written by Cathy Camper. Romeo and/or Juliet: A Choosable-Path Adventure, written by Dinosaur Comics creator Ryan North and illustrated by a host of artists including webcomics greats Kate Beaton, Noelle Stevenson, and Randall Munroe, won an Alex Award as one of the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences.
In ALA Award terminology, Honor Books are those that did not win the top prize in their category, but which the award committee nevertheless wished to recognize — a shortlist of sorts. The audiobook version of Stevenson’s Nimona received an Odyssey Honor, and a Caldecott Honor went to the picture book Leave Me Alone! by Anya’s Ghost creator Vera Brosgol.
Congratulations to all the winners and honorees! As always we are thrilled to see comics and graphic novels receiving ever more recognition at the highest levels.
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Contributing Editor Maren Williams is a reference librarian who enjoys free speech and rescue dogs.