Michael L. Printz Award Last updated August 28, 2025 History The Printz Award was founded in 2000 for 1999 young adult publications. [ 2] The award "was created as a counterpoint to the Newbery " in order to highlight the best and most literary works of excellence written for a young adult audience. [ 3]
Jonathon Hunt, a Horn Book reviewer, hopes that the Printz Award can create a "canon as revered as that of the Newbery." [ 4]
Michael L. Printz was a librarian at Topeka West High School in Topeka, Kansas, until he retired in 1994. [ 5] He was also an active member of YALSA, serving on the Best Books for Young Adults Committee and the Margaret A. Edwards Award Committee. [ 6] He dedicated his life to ensuring that his students had access to good literature. To that end he encouraged writers to focus on the young adult audience. He created an author-in-residence program at the high school to promote new talent and encourage his students. His most noteworthy find was Chris Crutcher . [ 2] Printz died at the age of 59 in 1996. [ 7]
Criteria and procedure Source: "The Michael L. Printz Award Policies and Procedures" [ 8]
The selection committee comprises nine YALSA members appointed by the president-elect for a one-year term. They award one winner and honor up to four additional titles. [ 2] The term 'young adult' refers to readers from ages 12 through 18 for purposes of this award. [ 9] The Michael L. Printz Award is sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association (ALA). [ 10]
Non-fiction, fiction, poetry and anthologies are all eligible to receive the Printz Award. Books must have been published between January 1 and December 31 of the year preceding the announcement of the award. Titles must be designated 'young adult' by its publisher or published for the age range that YALSA defines as "young adult," i.e., 12 through 18. Adult books are not eligible. Works of joint authorship or editorship are eligible. The award may be issued posthumously. Books previously published in another country are eligible (presuming an American edition has been published during the period of eligibility). Recipients The Printz Medal has been awarded for one work annually without exception. [ 11] Only A. S. King has received the award twice, one for a single-authored book in 2020 and another as editor and contributor to an anthology in 2024. [ 12]
Printz Award winners and runners-up Year Author Book Result Ref. 2000 Walter Dean Myers Monster Winner [ 13] David Almond Skellig Honor Laurie Halse Anderson Speak Ellen Wittlinger Hard Love 2001 David Almond Kit's Wilderness Winner Carolyn Coman Many Stones Honor Carol Plum-Ucci The Body of Christopher Creed Louise Rennison Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging Terry Trueman Stuck in Neutral 2002 An Na A Step From Heaven Winner Peter Dickinson The Ropemaker Honor Jan Greenberg Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art Chris Lynch Freewill Virginia Euwer Wolff True Believer 2003 Aidan Chambers Postcards from No Man's Land Winner Nancy Farmer The House of the Scorpion Honor Garret Freymann-Weyr My Heartbeat Jack Gantos Hole in My Life 2004 Angela Johnson The First Part Last Winner Jennifer Donnelly A Northern Light Honor Helen Frost Keesha's House K. L. Going Fat Kid Rules the World Carolyn Mackler The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things 2005 Meg Rosoff How I Live Now Winner Kenneth Oppel Airborn Honor Allan Stratton Chanda's Secrets Gary D. Schmidt Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy 2006 John Green Looking for Alaska Winner [ 14] Margo Lanagan Black Juice Honor Markus Zusak I Am the Messenger Elizabeth Partridge John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth, a Photographic Biography Marilyn Nelson A Wreath for Emmett Till 2007 Gene Luen Yang American Born Chinese Winner M. T. Anderson The Pox Party (Octavian Nothing, Vol I) Honor John Green An Abundance of Katherines Sonya Hartnett Surrender Markus Zusak The Book Thief 2008 Geraldine McCaughrean The White Darkness Winner Elizabeth Knox Dreamquake Honor Judith Clarke One Whole and Perfect Day A. M. Jenkins Repossessed Stephanie Hemphill Your Own Sylvia 2009 Melina Marchetta Jellicoe Road Winner M. T. Anderson The Kingdom on the Waves (Octavian Nothing, Vol II) Honor E. Lockhart The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks Terry Pratchett Nation Margo Lanagan Tender Morsels 2010 Libba Bray Going Bovine Winner [ 15] Deborah Heiligman Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith Honor Rick Yancey The Monstrumologist Adam Rapp Punkzilla John Barnes Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973 2011 Paolo Bacigalupi Ship Breaker Winner Lucy Christopher Stolen Honor A.S. King Please Ignore Vera Dietz Marcus Sedgwick Revolver Janne Teller Nothing 2012 John Corey Whaley Where Things Come Back Winner Daniel Handler Why We Broke Up Honor Christine Hinwood The Returning Craig Silvey Jasper Jones Maggie Stiefvater The Scorpio Races 2013 Nick Lake In Darkness Winner [ 16] Benjamin Alire Sáenz Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Honor Elizabeth Wein Code Name Verity Terry Pratchett Dodger Beverley Brenna The White Bicycle 2014 Marcus Sedgwick Midwinterblood Winner Rainbow Rowell Eleanor & Park Honor Susann Cokal Kingdom of Little Wounds Sally Gardner Maggot Moon Clare Vanderpool Navigating Early 2015 Jandy Nelson I'll Give You the Sun Winner Jessie Ann Foley The Carnival at Bray Honor Jenny Hubbard And We Stay Andrew Smith Grasshopper Jungle Mariko Tamaki This One Summer 2016 Laura Ruby Bone Gap Winner Ashley Hope Pérez Out of Darkness Honor Marcus Sedgwick The Ghosts of Heaven 2017 John Lewis , Andrew Aydin , and Nate Powell March: Book Three Winner Louise O'Neill Asking for It Honor Julie Berry The Passion of Dolssa Neal Shusterman Scythe Nicola Yoon The Sun Is Also a Star 2018 Nina LaCour We Are Okay Winner [ 17] Angie Thomas The Hate U Give Honor Jason Reynolds Long Way Down Deborah Heiligman Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers Laini Taylor Strange the Dreamer 2019 Elizabeth Acevedo The Poet X Winner [ 18] Elana K. Arnold Damsel Honor Deb Caletti A Heart in a Body in the World Mary McCoy I, Claudia 2020 A. S. King Dig Winner [ 19] [ 20] Nahoko Uehashi Cathy Hirano (trans.) The Beast Player Honor Mariko Tamaki Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (illus.) Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me Nikki Grimes Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir Geraldine McCaughrean Where the World Ends 2021 Daniel Nayeri Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story) Winner [ 21] [ 22] Eric Gansworth Apple (Skin to the Core) Honor [ 21] Gene Luen Yang Lark Pien (color) Dragon Hoops Candice Iloh Every Body Looking Traci Chee We Are Not Free 2022 Angeline Boulley Firekeeper's Daughter Winner [ 23] Angie Thomas Concrete Rose Honor [ 23] Malinda Lo Last Night at the Telegraph Club Kekla Magoon Revolution in Our Time : The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People Lisa Fipps Starfish 2023 Sabaa Tahir All My Rage Winner [ 24] [ 25] Lily Anderson Scout's Honor Honor [ 24] A. L. Graziadei Icebreaker Sacha Lamb When the Angels Left the Old Country Eliot Schrefer Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality 2024 A. S. King M. T. Anderson , E.E. Charlton-Trujillo , David Levithan , Cory McCarthy , Anna-Marie McLemore , Greg Neri , Jason Reynolds , Randy Ribay , and Jenny Torres Sanchez The Collectors: Stories Winner [ 26] Moa Backe Åstot [ sv ] with Eva Apelqvist (trans.)Fire from the Sky Honor [ 26] Kenneth M. Cadow Gather Shannon Gibney The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption Candice Iloh Salt the Water 2025 Samuel Teer Brownstone Winner [ 27] Safia Elhillo Bright Red Fruit Honor [ 28] Rex Ogle Road Home Lee Knox Ostertag The Deep Dark Andrew Joseph White Compound Fracture
Multiple awards As of 2025, only A. S. King has won the Printz twice; [ 12] she also received an Honor. Marcus Sedgwick and M. T. Anderson have written one Award winner and two Honor Books. David Almond , John Green , Geraldine McCaughrean , and Gene Luen Yang have written one Award winner and one Honor Book. Seven people have two Honor Books but have never won the Award: Margo Lanagan , Terry Pratchett , Markus Zusak , Deborah Heiligman , Mariko Tamaki , Candice Iloh , and Angie Thomas .
Six writers have won both the Printz Award and the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians: David Almond , Aidan Chambers , Geraldine McCaughrean , Meg Rosoff , Elizabeth Acevedo , and Jason Reynolds . Only Chambers and Acevedo have won both for the same book; Chambers won the 1999 Carnegie and 2003 Printz for Postcards from No Man's Land , [ 11] [ 29] and Acevedo won the 2019 Carnegie and Printz for The Poet X . [ 30] [ 18] In its scope, books for children or young adults (published in the UK), the British Carnegie corresponds to the American Newbery and Printz awards.
References ↑ "The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature" . Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA ). American Library Association. (ALA ). Retrieved 2012-04-20. 1 2 3 Waddle, Linda. "The Association's Associations: YALSA Becomes Printz-Oriented. (Young Adult Library Services Association introduces Michael L. Printz Award) (Michael L. Printz Award) (Brief Article)". American Libraries 30.11 (Dec 1999): 7. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Hennepin County Library. June 30, 2009. ↑ Piper, Rachel (January 28, 2015). "Brooke Young of the Printz Award Committee" . Salt Lake City Weekly . Retrieved July 1, 2015 . ↑ Hunt, Jonathan (July 2009). "A Printz Retrospective" . Horn Book Magazine . 85 (4): 395– 403. Retrieved July 1, 2015 . ↑ HOLLINGSWORTH, HEATHER. "Book award named for former Topeka West librarian Michael Printz | CJOnline.com" . cjonline.com . Retrieved January 9, 2018 . ↑ "Michael L. Printz Awards" . web.ccsu.edu . ↑ American Libraries , March 1997, p. 76. ↑ "The Michael L. Printz Award Policies and Procedures" . YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2012-04-20. ↑ "YALSA Awards Youth Books." Education Technology News 17.3 (Feb 2, 2000): NA. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Hennepin County Library. June 30, 2009. ↑ "Teen books honored". Reading Today 24.2 (Oct-Nov 2006): 12(1). Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Hennepin County Library. June 30, 2009. 1 2 "Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books | Young Adult Library Services Association" . www.ala.org . Retrieved October 24, 2024 . 1 2 Yorio, Kara (January 22, 2024). " . School Library Journal . Retrieved January 22, 2024 . ↑ "Obituary Notes: Walter Dean Myers; Matt Richell" . Shelf Awareness . July 3, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . ↑ "John Green: Wonders Are Never Far Away" . Shelf Awareness . June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . ↑ "Rebecca Stead Wins Newbery; Jerry Pinkney Wins Caldecott" . Shelf Awareness . January 19, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . ↑ "Book Brahmin: Nick Lake" . Shelf Awareness . October 23, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . ↑ "At ALA: Caldecott, Newbery, King, Printz Awards" . Shelf Awareness . February 13, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . 1 2 "Elizabeth Acevedo, Winner of the 2019 Michael L. Printz Award" . Shelf Awareness . January 31, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . ↑ "A.S. King: Michael L. Printz Award Winner" . Shelf Awareness . February 28, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . ↑ "2020 Printz Award" . Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) . January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2022 . 1 2 "2021 Printz Award" . Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) . January 24, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022 . ↑ "Daniel Nayeri: 2021 Michael L. Printz Award Winner" . Shelf Awareness . January 28, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . 1 2 "Angeline Boulley: 2022 Michael L Printz Award Winner" . Shelf Awareness . January 25, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . 1 2 Communications and Marketing Office (January 30, 2023). "American Library Association announces 2023 Youth Media Awards" (PDF) . American Library Association . Retrieved February 1, 2023 . ↑ "2023 Michael L. Printz Award Winner Sabaa Tahir" . Shelf Awareness . March 17, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023 . 1 2 " (Press release) . ALA. January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024 . ↑ Schaub, Michael (January 27, 2025). "ALA Youth Media Award Winners Revealed" . Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved January 30, 2025 . ↑ "American Library Association announces 2025 Youth Media Award winners" . American Library Association . January 27, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025 . ↑ "Internet Archive: Service Availability" . web.archive.org . Retrieved October 24, 2024 . ↑ Flood, Alison (June 18, 2019). "Carnegie medal goes to first writer of colour in its 83-year history" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved October 24, 2024 . External links
2000s 2010s 2020s 2020: King – Dig 2021: Nayeri – Everything Sad Is Untrue 2022: Boulley – Firekeeper's Daughter 2023: Tahir – All My Rage 2024: King , Anderson , Charlton-Trujillo , Levithan , McCarthy , McLemore , Neri , Reynolds , Ribay , and Sanchez – The Collectors: Stories 2025: Teer , Julia – Brownstone
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