2020 Speeches

Read remarks from the 2019 awards ceremonies, honoring YALSA's literary award winners.

Edwards Speech

 

Morris Award Speeches

In 2020, Ben Philippe won the Morris Award for best first novel for teens for The Field Guide to the North American Teenager 

Finalists were The Candle and the Flame written by Nafiza Azad, Frankly in Love written by David Yoon, Genesis Begins Again written by Alicia D. Williams and There Will Come a Darkness written by Katy Rose Pool. The reception was held at the 2020 Midwinter Meeting in Philladelphia. 

 

Nonfiction Award Speeches

Free Lunch, written by Rex Ogle 

Finalists were The Great Nijinsky: God of Dance, written and illustrated by Lynn Curlee and published by Charlesbridge Teen; A Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, and the Holocaust, written by Albert Marrin; A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II, written by Elizabeth Wein; Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of “The Children's Ship", written by Deborah Heiligman.

Rex Ogle's speech (PDF)

Lynn Curlee's speech (PDF)

Albert Marrin's speech (PDF) 

Elizabeth Wein's speech (PDF)

Deborah Heiligman's speech

Printz Award Speeches

The 2020 Printz winner was A.S. King for Dig.

Honor book authors Nahoko Uehashi (translated by Cathy Hirano) for The Beast Player, Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell for Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Nikki Grimes for Ordinary Hazards: A Memoirand Geraldine McCaughrean for Where the World Ends