Edwards Award

About the Edwards Award

The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. The annual award is administered by YALSA and sponsored by School Library Journal magazine. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world. The Edwards award celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013.

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Individuals who wish to buy small quantities of seals can find them in the ALA Online Store. Publishers wishing to buy bulk seals or license seal images can find more information by consulting YALSA's Award Seals Usage Guidelines and ALA's Seals Sales & Permissions page.

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Visit YALSA's Teen Book Finder Database, a one-stop shop for finding selected lists and award winners. Users can search this free resource by award, list name, year, author, genre and more, as well as print customizable lists.

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About Margaret Edwards

2024 Winner

Neal Shusterman is the recipient of the 2024 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring his significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens for “The Arc of the Scythe: Scythe, Thunderhead and The Toll,” “Bruiser,” “Challenger Deep,” “Everlost,” “Full Tilt,” “The Schwa Was Here” and “Unwind.” The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced the award today during the ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, held Jan. 19–22 in Baltimore.

Shusterman's works are of the moment and timeless, engaging readers of all abilities and interests across generations. Shusterman has fostered teens' intellectual curiosity by presenting stories that prove that, even in a world that does not always take them seriously or trust them, they have the capacity to create a better, brighter and more hopeful future. Shusterman’s novels show how connections save people, whether in the guise of a fear-based amusement park, as in “Full Tilt,” or in a dystopian society’s relationship with immortality in “Unwind” and “The Arc of the Scythe.”

He uses characters who are misjudged and overlooked in “Bruiser” and “The Schwa Was Here” and teens stuck in limbo in “Everlost” to highlight the need for connections. Finally, with “Challenger Deep,” he shows the struggle with mental health can be as deep as the ocean floor. His stories remind readers they aren’t alone, their views are important and the world is a better place with them. “Across genres for three decades, Neal Shusterman has met teens where they are by creating stories that center them as leaders, decision makers and agents of positive change,” said Edwards Committee Chair Valerie Davis.

Neal Shusterman will be honored at the YALSA Edwards Award Luncheon at the YA Services Symposium and be presented with a citation and cash prize of $2,000. The award is sponsored by School Library Journal.

2024 Committee Members

Chair Valerie Davis, Newport, Kentucky; Kendra Fitzpatrick, Santa Clarita, California; Karen Keys, Brooklyn, New York; Emily Mills, Cromwell, Connecticut; and Jessica B. Woods, Glen Burnie, Maryland.

The Margaret A. Edwards Award and 30 Years of Young Adult Literature | School Library Journal

Margaret Edwards Award Winner Angela Johnson Just Wants To Tell a Good Story | School Library Journal

From “The Outsiders” to “The First Part Last”: A Margaret A. Edwards Award Time Line | School Library Journal

The Legacy of Margaret A. Edwards and the Birth of an Award | School Library Journal by Past YALSA President Joel Shoemaker

So You Know Your YA Authors. Who’s on Our Cover? | School Library Journal

See what previous winners had to say about the Edwards Award.