Spotlight on Our 2025 ALA Award Winners!
At this year’s LibLearn X—the American Library Association’s start-of-year annual gathering of librarians, educators, publishers, authors, and illustrators—the winners of multiple awards and honors were announced! Numerous Penguin Random House authors, illustrators, and creators were presented with Youth Media, Audio Excellence, and various recognitions in both adult and children’s categories.
The ALA 2025 Youth Media Awards received by Penguin Young Readers, Random House Children’s Books, and Penguin Random House Audio titles include:
HOME IN A LUNCHBOX written and illustrated by Cherry Mo (Penguin Workshop), and NOODLES ON A BICYCLE illustrated by Gracey Zhang and written by Kyo Maclear (Random House Studio) received a Randolph Caldecott Honor.
BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS written by Renée Watson and illustrated by Ekua Holmes (Kokila) received a Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor.
BRIGHT RED FRUIT by Safia Elhillo (Make Me a World) was named a Four Printz Honor Book.
A LITTLE LIKE MAGIC, written and illustrated by Sarah Kurpiel (Rocky Pond Books), is the recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award in the Younger Children’s category (ages 0 to 8). This award recognizes books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.
POPCORN written and illustrated by Rob Harrell (Dial Books for Young Readers) received the Schneider Family Book Award Medal in the Middle Grade category (ages 9 to 13).
CHRONICALLY DOLORES by Maya Van Wagenen (Dutton Books) is the winner of the Schneider Young Adult Award in the Young Adult category (ages 14-18).
Author Carole Boston Weatherford was the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, which honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences. Her award-winning works include BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself To Freedom, recipient of the Newbery Medal Honor in 2021, among others.
LIBERTAD by Bessie Flores Zaldívar (Dial Books) was selected as a Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Book.
EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD by Randy Ribay (Kokila) is the recipient of an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in the Young Adult Literature category.
THE TREE OF LIFE: HOW A HOLOCAUST SAPLING INSPIRED THE WORLD by Elisa Boxer and illustrated by Alianna Rozentsveig (Rocky Pond Books) was named a Sydney Taylor Book Award Silver Medalist in the Picture Book Category.
This ALA Awards weekend also recognized Audio excellence:
BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS produced by Brian Ramcharan, written by Renée Watson, illustrated by Ekua Holmes and narrated by Renée Watson (Listening Library) was named an Odyssey Honor Audiobooks.
ALA also honored many PRH titles in various adult categories:
BIG JIM AND THE WHITE BOY: An American Classic Reimagined written by David F. Walker and illustrated by Marcus Kwame Anderson (Ten Speed Graphic), DAUGHTERS OF SHANDONG by Eve J. Chung (Berkley), and HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER: A Novel by Kristen Perrin (Dutton) were all recipients of the Alex Awards, recognizing the best adult books that appeal to teen audiences.
The following titles were selected by the Notable Books Council and named part of the 2025 Notable Books List: Year’s Best in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry:
Fiction
MARTYR! by Kaveh Akbar (Knopf)
THE HISTORY OF SOUND: Stories by Ben Shattuck (Viking)
WANDERING STARS by Tommy Orange (Knopf)
WHALE FALL by Elizabeth O’Connor (Pantheon)
Nonfiction
NATIVE NATIONS: A Millennium In North America by Kathleen DuVal (Random House)
No Road Leading Back: An Improbable Escape From The Nazis And The Tangled Way We Tell The Story Of The Holocaust by Chris Heath (Schocken Books)
THERE’S ALWAYS THIS YEAR: On Basketball And Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib (Random House)
WHY WE REMEMBER: Unlocking Memory’s Power To Hold On To What Matters by Charan Ranganath, PhD (Doubleday)
Finally, a special shout out to our PRHPS titles that were recognized at the awards. Their honors include:
ONE BIG OPEN SKY written by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Holiday House) received a Newbery Honor and a King Author Honor.
EVERYWHERE BEAUTY IS HARLEM illustrated by E.B. Lewis, written by Gary Golio (Calkins Creek) was awarded a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor.
LIFE AFTER WHALE: The Amazing Ecosystem Of A Whale Fall received the Robert F Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children.
Warm congratulations to our award-winning authors, illustrators, creators, and their publishers!