Nomination only
ALA Youth Media Awards (Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Coretta Scott King, and related awards)
American Library Association (ALA) and its divisions and round tables: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table
In short
Every January the American Library Association, the professional body for librarians in the United States, announces its children's and teen book awards together, including the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz and Coretta Scott King awards. Librarians and school buyers use these lists when they order. Authors cannot enter, and may not nominate their own book for the Printz. Your publisher normally sends copies to the committees; ask your editor which committees are receiving your book and confirm the age group it is labeled for.
Deadline December 31, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Every label is a fact from the official rules, never a judgment about whether the award is worth entering. How we describe awards.
The American Library Association (ALA) announces its children's and young adult book awards together each January at its LibLearnX meeting, in an event known as the Youth Media Awards. The group includes the John Newbery Medal and Randolph Caldecott Medal from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), the Michael L. Printz Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, the Schneider Family Book Award, and several others.
These are committee awards, not contests. Each committee of librarians reads across the year's output; publishers send review copies, and anyone may suggest a title on the committee's form, although the rules bar publishers, authors, and editors from nominating their own books for the Printz. There is no entry fee. The Newbery rules, for example, ask that one copy be mailed to the committee chair with the submission form by December 31 of the publication year; the Printz takes field suggestions through December 1.
Eligibility is tight and differs by award. The Newbery requires an author who is a United States citizen or resident and a book published by an American publisher in the United States, in English, during the preceding year, with no reprints or compilations. The Printz requires a book the publisher has designated as young adult (ages 12 through 18) with an American edition in the eligibility year, and self-published or ebook-only titles aren't eligible until they are available in print or distributed through a United States publishing house. The Coretta Scott King awards recognize African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults.
Why it may matter
The ALA Youth Media Awards strongly influence what children's and young adult books libraries and schools notice, display, and buy. Authors can't enter most of these programs themselves. Ask the publisher which committees received the book and confirm that its age or audience designation fits the award.
2027 cycle: 2027 Youth Media Awards (books published in 2026)
- Eligible publication dates
- January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
- Final deadline
- December 31, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Deadline note
- Newbery submission form and copy to the committee chair by December 31, 2026; Printz field suggestions by December 1, 2026. Other committees set their own dates
- Entry fee
- No entry feeChecked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Results
- Announced at ALA's LibLearnX meeting in January 2027
| Tier | Deadline | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Per title | See rules | No fee |
Worth knowing
Our reading, not a rule the organization published. We judge an award on the rubric in how we describe awards.
Each award has its own terms page and suggestion form on ala.org (opens in a new tab): the Newbery page (above), the Printz page, and the Coretta Scott King submission form at ala.org/cskbart (opens in a new tab). The Newbery committee cannot confirm receipt of copies. Because the Printz counts a book's eligibility from its first print or United States publisher edition, an author who self-published first and later signed with a publisher should ask which year the book qualifies. The Schneider Family Book Award has its own record on this site.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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