FYI,

From SLJ: Longlist Announced for 2026 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

The National Book Foundation has announced the longlist for the 2026 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature:

Delali Adjoa, The Free Verse Society. Peachtree Teen/Peachtree Publishing.

Elana K. Arnold, Holloway. Clarion Books/HarperCollins Publishers.

A. Chan, The Celestial Seas. Viking Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House

Tae Keller, When Tomorrow Burns. Random House Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House.

Keala Kendall, That Which Feeds Us: A Hawaiian Gothic. Random House Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House.

David Levithan and Gabriel Duckels, The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America. Knopf Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House

Chanel Miller, The Moon Without Stars. Philomel Books/Penguin Random House.

Eric Darnell Pritchard and Shannon Wright, Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams. Abrams Books for Young Readers/Abrams

Julian Randall, Shook. Henry Holt and Company (BYR)/Macmillan Publishers.

Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr, Life on the Moon. Knopf Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House.

The 2026 titles include fiction, nonfiction, novels-in-verse, and a picture book, featuring “coming-of-age stories that inspire readers of all ages to revisit our collective histories in order to shape a better tomorrow,” according to the National Book Foundation.

There are two past honorees on the list: Arnold, a 2017 finalist for What Girls Are Made Of, and Levithan, a 2013 longlister for Two Boys Kissing. Peachtree Publishing is on the longlist for the first time for Delali Adjoa’s The Free Verse Society.

Publishers submitted a total of 290 books for the Young People’s Literature category. This year’s judges are Edith Campbell, Brandy Colbert (Chair), Tricia Ebarvia, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, and Anne Ursu. 

The Finalists will be revealed on Tuesday, October 6, and winner will be announced at the 77th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, November 18.

All the Best,

Sharon Rawlins (she/her)

Youth Services Specialist

Library Development
New Jersey State Library

P.  609-278-2640 x116 

E. sraw...@njstatelib.org

W. www.njstatelib.org

185 West State Street

P.O. Box 520, Trenton, NJ  08625

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