The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, established in 2010, is an annual literary award presented by the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association that "honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18)". It was first given in 2010. The award is announced at ALA's Midwinter Meeting.
The judges select nonfiction titles published for young adults that were published the previous year between November 1 and October 31. All print forms that are marked as intended for young adults are eligible for consideration, including graphic formats. To be eligible, "the title must include excellent writing, research, presentation and readability for young adults." The Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award is one of few that recognizes nonfiction for young adults.
Recipients
Winners and finalists +Award for Excellence in Nonfiction winners and finalists Year Author Title Result2010Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of FaithWinnerAlmost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to DreamFinalistClaudette Colvin: Twice Toward JusticeThe Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. BarnumWritten in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland2011Janis Joplin: Rise Up SingingWinner and Peter RobertshawEvery Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and DebatesFinalistSpies of Mississippi: The True Story of the Spy Network that Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights MovementThe Dark Game: True Spy StoriesThey Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group2012The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, by TreacheryWinnerBootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of ProhibitionFinalistMusic Was IT: Young Leonard Bernstein and Marina BudhosSugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom and ScienceWheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)2013Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous WeaponWinnerMoonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95FinalistSteve Jobs: The Man Who Thought DifferentTitanic: Voices from the DisasterWe've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March2014The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious NaziWinnerCourage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black ParatroopersFinalistGo: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic DesignImprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans During World War IIThe President Has Been Shot! The Assassination of John F. Kennedy2015Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern GeekWinnerIda M. Tarbell: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business -- and Won!FinalistLaughing at My NightmareThe Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial RussiaThe Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights2016Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam WarWinnerEnchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A MemoirFinalistSymphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of LeningradFirst Flight Around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the RaceThis Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon2017 and Andrew Aydin with Nate Powell (Illus.)March: Book ThreeWinnerHillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living HistoryFinalistIn the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives with Gareth Hinds (Illus.)Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto YoshitsuneThis Land Is Our Land: A History of American Immigration2018Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh BrothersWinner and Lisa Charleyboy#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American WomenFinalist and Marina Tamar BudhosEyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern PhotojournalismThe 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their LivesThe Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found2019The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian RefugeesWinnerBoots on the Ground: America's War in VietnamFinalistHey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt With Family AddictionThe Beloved World of Sonia SotomayorThe Faithful Spy2020Free LunchWinnerA Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, and the HolocaustFinalistA Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War IIThe Great Nijinsky: God of DanceTorpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of The Children's Ship2021The Rise & Fall of Charles LindberghWinnerAll Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer TeamFinalist with Laura L. SullivanThe Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and SurvivalHow We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity's Greatest AdventureYou Call This Democracy?: How to Fix Our Democracy and Deliver Power to the People2022Ambushed!: The Assassination Plot Against President GarfieldWinnerBlack Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race MassacreFinalistFrom a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American MovementIn the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months and Years After the 9/11 AttacksThe Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life2023 and Derrick Barnes with Dawud Anyabwile (Illus.)Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for JusticeWinnerAbuela, Don't Forget MeFinalistAmerican Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the SouthA Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome and Marc FavreauUnequal: A Story of America2024Dashka SlaterAccountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It ChangedFinalistAriel Aberg-RigerAmerica Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic HistoryThien PhamFamily Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam
Nominations
2023 +Nominations Chasing the Truth: A Young Journalist's Guide to Investigative Reporting by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey, and Ruby Shamir Glowing Bunnies!?: Why We're Making Hybrids, Chimeras, and Clones by Jeff Campbell The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner by Marissa Moss The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Life in Native America by David Treuer How to Build a Human: In Seven Evolutionary Steps by Pamela S. Turner How to Money: Your Ultimate Visual Guide to the Basics of Finance by Jean Chatzky, Kathryn Tuggle, and Nina Cosford In Harm's Way (Young Readers Edition): The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Story of Its Survivors by Doug Stanton and Michael J. Tougias (adaptor) Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI: Adapted for Young Readers by David Grann Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao Murder Among Friends: How Leopold and Loeb Tried to Commit the Perfect Crime by Candace Fleming Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting by Kindra Neely Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer The Race of the Century: The Battle to Break the Four-Minute Mile by Neil Bascomb Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon Saving Earth: Climate Change and the Fight for Our Future by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration by Elizabeth Partridge and Lauren Tamaki Sky Wolf's Call: The Gift of Indigenous Knowledge by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger Star Child by Ibi Zoboi The Sun Does Shine: An Innocent Man, A Wrongful Conviction, and the Long Path to Justice by Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin Underground Fire: Hope, Sacrifice, and Courage in the Cherry Mine Disaster by Sally M. Walker White Fragility: Why Understanding Racism Can Be So Hard for White People Adapted for Young Adults by Toni Graves Williamson, Ali Michael, and Robin DiAngelo The Greatest Stories Ever Played: Video Games and the Evolution of Storytelling by Dustin Hansen
2022 Nominations Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke by Andrew Maraniss Meltdown: Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima by Deirdre Langeland In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race by Amy Cherrix Punching Bag by Rex Ogle Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter by Veronica Chambers Separate No More: The Long Road to Brown v. Board of Education by Lawrence Goldstone Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) by Anton Treuer Run: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin and illustrated by L. Fury and Nate Powell The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 (Young Readers Edition) by Tim Madigan adapted by Hilary Beard When Can We Go Back to America? Voices of Japanese American Incarceration During WWII by Susan H. Kamei The Curse of the Mummy: Uncovering Tutankhamun's Tomb by Candace Fleming 2021 +Nominations All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat Almost American Girl by Robin Ha Apple (skin to the core) by Eric Gansworth Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease by Gail Jarrow The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess with Laura L. Sullivan Dancing At the Pity Party by Tyler Feder Dragon Hoops created by Gene Luen Yang and color by Lark Pien How We Got To the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity's Greatest Adventure by John Rocco Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight For Reproductive Rights by Karen Blumenthal Lifting As We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne One Real American: The Life of Ely S. Parker, Seneca Sachem and Civil War General by Joseph Bruchac Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation by Candy J. Cooper and Marc Aronson Race Through the Skies: The Week the World Learned to Fly by Martin W. Sandler The Rise & Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming Say Her Name (poems to Empower) by Zetta Elliott Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped From the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy by Kenneth C. Davis We Are Power: How Non-Violent Activism Changes the World by Todd Hasak-Lowy When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed You Call This Democracy?: How to Fix Our Democracy and Deliver Power to the People by Elizabeth Rusch
2020 +Nominations The Fight Against AIDS in America by Ann Bausum What Linnaeus Saw: A Scientist's Quest to Name Every Living Thing by Karen Magnuson Beil This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy A Queer History of the United States for Young People by Michael Bronski and Richie Chevat The Great Nijinsky: God of Dance by Lynn Curlee Soaring Earth: A Companion Memoir to Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle Spies: The Secret Showdown between America and Russia for Young Readers by Marc Favreau Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of "The Children's Ship" by Deborah Heiligman The Poison Eaters: Fighting Danger and Fraud in Our Food and Drugs by Gail Jarrow Locked in Ice: Nansen's Daring Quest for the North Pole by Peter Lourie The Far Away Brothers: Two Teenage Immigrants Making a Life in America by Lauren Markham A Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, and the Holocaust by Albert Marrin