The Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, presented by The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English (ALAN), is an annual award in the United States for a book that exemplifies literary excellence, widespread appeal, and a positive approach to life in young adult literature. It is named after Amelia Elizabeth Walden who died in Westport, Connecticut in 2002 and was a pioneer in the field of Young Adult Literature. The national award is presented annually to the author of a title selected by ALAN's Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee.
History
The Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award was established in 2008 to honor the wishes of Amelia Elizabeth Walden. It allows for the sum of $5,000 to be awarded annually to the winning title, and was first awarded on Monday, November 23, 2009. The award highlights works written for a young adult audience that demonstrate a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.
Amelia Elizabeth Walden was born in New York City on January 15, 1909. She graduated from Columbia University in 1934 and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. From 1935 to 1945, she taught English and Dramatics at Norwalk High School (Connecticut). She married John William Harmon in 1946. Her first novel, Gateway, was published in 1946. Walden told her editor that she intended the novel for young people who lived at "the gateway", on that middle ground between adolescence and adulthood. Walden claimed, “I respond to young people because I remember my own adolescence so vividly – and fondly. It was a period of total involvement, of enjoying life to the hilt.” Walden wrote over 40 young adult novels. She died in 2002 in Westport, Connecticut. A collection of some of her literary manuscripts and correspondence with McGraw-Hill between 1954 and 1977 relating to book production is available for review in the Special Collections and University Archives of the University of Oregon Libraries.
Criteria
The selection committee composed of ten The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) members (3 teachers, 3 university professors, 3 librarians, and 1 chair) appointed by the previous year's chair and current ALAN President for a one-year term with the possibility of re-election for a second term. They award one winning title and honor up to four additional titles on their shortlist.
Per Walden’s request The selected title MUST'': be a work of fiction, ideally a novel (stand-alone or part of a series); be published within one year prior to the call for titles; be published in the United States but may have been published elsewhere prior; and possess a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit (please see below for additional guidance).A Positive Approach to Life Submitted titles should: treat teen readers as capable and thoughtful young people offer hope and optimism, even when describing difficult circumstances have a credible and appropriate resolution portray characters involved in shaping their lives in a positive way, even as they struggle with the harsh realities of lifeWidespread Teen Appeal Submitted titles should: be intended expressly for readers aged 12–18 have universal themes that transcend time and place have themes that resonate with a wide variety of readers, regardless of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation provide readers with a window to the world and/or reflect their own experiencesLiterary Merit''' Submitted titles should: contain well-developed characters employ well-constructed forms suitable to function include language and literary devices that enhance the narrative suggest cogent and richly-realized themes present an authentic voice
Recipients + Walden Award Winner and FinalistsYearAuthorBookResultRef. 2009 My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park Winner After Tupac and D Foster Finalist Finalist The Graveyard Book Finalist Me, the Missing, and the Dead (originally Finding Violet Park, UK, 2007) Finalist 2010 Fire WinnerMarcelo in the Real WorldFinalistFinalist North of Beautiful Finalist The Sweetheart of Prosper County Finalist 2011 The Last Summer of the Death Warriors Winner After Ever After Finalist I Will Save You Finalist Sorta Like a Rockstar Finalist Wolves, Boys, & Other Things That Might Kill Me Finalist 2012 Shine Winner Berlin Boxing Club Finalist Blood Red Road Finalist Between Shades of Gray Finalist Under the Mesquite Finalist 2013 The Fault in Our Stars WinnerAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseFinalist Ask the Passengers Finalist Endangered Finalist 2014 Eleanor & Park Winner Jumped In FinalistThe Milk of BirdsFinalistOpenly StraightFinalist Winger Finalist 2015 Glory O'Brien's History of the Future Winner Diamond Boy Finalist Gabi, A Girl in Pieces FinalistThe Impossible Knife of MemoryFinalist Revolution (The Sixties Trilogy) Finalist 2016 and All American Boys Winner All the Bright Places Finalist Challenger Deep Finalist Out of Darkness Finalist Wolf by Wolf Finalist 2017 The Serpent King Winner Girl in Pieces Finalist The Smell of Other People's Houses Finalist Salt to the Sea Finalist Finalist 2018 Winner Dear Martin Finalist Long Way Down Finalist The Nowhere Girls FinalistAn Uninterrupted View of the SkyFinalist 2019 The Poet X Winner The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza Finalist Darius the Great Is Not Okay Finalist Blood, Water, Paint Finalist The Astonishing Color of After Finalist 2020 Lovely War Winner With the Fire on High Finalist Like a Love Story Finalist Patron Saints of Nothing Finalist White Rose Finalist 2021 Clap When You Land Winner Slay Finalist The Black Kids Finalist Kent State Finalist 2022 In the Wild Light WinnerFuriaFinalistHow Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the UniverseFinalistThe Magic FishFinalistWe Are Not FreeFinalist2023All My RageWinnerThe Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam SylvesterFinalistMedusaFinalist We Can Be Heroes Finalist2024Saints of the HouseholdWinner Invisible SonFinalistAn Appetite for MiraclesFinalistThe Immeasurable Depth of You FinalistThe Next New Syrian Girl Finalist2025The Great Cool Ranch Dorito In The SkyWinner Rez BallFinalistGrief in the Fourth DimensionFinalistUnbecoming FinalistLibertad Finalist
See also
Printz Award – American Library Association medal recognizing the year's best book for teens Newbery Medal – American literature for children (children or young adults prior to 2000) Carnegie Medal – British literature for children or young adults Guardian Prize – fiction for children or young adults by British and Commonwealth writers
References
External links ALAN Online – Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE at ALAN