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Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

“Nigeria Jones,” written by Ibi Zoboi, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

2025-01-27

Coretta Scott King Book Awards recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

“Twenty-four Seconds from Now...,” written by Jason Reynolds, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

2026-01-26

Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Coretta Scott King Book Awards recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

King Author Award Book

“Will’s Race for Home,” written by Jewell Parker Rhodes, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

King Author Honor Books

“The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze,” written by Derrick Barnes and published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House; “The Library in the Woods,” written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and published by Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.; and “Split the Sky,” written by Marie Arnold and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

King Illustrator Award Book

“The Library in the Woods,” illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, is the King Illustrator Book award winner. This book is published by Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

King Illustrator Honor Books

"André: André Leon Talley–A Fabulously Fashionable Fairy Tale," illustrated by Lamont O’Neal, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders and published by Henry Holt and Company, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group; and "City Summer, Country Summer," illustrated by Alexis Franklin, written by Kiese Laymon and published by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

Arriel Vinson for “Under the Neon Lights,” published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

Kadir Nelson is the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton. Nelson is a renowned artist and storyteller whose work as both author and illustrator appears in over 30 children’s books. He has received numerous honors for his contributions to children’s literature, including the Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, Robert F. Sibert Medal, and multiple New York Times Best Illustrated Book distinctions.