Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award Winners Announced

Congratulations to Brian Katcher, whose young adult novel Almost Perfect won the inaugural Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award from the American Library Association (ALA). The award, which honors children’s and young adult books “of exceptional merit” related to the LGBT experience, was announced this morning at the ALA’s annual Youth Media Awards, which also bestowed the prestigious Newbery and Caldecott medals.

Almost Perfect is the story of a boy in a small-town high school who falls for the new girl in town, only to discover she was born a biological male. I have not yet read it myself, but it’s going on my short list for the year. (My short list is, alas, really rather long, but that’s another story. . . .)

[Update: The ALA also announced four “honor books” in addition to the main award winner. They are: Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan; Love Drugged, by James Klise; Freaks and Revelations, by Davida Willis Hurwin; and The Boy in the Dress, by David Walliams. I included the last in my 2009 roundup of LGBT kids’ books; it must have snuck into 2010 because of the specific publication cutoffs the ALA uses.]

Kudos to all of the winners and to the ALA for instituting the award. Positive images for and about LGBTQ youth and the children of LGBTQ parents are sorely needed, and such recognition can only help.

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