Barnes & Noble Booksellers Nominate 18 Books to Compete for the Barnes & Noble Children’s & Young Adult Book Awards

Barnes & Noble Booksellers Nominate 18 Books to Compete for the Barnes & Noble Children’s & Young Adult Book Awards  

The Award Celebrates Exceptional Talent in Children’s Publishing 

New York, NY – (March 15, 2022) – Barnes & Noble announces the shortlists for the Barnes & Noble Children’s & Young Adult Book Awards. 

These annual awards give a national platform to new and emerging talent in Children’s Publishing.  The shortlist in each category of Picture Books, Young Readers and Young Adult is selected by the booksellers at Barnes & Noble who specialize in Children’s bookselling in stores across the country.   

Barnes & Noble has an astonishing track record for discovering, establishing and championing the careers of many authors with its Book Clubs, Monthly Picks and Book of the Year, and the Children’s & YA Book Awards play a similar role, launching hitherto little-known authors that will shape children’s literature for years to come.  Last year, for its inaugural Overall Winner, B. B. Alston’s debut, Amari and the Night Brothers, enchanted the hearts of Barnes & Noble booksellers from coast to coast and went on to achieve extraordinary success.  

“Our booksellers have curated astounding shortlists of books that have captured the essence of Children’s and YA publishing over the past year,” said Shannon DeVito, Director of Books, Barnes & Noble.  “The six titles in each category represent such a diverse offering, highlighting books that have been percolating throughout the past year as well as books that will be a new reading experience to our customers.  Narrowing it down and voting on the winner will be a challenge our booksellers are surely up for.” 

Customers can find all the shortlist titles at their local Barnes & Noble and on BN.com.  The winner in each category will be announced in May, at which time the overall winner of the Barnes & Noble Children’s and Young Adult Book of the Year will be crowned.   

Picture Books 

“Our Picture Books shortlist includes some incredible, fresh new stories by incredible fresh new authors and illustrators,” says Scott Berkowitz, Manager of Children’s Books, Barnes & Noble.  “The engaging story arcs accompanied with mesmerizing illustrations bring these stories to life, giving them the feeling of an instant classic.” 

The Picture Books shortlist titles are: 

• Clovis Keeps His Cool by Katelyn Aronson, Eve Farb (Illustrator) 
• Knight Owl by Christopher Denise 
• Mina by Matthew Forsythe 

• Room for Everyone by Naaz Khan, Mercè López (Illustrator) 
• Wutaryoo by Nilah Magruder 
• Dragonboy by Fabio Napoleoni 

Young Readers 

“Magical fantasies, poignant coming-of-age stories and vibrant graphic novels abound when it comes to our Young Readers shortlist,” said Stephanie Pinheiro, Manager of Young Reader & YA Books, Barnes & Noble.  “These six books feature engaging plotlines and diverse characters laced with magic, myth and real-life adventure, sure to please any middle-grade reader.” 

The Young Readers shortlist titles are: 

• Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow 
• A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll 
• The Witch, the Sword, and the Cursed Knights by Alexandria Rogers 

• Barakah Beats by Maleeha Siddiqui 
• Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur 
• The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga 

Young Adult 

“With so much amazing publishing in the past year, the YA shortlist was nearly impossible to narrow down,” said Stephanie Pinheiro.  “From atmospheric fantasies to twisty thrillers, and heartfelt fiction to graphic novels, there is quite literally a book for every book lover, BookTuber and BookToker.” 

The Young Adult shortlist titles are: 

• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé 
• The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch 
• What We Harvest by Ann Fraistat 

• The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta 
• The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag 
• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao 

Customers can join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok using the hashtag #BNBookAwards.