US National Book Awards 2022 Longlist: Young People’s Literature

In News by Porter Anderson

The books on the young people’s content longlist are the first cohort of five categories named this week by the US National Book Awards.

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

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First of Five Categories’ Longlists
The United States’ National Book Foundation—with a prize ceremony set for November 16—has begun today (September 14) announcing its longlists for the 2022 National Book Awards. As this program likes to do, it’s parsing the announcements across five categories on three days.

Finalists—the shortlisted entries—are to be named October 4.

The longlist provided today to members of the news media is for the National Book Award for young people’s literature.

This is the first of five categories. Coming up:

  • The National Book Award longlist in translated literature
  • The National Book Award longlist in poetry
  • The National Book Award longlist in in nonfiction
  • The National Book Award longlist in fiction

Two authors previously honored by the National Book Awards on this list are Traci Chee, who was a finalist for this category in 2020, and Anna-Marie McLemore, longlisted for this category twice, in 2016 and 2021.

Collectively, the authors and illustrators on this list have been honored by the Newbery Honor and Medal; the Walter Honor; the Printz Honor; the Coretta Scott King Book Award; the Ezra Jack Keats Award; the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature; the Glyph Comics Awards; the Stonewall Book Award; and the Emmy Awards.

Publishers submitted a total of 296 books for the 2022 young people’s literature category.

The judges for this one are Becky Albertalli, Joseph Bruchac, Meghan Dietsche Goel, Jewell Parker Rhodes (Chair), and Lilliam Rivera.

Young People’s Literature 2022 Longlist
Author Title Publisher / Imprint
Kelly Barnhill The Ogress and the Orphans Workman Publishing / Algonquin Young Readers
Isaac Blum The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen Penguin Random House / Philomel Books
Traci Chee A Thousand Steps into Night HarperCollins / Clarion Books
Johnnie Christmas Swim Team HarperCollins / Harper Alley
Anna-Marie McLemore Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix Macmillan / Feiwel & Friends
Sonora Reyes The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School HarperCollins / Balzer + Bray
Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, Dawud Anyabwile Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice WW Norton
Sabaa Tahir All My Rage Penguin Random House / Razorbill
Sherri Winston Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution Bloomsbury / Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Lisa Yee Maizy Chen’s Last Chance Penguin Random House / Random House for Young Readers

As always, the jury’s decisions are made independently of the National Book Foundation staff and board of directors and deliberations are strictly confidential.

This is Publishing Perspectives’ 160th report on awards-related news published in the 170 days since our 2022 operations began on January 3.

National Book Awards trophies. Image: NBA


More from Publishing Perspectives on the National Book Awards in the United States is here and more on the huge field of international book awards and prizes is here. More from us on the United States’ market is here

More from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here

About the Author

Porter Anderson

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Porter Anderson is a non-resident fellow of Trends Research & Advisory, and he has been named International Trade Press Journalist of the Year in London Book Fair's International Excellence Awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives. He formerly was Associate Editor for The FutureBook at London's The Bookseller. Anderson was for more than a decade a senior producer and anchor with CNN.com, CNN International, and CNN USA. As an arts critic (Fellow, National Critics Institute), he was with The Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, and the Tampa Tribune, now the Tampa Bay Times. He co-founded The Hot Sheet, a newsletter for authors, which now is owned and operated by Jane Friedman.