The National Book Awards has revealed the longlist for its prize for young people’s literature.
Randy Ribay, a finalist for the 2019 prize for Patron Saints of Nothing, was nominated this year for his novel Everything We Never Had. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus praised the book as “a powerful and moving family saga.”
Five of the ten longlisted titles this year are books in verse: Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole, Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Wild Dreamers by Margarita Engle, The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté, and Mid Air, written by Alicia D. Williams and illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff.
Also nominated for this year’s prize are Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan, The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Josh Galarza, The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly, and Free Period by Ali Terese.
“Through fiction, nonfiction, and novels-in-verse, the protagonists of the 2024 YPL Longlisted titles traverse societal, familial, and individual expectations, and teach young readers the importance of self-love and forgiveness,” the National Book Foundation said in a news release.
The shortlist for the award will be revealed on Oct. 1, with the winners announced at a ceremony in New York on Nov. 20.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
