Children's literature · United States
The Newbery Medal
Awarded each January by the American Library Association for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, the Newbery Medal has been the standard for children's book quality since 1922. Winners 2000–2026.
Named after 18th-century English bookseller John Newbery, the Medal is chosen by a committee of librarians from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). It covers all genres — fiction, non-fiction and poetry — as long as the author is American and the book was published in the US in the previous year.
Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (2009) is the only book to have won both the Newbery Medal and the UK Carnegie Medal. Erin Entrada Kelly has won the Medal twice — in 2018 for Hello, Universe and in 2025 for The First State of Being — joining an exclusive group of two-time winners.
Winners
- 2000 Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis Find on Amazon →
- 2001 A Year Down Yonder Richard Peck Find on Amazon →
- 2002 A Single Shard Linda Sue Park Find on Amazon →
- 2003 Crispin: The Cross of Lead Avi Find on Amazon →
- 2004 The Tale of Despereaux Kate DiCamillo Find on Amazon →
- 2005 Kira-Kira Cynthia Kadohata
- 2006 Criss Cross Lynne Rae Perkins
- 2007 The Higher Power of Lucky Susan Patron
- 2008 Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Laura Amy Schlitz
- 2009 The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2010 When You Reach Me Rebecca Stead
- 2011 Moon Over Manifest Clare Vanderpool
- 2012 Dead End in Norvelt Jack Gantos
- 2013 The One and Only Ivan Katherine Applegate · more by this author
- 2014 Flora & Ulysses Kate DiCamillo
- 2015 The Crossover Kwame Alexander
- 2016 Last Stop on Market Street Matt de la Peña
- 2017 The Girl Who Drank the Moon Kelly Barnhill
- 2018 Hello, Universe Erin Entrada Kelly · more by this author
- 2019 Merci Suárez Changes Gears Meg Medina · more by this author
- 2020 New Kid Jerry Craft · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2021 When You Trap a Tiger Tae Keller · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2022 The Last Cuentista Donna Barba Higuera · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2023 Freewater Amina Luqman-Dawson · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2024 The Eyes and the Impossible Dave Eggers · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2025 The First State of Being Erin Entrada Kelly · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2026 All the Blues in the Sky Renée Watson
Years are the award year; winning books were published in the prior year. The Newbery Medal has been awarded since 1922.
Winners verified against the prize's official records. For the complete history, see the official The Newbery Medal site.
Common questions
What is the Newbery Medal?
Awarded each January by the American Library Association for the most distinguished contribution to American children's literature published in the previous year. It is the most prestigious award in American children's book publishing.
Has any author won the Newbery Medal twice?
Yes — Kate DiCamillo won in 2004 and 2014, and Erin Entrada Kelly won in 2018 and 2025, making her one of only seven authors ever to win twice.