You might find yourself having to read an award winning book for school at some time, so we thought we’d help out a bit and produce a list of award winning books (with one or two critically acclaimed almost-award-winning books), most of which (but not all) are in the Young Adults collection.

If you’re still on the lookout after browsing through here then have a look at this post, which has links to different award websites. Also, don’t forget the Classic Novels booklist.

Updated May 2020.

Recent Award Winners (2017-2020)

• The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo (Carnegie Medal 2019, YALSA Fiction Award 2019)
• Where the World Ends, Geraldine McCaughrean (Carnegie Medal 2018)
• Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys (Carnegie Medal 2017)
• Between Us, Clare Atkins (CBCA Book of the Year 2019)
• Take Three Girls, Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood, and Simmone Howell (CBCA Book of the Year 2018)
• One Would Think the Deep, Claire Zorn (CBCA Book of the Year 2017)
• Vincent and Theo, Deborah Heiligman (Golden Kite Non-fiction Award 2018, YALSA Non-fiction Award 2018)
• The Wicked King, Holly Black (Goodreads Choice Award 2019: Best YA Fantasy and Science Fiction)
• Kingdom of Ash, Sarah J. Maas (Goodreads Choice Award 2018: Best YA Fantasy and Science Fiction)
• A Court of Wings and Ruin, Sarah J. Maas (Goodreads Choice Award 2017: Best YA Fantasy and Science Fiction)
• Five Feet Apart, Rachael Lippincott (Goodreads Choice Award 2019: Best YA Fiction)
• Leah on the Offbeat, Becky Albertalli (Goodreads Choice Award 2018: Best YA Fiction)
• The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas (Goodreads Choice Award 2017: Best YA Fiction)
• The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (MAN Booker Prize 2019)
• Girl, Woman, Other, Bernadine Evaristo (MAN Booker Prize 2019)
• Milkman, Anna Burns (MAN Booker Prize 2018)
• Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders (MAN Booker Prize 2017)
• New Kid, Jerry Craft (Newbery Medal 2020)
• Book of Boy, Catherine Gilbert Murdoch (Newbery Medal 2019)
• Hello, Universe, Erin Entrada Kelly (Newbery Medal 2018)
• Legacy, Whiti Hereaka (NZ Post Book Awards YA Fiction Award 2019)
• In the Dark Spaces, Cally Black (NZ Post Book Awards YA Fiction Award 2018)
• The Severed Land, Maurice Gee (NZ Post Book Awards YA Fiction Award 2017)
• This Mortal Boy, Fiona Kidman (Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2019)
• The New Animals, Pip Adam (Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2018)
• The Wish Child, Catherine Chidgey (Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2017)
• Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2020)
• The Overstory, Richard Powers (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2019)
• Less, Andrew Sean Greer (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2018)
• Goodbye Perfect, Sara Barnard (YA Bookprize 2019)
• After the Fire, Will Hill (YA Bookprize 2018)
• Orangeboy, Patrice Lawrence (YA Bookprize 2017)
• Free Lunch, Rex Ogle (YALSA Non-fiction Award 2020)
• Dig, A. S. King (YALSA Fiction Award 2020)
• We Are Okay, Nina LaCour (YALSA Fiction Award 2018)

Assorted Historical Award Winners (1985-2016)

• Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, 2004)
• Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood (shortlisted for the MAN Booker Prize, 2003)
• Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi (Printz Award, 2011)
• Swamplandia!, Karen Russell (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, 2012 – a year in which no one won the Fiction category)
• Going Bovine, Libba Bray (Printz Award, 2010)
• Postcards from No Man’s Land, Aidan Chambers (Carnegie Medal, 1999)
• The 10 pm Question, Kate De Goldi (NZ Post Children’s Book Awards, 2009, New Zealand author)
• The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate (Newbery Medal, 2013)
• Bog Child, Siobhan Dowd (Carnegie Medal, 2009)
• Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Roddy Doyle (MAN Booker Prize, 1993)
• The Dead I Know, Scot Gardner (The Children’s Book Council of Australia, 2012)
• Tu, Patricia Grace (Deutz Medal for Fiction, New Zealand Book Awards, 2005, Grace also won the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2008)
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Mark Haddon (Guardian Book Award, 2003)
• The Bone People, Keri Hulme (MAN Booker Prize, 1985)
• The Round House, Louise Erdrich (Young Adult Library Services Association Alex Award, 2013)
• Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones (Montana Medal for Fiction, New Zealand Book Awards, 2007)
• A visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan (The Pulitzer Prize, 2011)
• On the Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta (Printz Award, 2009)
• Life of Pi, Yann Martel (MAN Booker Prize, 2002)
• The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness (Guardian Book Award, 2009)
• The Tiger’s Wife, Téa Obreht (Orange Prize, 2011)
• Vernon God Little, D B C Pierre (MAN Booker Prize, 2003)
• Northern Lights, Philip Pullman (Guardian Book Award, 1996, Carnegie Medal)
• How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff (Printz Award, 2005, Guardian Book Award)
• White Teeth, Zadie Smith (Whitbread Book Award, 2000)
• Pure, Julianna Baggott (Young Adult Library Services Association Alex Award, 2013)