A note about categories:
Periodically as a book awards program we add, remove, and alter categories to reflect changes in the collective culture. You will note we have removed the "Culture" and "Multicultural" specific categories. As an award focused on children and young adult readers we have always sought to find exceptional books highlighting stories that ALL readers can relate to. For a time, the focus was brought to some titles by creating special categories. We are removing those categories, but want to be clear it is because we will look for that representation in all categories now.
General Categories
- Board Book/Cloth Book
- Alphabet/Counting Book
- Book Arts/Pop-up/Cut-out
- Activity Book 1 – Games, Arts & Crafts, etc.
- Activity Book 2 – Educational, Science, History
- Best Illustrator
- Picture Book – Preschool
- Picture Book – 4-8 Year Old
- Picture Book – All Ages
- Juvenile Fiction – Early Reader/1st Chapter books
- Pre-Teen Fiction – General
- Pre-Teen Fiction – Fantasy
- Pre-Teen Fiction – Mystery
- Pre-Teen Fiction – Historical
- Pre-Teen Fiction – Mature Issues
- Young Adult Fiction – General
- Young Adult Fiction – Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Young Adult Fiction – Horror/Mystery
- Young Adult Fiction – Historical
- Young Adult Fiction – Mature Issues
- Fiction – Religion/Spirituality
- Children’s Poetry
- Non-Fiction – Picture Book
- Non-Fiction – Chapter Book
- Animals/Pets - Fiction
- Animals/Pets - Non-Fiction
- Social Activism
- Comic/Graphic Novel
- Religion/Spirituality
- Holiday
- Book with Merchandise (plush toy, etc.)
- Spanish Language Book
- Environmental Issues
- Health Issues
- Mind-Body-Spirit/Self-Esteem
- Best First Book – Picture Book
- Best First Book – Chapter Book
- Best Book by Youth Author (under 18)
- Best Book Series – Picture Book
- Best Book Series – Chapter Book
- Best Book Series – Non-Fiction
(note: Book Series category submissions require two or more volumes per series, and one volume's copyright/release date must fall within the 2021-2023 timeframe)
E-Book Categories
E1. Children’s Picture Book
E2. Picture Book – Enhanced *
E3. Pre-Teen Fiction
E4. Young Adult Fiction
*Enhanced E-Books are those including embedded audio, video, animations, etc.