On Thursday, May 31, 2018, Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton and Boston Globe Foundation president Emily Procknal announced the 2018 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners. If you missed the Facebook Live stream (or if you just want to relive the excitement!), you can watch the archived video here:

Congratulations to all of the winners and honorees!

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THE 2018 BOSTON GLOBE–HORN BOOK AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Prestigious Program Honors Excellence in Literature for Children and Young Adults

BOSTON, MA, and New York, NY —May 31, 2018 — Today The Horn Book, Inc., and The Boston Globe announced the 2018 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners. First presented in 1967, these awards are among the most prestigious honors in the field of children’s and young adult literature.

A winner and two honor books were selected in three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction. The winning titles must be published in the United States but may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country.

“Now this is diversity with a small and capital D!,” said Roger Sutton, editor in chief, The Horn Book, Inc. “I’d like to thank the judges for their discriminating choices and commitment to finding ‘excellence’ — the only criterion used by the BGHB Awards — among the vast number of nominations.”

“Since 1956, The Boston Globe has been proud to partner with The Horn Book, Inc., to honor accomplished authors and illustrators of children’s and young adult literature,” said Linda Henry, managing director, The Boston Globe. “The stories shared with us this year have captivated our imaginations and inspired us to find our voices. We congratulate each of the award winners and honorees on receiving this well-deserved recognition and thank them for sharing their talents.”

Announced today by Sutton and Emily Procknal, president of the Boston Globe Foundation, the 2018 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners are:



PICTURE BOOK AWARD WINNER:

They Say Blue written and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (Abrams)

Read The Horn Book's review.

FICTION AND POETRY AWARD WINNER:

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (HarperTeen)

Read The Horn Book's review.

NONFICTION AWARD WINNER:

Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Peña (Getty)

Read The Horn Book's review.

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PICTURE BOOK HONOR BOOKS:

• When’s My Birthday? by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Christian Robinson (Porter/Roaring Brook)


• A Different Pond by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui (Capstone)

Read The Horn Book's reviews.

FICTION AND POETRY HONOR BOOKS:

• The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson (Levine/Scholastic)


• The First Rule of Punk written and illustrated by Celia C. Pérez (Viking)

Read The Horn Book's reviews.

NONFICTION HONOR BOOKS:

• A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars by Seth Fishman, illustrated by Isabel Greenberg (Greenwillow)


• The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater (Farrar)

Read The Horn Book's reviews.

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The awards are chosen by an independent panel of three judges appointed by Sutton. The 2018 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards judges are: chair Katie Bircher, associate editor, The Horn Book, Inc.; Minh Lê, children’s book author and reviewer, Takoma Park, MD; and Liz Phipps Soeiro, school librarian, Cambridgeport Elementary School, and founder of the Cambridge Book Bike, Cambridge, MA.

Authors will receive their awards at the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards ceremony on Friday, October 5, 2018, at Simmons College in Boston. The event will feature speeches by the awardees, an autographing session, and celebratory evening reception.

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About The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe, winner of twenty-six Pulitzer Prizes, is New England’s largest news organization, providing more news, analysis, and information about community events, sports, and entertainment than any other local media.

About The Horn Book, Inc.
First published in 1924, The Horn Book Magazine provides its readership with in-depth reviews of the best new books for children and young adults as well as features, articles, and editorials. The Horn Book Guide, published twice annually, provides comprehensive reviews and a numerical rating for every hardcover children’s book published in the United States during the previous publishing season. The Horn Book Magazine, Guide, and Guide Online are publications of Media Source, Inc., which is also the parent company of Library Journal, School Library Journal, and the Junior Library Guild. For more information, visit hbook.com.

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The 2018 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners and honors were announced via Facebook Live on May 31st, 2018. For reviews of the picture book and fiction winners and more, click on the tag BGHB18.