The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are now an officially recognized ALA award.
2017 Author Award Winner:
March Book: Three
by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell
Also: Cybils Award Winners
Also: Michael L. Printz Award Winners
Also: National Book Award Young People's Literature Winners
2016 Author Award Winner:
Gone Crazy in Alabama
by Rita Williams-Garcia
2015 Author Award Winner:
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
Also: National Book Award Young People's Literature Winners
2014 Author Award Winner:
P.S. Be Eleven
by Rita Williams-Garcia
2013 Author Award Winner:
Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
2012 Author Award Winner:
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
by Kadir Nelson
2011 Author Award Winner:
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Also: New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2010
2010 Author Award Winner:
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
2009 Author Award Winner:
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
by Kadir Nelson
2008 Author Award Winner:
Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
2007 Author Award Winner:
Copper Sun
by Sharon Draper
2006 Author Award Winner:
Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue
by Julius Lester
2005 Author Award Winner:
Remember: The Journey to School Integration
by Toni Morrison
2004 Author Award Winner:
The First Part Last
by Angela Johnson
2003 Author Award Winner:
Bronx Masquerade
by Nikki Grimes
2002 Author Award Winner:
The Land
by Mildred Taylor
2001 Author Award Winner:
Miracle’s Boys
by Jacqueline Woodson
2000 Author Award Winner:
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis,
1999 Author Award Winner:
Heaven
by Angela Johnson
1998 Author Award Winner:
Forged by Fire
by Sharon M. Draper
1997 Author Award Winner:
Slam
by Walter Dean Myers
1996 Author Award Winner:
Her Stories
by Virginia Hamilton
1995 Author Award Winner:
Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters
by Patricia C. & Frederick L. McKissack
1994 Author Award Winner:
Toning the Sweep
by Angela Johnson
1993 Author Award Winner:
The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural
by Patricia C. McKissack
1992 Author Award Winner:
Now is Your Time: The African American Struggle for Freedom
by Walter Dean Myers
1991 Author Award Winner:
The Road to Memphis
by Mildred D. Taylor
1990 Author Award Winner:
A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter
by Patricia C. & Frederick L. McKissack
1989 Author Award Winner:
Fallen Angels
by Walter Dean Myers
1988 Author Award Winner:
The Friendship
by Mildred D. Taylor
Also: Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children's Literature
1987 Author Award Winner:
Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World
by Mildred Pitts Walter
1986 Author Award Winner:
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales
by Virginia Hamilton
1985 Author Award Winner:
Motown and Didi
by Walter Dean Myers
1984 Author Award Winner:
Everett Anderson’s Goodbye
by Lucille Clifton
1983 Author Award Winner:
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
by Virginia Hamilton
Also: Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children's Literature
1982 Author Award Winner:
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
by Mildred D. Taylor
1981 Author Award Winner:
This Life
by Sidney Poitier
1980 Author Award Winner:
The Young Landlords
by Walter Dean Myers
1979 Author Award Winner:
Escape to Freedom
by Ossie Davis
1978 Author Award Winner:
Africa Dream
by Eloise Greenfield
1977 Author Award Winner:
The Story of Stevie Wonder
by James Haskins
1976 Author Award Winner:
Duey’s Tale
by Pearl Bailey
1975 Author Award Winner:
The Legend of Africana
by Dorothy Robinson
1974 Author Award Winner:
Ray Charles
by Sharon Bell Mathis
1973 Author Award Winner:
I Never Had it Made: The Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
by Jackie Robinson and Alfred Duckett
1972 Author Award Winner:
17 Black Artists
by Elton C. Fax
1971 Author Award Winner:
Black Troubador: Langston Hughes
by Charlemae Rollins
1970 Author Award Winner:
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace
by Lillie Patterson