Librarians Name The Best YA Nonfiction and Debut Novels of 2024
Every December, members of the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) build excitement over the best in YA books of the year by announcing a short list of finalists for two awards that will be given in January.
The first is the William C. Morris Award honoring the best debut novel in a given year. The Morris Award considers several criteria in making their short list of finalists and choosing their ultimate winner. Among those are promise that the author shows in their career, as well as its appeal to teen readers–it is one of the few awards where this factor is considered. It was first awarded in 2009 to A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce.
The second is the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, which shines light on the strongest nonfiction books published in a year for teen readers. It was first given in 2010 to Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman.
Both the Morris Award and Excellence in Nonfiction Awards honor up to five titles in a year, though the committees may choose to select fewer. Those titles are shared in early December and both lists of finalists for the 2025 award were announced Friday, December 6.
Here are this year’s finalists for the Morris Award:
- Aisle Nine by Ian X. Cho
- Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley
- Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo
- Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta
- The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin
“The 2025 Morris Committee thoroughly enjoyed the journey of seeking out the newest debut novels of this year while determining which titles best met the award criteria,” said Jessica Lorentz Smith, chair of the 2025 William C. Morris Award Committee in a press release. “The reading had us laughing, crying, and asking questions while celebrating the challenge of creating a list of just five incredible titles. The work is so rewarding for all of us library professionals.”
Here are this year’s finalists for the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award:
- A Greater Goal: The Epic Battle for Equal Pay in Women’s Soccer—and Beyond by Elizabeth Rusch
- Homebody by Theo Parish
- Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire by Paula Yoo (listen to our interview with Yoo about the book and about YA nonfiction more broadly)
- Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away by Candy J Cooper
- The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté
“This year’s choices reflect the range of important topics being discussed in YA nonfiction, as well as the innovative formats being used to highlight essential stories, experiences, and voices,” said committee chair Erica Schimmel in a press release. “The committee was impressed and moved by these impactful stories and the authors’ engaging storytelling.”
Winners will be announced at the Youth Media Awards, held during the American Library Association’s LibLearnX (formerly Midwinter) event on January 27, 2025. The event will be live streamed, with information about that coming closer to the event. In addition to the announcement of the winner of the Morris and Excellence in Nonfiction Award, the Youth Media Awards will honor the best YA book published in 2024 with the Printz Award, as well as celebrate dozens of other award winning books and audiobooks for YA, middle grade, and children’s books.
If you’re looking to catch up on some of the best YA for 2024, treat yourself to any or all of the finalists on these short lists.
