APALA Awards: The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association, has selected the winners of the 2016 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature (APAAL). The awards promote Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and are awarded to titles published from October 2015 to September 2016 based on their literary and artistic merit. There are five categories for the Awards. Each committee selected a winning title for the category. Here are the winners of the 2016 awards in the children’s and young adult categories:
Young Adult Winner: Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee (G.P. Putnam)
Honor: Watched by Marina Budhos (Wendy Lamb Books)
Children’s Winner: The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow Books)
Honor: Momotaro Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters by Margaret Dilloway (Disney-Hyperion)
Picture Book Winner: Puddle by Hyewon Yum (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).
Amelia Bloomer Top Ten: The 2017 Amelia Bloomer Project selection committee chooses titles that celebrate feminism and women’s history. The committee selected the following titles, listed in alphabetical order by title, as their Top Ten.
Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer by Diane Stanley, illustrated by Jessie Hartland (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman) 
Balcony on the Moon by Ibtisam Barakat (Farrar Straus Giroux/Margaret Ferguson)
Becoming Unbecoming by Una (Arsenal Pulp)
Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina (Candlewick)
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston (Penguin/Dutton Books for Young Readers)
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (Abrams/Amulet)
Take It As a Compliment by Maria Stoian (Jessica Kingsley/Singing Dragon)
Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear… and Why by Sady Doyle (Melville House)
We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out by Annie E. Clark and Andrea L. Pino (Macmillan/Holt).
We Need Diverse Books™ Announces the 2017 Walter Dean Myers Award and Honorees for Outstanding Children’s Literature – Young 
Adult Category: The We Need Diverse Books™ Walter Award Judging Committee has confirmed selections for the second annual Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature – Young Adult Category. One Winner and three Honorees have been named. The Walter Dean Myers Award, also known as “The Walter” is named for prolific children’s and young adult author Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014). Myers was the third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed in 2012, as well as a champion of diversity in children’s and YA books. The Walter’s mission is to honor Myers’ memory and his literary heritage, as well as celebrate diversity in teen literature.
The winner of the 2017 Walter Award (2017) is March: Book Three by Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, with art by Nate Powell.The three honorees, in alphabetical order by author, are Watched by Marina Budhos, If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo, The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.
The 2017 Walter Award Judging Committee were: Co-chairs Kathie Weinberg and Terry Hong, Derek Ivie, Shannon Lake, Karen Lemmons, and Nayantara Mhatre.
In 2018, the Walter will be expanded to include Middle Grade titles, in addition to the existing Young Adult category. Plans to add a Picture Book category in the future are underway. The co-chairs for the 2018 Judging Committee are Terry Hong and Maria Salvadore. Kathie Weinberg and Terry Hong will assume Co-director roles for The Walter Award, effective immediately. In this capacity, they will oversee the Walter Judging Committee, coordinate with publishers, generate publicity for the Award, and present the annual Award event.
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