Newbery Medal, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children”. The Newbery and the Caldecott Medal are considered the two most prestigious awards for children’s literature in the United States.

Books selected are widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are interviewed on television, and master’s and doctoral theses are written on them.

Named for John Newbery, an 18th-century English publisher of juvenile books, the winner of the Newbery Medal is selected at the ALA’s Midwinter Conference by a fifteen-person committee. The Newbery was proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1921, making it the first children’s book award in the world. The physical bronze medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan and is given to the winning author at the next ALA annual conference. Since its founding there have been several changes to the composition of the selection committee, while the physical medal remains the same.

Newberry Medal Award Winners