You may have heard of many changes within the American Library Association (ALA), in particular changes brought about by the reunification of ALSC and YALSA, but some things will remain the same, and one of these is the ALA Youth Media Awards (YMA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Each year the ALA honors and celebrates books, videos, and other outstanding materials published in the preceding year for children and teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Globally recognized worldwide for quality, this admired and respected event celebrates the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Sibert, Pura Belpr\u00e9, and Coretta Scott King Book Awards, and more. These awards guide parents, educators, librarians, and others in selecting the best materials for young readers. The number of mock awards<\/a> held at school and public libraries, discussion groups, book clubs, and publishers\u2019 or institutions\u2019 \u201cbest books\u201d predictions make clear how anticipated this event has become. The awards change the lives of authors, illustrators, translators, and all involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2026 YMA is scheduled to be held on Monday, January 26, at 10 a.m. Central Time (CT). This year, the YMA announcement will take place at the Chicago Hilton Hotel (720 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60605). Livestream coverage will be available at ala.unikron.com<\/a> and on the ALA Facebook page. No registration is required to view the livestream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, attendance is free and open to the public with registration required for in-person attendance; the deadline for free registration is January 21st. The in-person attendance is designed to promote the event to local libraries, bookstores, schools, and literacy\/literature adjacent organizations. Registration is necessary for an accurate attendance count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In closing, I always look forward to the YMA! The YMA is one of the highpoints in my world. I love it and everything about it! When attending in-person, I love the energy of the audience, the screams, the tears, and the applause. I have also attended watch parties via Zoom with my award committee members and at the school site with teachers and students, and you get the same feeling and response as if you were attending in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone shares favorites. Let me hear about your favorite picks and your 2026 YMA experience. And remember: when we celebrate the Youth Media Awards, we are celebrating the work we do connecting young people with literature. Hooray! #ALSCJOY<\/p>\n\n\n\n