Explore award-winning books with this reading challenge for all ages! Read one book from three different award lists to earn a special prize from our sponsor, Picket Fence.

Wondering where to start? Consider exploring books that have won the prestigious awards listed below, or find another award that piques your interest. Click on an award title for more info and winning books.

Adult Awards

General Awards

Audie Awards—Spoken word, audiobook narration, and audiodrama

Booker Prize—Literary fiction

Carnegie Medals for Excellence—Fiction and nonfiction

National Book Award—American fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people’s literature, and translated literature

Pulitzer Prize—Public service and achievement in American literature

Genre Awards

Bram Stoker—Horror

Edgar Awards—Mystery fiction and nonfiction

Hugo Awards—Science fiction and fantasy

Romantic Novel Awards—Romantic fiction

Spur—Distinguished writing about the American West

Stonewall Book Award—Works of exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQ+ experience

Young Adult Awards

Awarded by the American Library Association

Morris Award—First-time author

Printz Award—Young Adult literature

YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction—Nonfiction

Awarded by Illinois Students

Lincoln Award—Voted most outstanding by Illinois students in grades 9-12

Young Adult and Children’s Awards

Awarded by the American Library Association

Coretta Scott King Award—African American authors and illustrators

National Book Award—American fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people’s literature, and translated literature

Odyssey Award—Audiobook

Pura Belpré Award—Latino/Latina writers and illustrators

Schneider Family Book Award—Author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience

Stonewall Book Award—Works of exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQ+ experience

Children’s Awards

Awarded by the American Library Association

Caldecott Medal—Illustrator of American picture book for children

Geisel Award—Author(s) and illustrator(s) of American book for beginning readers

Newbery Medal—American literature for children

Awarded by Illinois Students

Given annually to an author and/or illustrator of a book voted as their favorite by participating children in the state of Illinois.

Monarch Awards—Voted favorite by Illinois students in grades K-3

Bluestem Awards—Voted favorite by Illinois students in grades 3-5

Rebecca Caudill—Voted favorite by Illinois students in grades 4-8