The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
Winners
2023
Author Amina Luqman-Dawson Freewater
Illustrator Frank Morrison Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual, written by Carole Boston Weatherford
New Talent Author Jas HammondsWe Deserve Monuments
New Talent Illustrator Janelle Washington Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement, written by Angela Joy
2022
Author Carole Boston Weatherford Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
Illustrator Carole Boston Weatherford Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
New Talent Amber McBride Me (Moth)
2021
Author Jacqueline Woodson Before the Ever After
Illustrator Frank Morrison R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul
New Talent Tracy Deonn Legendborn
2020
Author Jerry Craft New Kid
Illustrator Kadir Nelson The Undefeated
New Talent Alicia D. Williams Genesis Begins Again
2019
Author Claire Hartfield A Few Red Drops
Illustrator Ekua Holmes The Stuff of Stars
New Talent Tiffany D. Jackson Monday's Not Coming
2018
Author Renée Watson Piecing Me Together
Illustrator Ekua Holmes Out of Wonder
New Talent David Barclay Moore The Stars Beneath Our Feet
2017
Author Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin March: Book Three
Illustrator Javaka Steptoe Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
New Talent Nicola Yoon The Sun is Also a Star
2016
Author Rita Williams-Garcia Gone Crazy in Alabama
Illustrator Bryan Collier Trombone Shorty
New Talent Ronald L. Smith Hoodoo Ekua Holmes Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
2015
Author Jacqueline Woodson brown girl dreaming
Illustrator Christopher Myers Firebird
New Talent Jason Reynolds When I Was the Greatest
2014
Author Rita Williams-Garcia P.S. Be Eleven
Illustrator Bryan Collier Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me
New Talent Theodore Taylor III When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop
2013
Author Andrea Davis Pinkney Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America
Illustrator Bryan Collier I, Too, Am America
New Talent no award presented
2012
Author Kadir Nelson Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
Illustrator Shane W. Evans Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom
New Talent no award presented
2011
Author Rita Williams-Garcia One Crazy Summer
Illustrator Bryan Collier Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
New Talent Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon Zora and Me Sonia Lynn Sadler Seeds of Change
2010
Author Vaunda Micheaux Nelson Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
Illustrator Charles R. Smith, Jr. My People
New Talent Kekla Magoon The Rock and the River
Click here to see the whole list