Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
Awarded forBest young adult science fiction or fantasy book
Presented byWorld Science Fiction Society
First awarded2018
Most recent winnerNnedi Okorafor (Akata Woman)

The Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book is an award given annually to a book published for young adult readers in the field of science fiction or fantasy.[1] The name of the award was chosen because a lodestar is "a star that guides or leads, especially in navigation, where it is the sole reliable source of light—the star that leads those in uncharted waters to safety".[2] The nomination and selection process is administered by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), and the award is presented at the Hugo Award ceremony at the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, although it is not itself a Hugo Award.[1]

Lodestar Award nominees and winners, using the same procedures as the Hugo Awards, are chosen by supporting or attending members of the Worldcon, and the presentation evening constitutes its central event. The final selection process is defined in the WSFS Constitution as instant-runoff voting with six nominees, except in the case of a tie. The books on the ballot are the six most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on the number of books that can be nominated. Initial nominations are made by members from January through March, while voting on the ballot of six nominations is performed roughly from April through July, depending on the dates of that year's Worldcon.[3] Worldcons are generally held in August or early September, and are held in a different city around the world each year.[4][5]

Prior to the creation of the award, unsuccessful attempts had been made to add a Best Young Adult Book or similar category to the Hugo Awards, leading to the creation of a WSFS committee in 2014 to make recommendations on the issue. The committee concluded in 2017 that opposition to the category was largely due to its nature as a type of story rather than a format, like the other categories, and proposed making it a named non-Hugo award instead.[2] This proposal was agreed upon by the WSFS members. The award was created and named in separate amendments to the WSFS constitution, in 2017[6] and 2018[1] respectively, so it did not have a formal name in its inaugural year, and was referred to as the World Science Fiction Society Award for Best Young Adult Book.[7]

In the six years the award has been given, 23 authors have had works nominated. Nnedi Okorafor has won twice, in 2018 and 2023. Each other year has seen a different winner: the 2019 award by Tomi Adeyemi, the 2020 award by Naomi Kritzer, the 2021 award by Ursula Vernon under the alias T. Kingfisher, and the 2022 award by Naomi Novik. Novik and Vernon (as Kingfisher) have had works nominated three times, and nine other authors have been nominated twice.

Winners and finalists

In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the novel was first published. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature". Entries with a blue background have won the award; those with a white background are the finalists.

  *   Winners

Winners and nominees
Year Author(s) Title Publisher Ref.
2018 Nnedi Okorafor*Akata WarriorViking Press [8]
Ursula Vernon (as T. Kingfisher)Summer in OrcusSofawolf Press [8]
Sarah Rees BrennanIn Other LandsBig Mouth House [8]
Frances HardingeA Skinful of ShadowsMacmillan Publishers / Harry N. Abrams [8]
Sam J. MillerThe Art of StarvingHarperTeen [8]
Philip PullmanThe Book of Dust: La Belle SauvageAlfred A. Knopf [8]
2019 Tomi Adeyemi*Children of Blood and BoneHenry Holt and Company / Macmillan Publishers [9]
Holly BlackThe Cruel PrinceLittle, Brown and Company / Hot Key Books [9]
Dhonielle ClaytonThe BellesFreeform / Gollancz [9]
Rachel HartmanTess of the RoadRandom House / Penguin Teen [9]
Justina IrelandDread NationBalzer + Bray [9]
Peadar Ó GuilínThe InvasionDavid Fickling Books / Scholastic [9]
2020 Naomi Kritzer*Catfishing on CatNetTor Teen [10]
Frances HardingeDeeplightMacmillan Publishers [10]
Yoon Ha LeeDragon PearlDisney/Hyperion [10]
Ursula Vernon (as T. Kingfisher)Minor MageArgyll Productions [10]
Fran WildeRiverlandAmulet Books [10]
Holly BlackThe Wicked KingLittle, Brown and Company / Hot Key Books [10]
2021 Ursula Vernon (as T. Kingfisher)*A Wizard's Guide to Defensive BakingArgyll Productions [11]
Aiden ThomasCemetery BoysSwoon Reads [11]
Naomi NovikA Deadly EducationDel Rey Books [11]
Darcie Little BadgerElatsoeLevine Querido [11]
Tracy DeonnLegendbornSimon & Schuster Children's Publishing [11]
Jordan IfuekoRaybearerAmulet Books / Hot Key Books [11]
2022 Naomi Novik*The Last GraduateDel Rey Books [12]
Naomi KritzerChaos on CatNetTor Teen [12]
Xiran Jay ZhaoIron WidowPenguin Teen / Rock the Boat [12]
Jordan IfuekoRedemptorAmulet Books / Hot Key Books [12]
Darcie Little BadgerA Snake Falls to EarthLevine Querido [12]
Charlie Jane AndersVictories Greater Than DeathTor Teen / Titan Books [12]
2023 Nnedi Okorafor*Akata WomanViking Books for Young Readers [13]
Tracy DeonnBloodmarked Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers [13]
Charlie Jane AndersDreams Bigger Than HeartbreakTor Teen / Titan Books [13]
Naomi NovikThe Golden EnclavesDel Rey Books [13]
Rachel HartmanIn the Serpent's WakeRandom House Books for Young Readers [13]
Catherynne M. ValenteOsmo Unknown and the Eightpenny WoodsMargaret K. McElderry Books [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Constitution of the World Science Fiction Society, as of August 21, 2018" (PDF). World Science Fiction Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  2. 1 2 "The Complete YA Award Study Committee Report" (PDF). Worldcon 75. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  3. ↑ "The Hugo Awards: Introduction". World Science Fiction Society. 2007-07-18. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  4. ↑ "The Locus index to SF Awards: About the Hugo Awards". Locus. Oakland, California: Locus. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  5. ↑ "World Science Fiction Society / Worldcon". World Science Fiction Society. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  6. ↑ "Constitution of the World Science Fiction Society, as of August 22, 2017" (PDF). World Science Fiction Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  7. ↑ "2018 Hugo Winners Announced". Worldcon 76. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2018 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2018-03-15. Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2019 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2019-09-18. Archived from the original on 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2020 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2020-04-07. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2021 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2021-12-18. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2022 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2022-09-04. Archived from the original on 2022-09-05. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2023 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2023-07-06. Archived from the original on 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
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