YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction
annual literary award for non-fiction books for young adults
The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, established in 2010, is an annual literary award presented by the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association that "honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18)". It was first given in 2010. The award is announced at ALA's Midwinter Meeting.
The judges select nonfiction titles published for young adults that were published the previous year between November 1 and October 31. All print forms that are marked as intended for young adults are eligible for consideration, including graphic formats. To be eligible, "the title must include excellent writing, research, presentation and readability for young adults." The Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award is one of few that recognizes nonfiction for young adults.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction” is annual literary award for non-fiction books for young adults. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through YALSA, Award and Excellence, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “annual literary award for non-fiction books for young adults” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17102813. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2010.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction primary sources, YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction archive and YALSA research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.