Jan. 25, 2024                           

  New York Times bestselling author Raina Telgemeier is the winner of the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2024 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature. She will accept the award at a public presentation on Friday, May 3 at 6 p.m. at Central Library, Fifth Street and Denver Avenue. She also will present awards to winners of the 2024 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest at the ceremony.

  Raina Telgemeier is the author of the Eisner Award winning and New York Times bestselling graphic novels “Smile,” “Sisters,” “Ghosts” and “Guts,” and the Stonewall Honor Book “Drama.” Her trademark drawing style and the semi-autobiographical nature of her works, from braces to sibling rivalry, resonate with young readers across America. She also is known for her illustrated renditions of Ann M. Martin's “Baby-Sitters Club” books. Copies of her books are available through the library’s catalog at www.tulsalibrary.org.

   The Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature gives formal recognition, on behalf of the Tulsa County community, to a nationally acclaimed author who has made a significant contribution to the field of literature for young adults. The award, presented by the Tulsa Library Trust and Tulsa City-County Library, consists of a $10,000 cash prize and an engraved crystal book. 

   Past winners include: Steve Sheinkin (2023), Nikki Grimes (2022), Jason Reynolds (2021), Katherine Applegate (2020), Rita Williams-Garcia (2019), Pam Muñoz Ryan (2018), Laurie Halse Anderson (2017), Gordon Korman (2016), Sharon Draper (2015), Jack Gantos (2014), Jim Murphy (2013), Jacqueline Woodson (2012), Kathryn Lasky (2011), Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2010), Christopher Paul Curtis (2009), Louis Sachar (2008), Kate DiCamillo (2007), Sharon Creech (2006), Avi (2005), Susan Cooper (2004), Russell Freedman (2003), Richard Peck (2002), E.L. Konigsburg (2001), Jerry Spinelli (2000), Jane Yolen (1999), Cynthia Voigt (1998), Gary Paulsen (1997), Walter Dean Myers (1996), Lois Lowry (1994), Katherine Paterson (1993), Madeleine L’Engle (1992) and S.E. Hinton (1991).

   For more information on the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature or library programming, call the AskUs Hotline at 918-549-7323 or visit the library’s website, www.tulsalibrary.org.

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