The 2017 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winners Announced

Today, The Horn Book, Inc. and The Boston Globe announced the 2017 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winners. First presented in 1967-fifty years ago this year-the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the field of children's and young adult literature.

A winner and two honor books were selected in each of three categories: Nonfiction, Picture Book, and Fiction and Poetry.

Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton remarked, "I'm thrilled to see literary lions like Ashley Bryan, Nikki Grimes, and Richard Peck joined by new kid Angie Thomas and other talented book creators at various points in flourishing careers. The BGHB winners are always a surprise to me, but I wonder if this year's judges were snooping into my dreams, because I love all of these choices."

"For 50 years The Boston Globe has partnered with The Horn Book to honor outstanding authors and illustrators in the field of children's and young adult literature," said Linda Henry, Boston Globe Managing Director. "These authors and illustrators inspire readers with their stories and transport them to far-away places with their illustrations. We congratulate this year's winners and honorees for their artistic talent, and celebrate the contributions they've made to the literary community."

NONFICTION AWARD WINNER:
Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman (Godwin Books/Henry Holt/Macmillan)

NONFICTION HONOR BOOKS:
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan)

Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

PICTURE BOOK AWARD WINNER:
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life written and illustrated by Ashley Bryan (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)

PICTURE BOOK HONOR BOOKS:
Wolf in the Snow written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan)

Town Is by the Sea written by Joanne Schwartz, illustrated by Sydney Smith (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press)

FICTION AND POETRY AWARD WINNER:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)

FICTION AND POETRY HONOR BOOKS:
One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance written by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by various artists (Bloomsbury Publishing)

The Best Man by Richard Peck (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers/Penguin Random House)

The awards are chosen by an independent panel of three judges appointed by Horn Book Editor in Chief Roger Sutton. The 2017 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards judges are: chair Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Pauletta B. Bracy, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina; and Sheila M. Geraty, Brookwood School, Manchester, Massachusetts. The winning titles must be published in the United States, but they may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country.

The awards will be given at the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards ceremony on Friday, October 6, 2017, at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. The event-marking fifty years of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards-begins with speeches by the awardees, followed by an autographing session and celebratory evening reception. The following day, Saturday, October 7, The Horn Book at Simmons Colloquium: Resistance: Children's Books in Troubled Times, features the award winners and honorees in talks, panel discussions, and small-group sessions, offering librarians, educators, and children's literature professionals a chance to examine critical issues relevant to children's and young adult literature.

About Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC
Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC, provides news and information, entertainment, opinion and analysis through its multimedia properties. BGMP includes the Boston Globe, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, Cruxnow.com, BetaBoston.com, and Globe Direct.

About The Horn Book, Inc.
First published in 1924, The Horn Book Magazine provides its readership with in-depth reviews of the best new books for children and young adults as well as features, articles, and editorials. The Horn Book Guide, published twice annually, provides comprehensive reviews and a numerical rating for every hardcover children's book published in the United States during the previous publishing season. The Horn Book Magazine, Guide, and Guide Online are publications of Media Source, Inc., which is also the parent company of Library Journal, School Library Journal, and the Junior Library Guild.

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