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Literature Award Guidelines & Submissions

Goal

The goal is to honor and recognize individual works of Asian/Pacific American experiences (either historical or contemporary) and/or Asian/Pacific American cultures by Asian/Pacific Islander American authors and illustrators.

Award

Winners of the Awards will be announced during LibLearnX 2025 on the APALA website and listserv. The Awards for the Youth Categories will be announced at the 2025 LibLearnX Youth Media Award Ceremony in Phoenix, AZ. Winners of the APALA Literature Award will receive a plaque during the 2025 American Library Association Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA.

Eligible Works

  1. Eligible work must have had premier publication from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024 and must have been published for general commercial release in the U.S. or Canada.
  2. The five award categories are:
    • Adult Fiction
    • Adult Nonfiction
    • Young Adult/Youth Literature
    • Children’s Literature
    • Picture Books
  3. Works must be related to Asian/Pacific Islander (API) American or API Canadian experiences or Asian/Pacific American or Asian/Pacific Canadian cultures.
  4. Works must be written and illustrated by creators of Asian American, Asian Canadian or Pasifika heritage. Creators should have resident status in either the United States or Canada. In the Picture Book category, if the illustrator is not of Asian American, Asian Canadian or Pasifika heritage, the book is ineligible for consideration.
  5. If the work is written by more than one author, at least one of the authors must be of Asian American, Asian Canadian or Pasifika heritage.
  6. Works must have been published in the United States or one of its territories or Canada. Self-published works and exclusive Internet publications are not eligible.
  7. For fiction titles, anthologies or books containing the work of more than one author are not eligible, unless all contributors are of API American or API Canadian heritage.
  8. Works must be originally written in English.
  9. Works that have previously won other prizes or recognition are eligible.
  10. If no books are found to meet the selection criteria, no award will be given.
  11. Poetry and Graphic Novels will be eligible for consideration in Adult Fiction, Young Adult/Youth or Children’s Literature: please determine which committee is appropriate to submit.

Entry of Works

    1. Titles for consideration may be suggested via the online submission form by August 31, 2024. Entries that are created by and highlight the experiences of underrepresented Asian American and Pacifika communities are especially encouraged.
    2. Publishers should send a review copy to each of the jury members of the appropriate category, as well as the Award Administration Committee co-chairs (Candice Mack & Zoë McLaughlin). Email litawards[at]apalaweb.org for the jury and committee rosters.
    1. For fullest consideration, review copies must be received by September 30, 2024 to be considered for the awards announced at LibLearnX in January 2025.
    2. APALA’s Literature Award Committee is not responsible for lost submissions.
    3. APALA’s Literature Award Committee has the right to determine the eligibility of a particular work.
    4. An author, publisher, publicist or agent may submit more than one entry per author, but no more than one entry per work.
    5. Currently, self-published titles are not eligible for the award and for privacy reasons, we do not share our volunteer jury members’ contact information with creators directly.

Please note that review copies will not be returned.

For questions related to the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature, contact litawards[at]apalaweb.org