The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and SLJ announced the inaugural BCALA Children and Youth Literary Awards winners. The awards honor "phenomenal works of fiction and nonfiction by Black authors" in four categories: first novelist, fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novel.

The winners:

First novelist: A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée (Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins)

Fiction: Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins)

Nonfiction: The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth edited by Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson (Yearling/Penguin Random House)

Graphic Novel: Twins by Varian Johnson, illus. by Shannon Wright (Scholastic/Graphix)

One Honor Book was named for each category:

First Novelist: Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel, illus. by Shane W. Evans (Puffin Books)
Fiction: I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illus. by Gordon C. James (Nancy Paulsen Books)
Nonfiction: Brave. Black. First. 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World by Cheryl Hudson, illus. by Erin K. Robinson (Crown Books for Young Readers)
Graphic Novel: Nubia: Real One by L. L. McKinney, illus. by Robyn Smith (DC Comics)

The titles were selected by the members of the BCALA Children and Youth Literary Awards committee: K.C. Boyd (District of Columbia Public Schools); Tamela Chambers (Chicago Public Library); Donna Gray (New York City School Library System); Karen Lemmons (Detroit Public Schools); Mariel Matthews (New York Public Library); Cherese McKnight (District of Columbia Public Schools); Stacey Nunn (Baltimore County Public Schools).

The recipients will receive their awards during the National Conference of African American Librarians in 2021.