Top row (left to right): Amy Sarig King, Laurie Halse Anderson, Ann Bausum; second row: Elizabeth Acevedo, Molly Beth Griffin, Kate Messner; third row: Randa Abdel-Fattah, Roberto Piumini, Sandhya Prabhat

Finalists for the 2027 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, sponsored by World Literature Today, were announced today at the University of Oklahoma. The NSK Neustadt Prize is one of the most prestigious international children’s and young adult literary awards given in the United States.

A distinguished jury of peers selects the finalists based solely on literary or artistic merit, either over a lifetime or in a single publication. Nominees are also distinguished for having an ongoing, positive impact on children’s or young adult literature. 

The finalists for the 2027 NSK Neustadt Prize are as follows: 

• Randa Abdel-Fattah
• Elizabeth Acevedo
• Ann Bausum
• Molly Beth Griffin
• Laurie Halse Anderson
• Amy Sarig King
• Kate Messner
• Roberto Piumini
• Sandhya Prabhat

Biographical information for the candidates—along with the names of the nominating jurors—can be found here. The prizewinner will be announced on Sept. 29—the second night of the 2026 Neustadt Lit Fest—which runs Sept. 28–30. Laureates receive $50,000 (as of 2027), a silver medallion, and a certificate.

Recognizing the finalists for their excellence, Robert Con Davis-Undiano, executive director of World Literature Today, stated: “It is gratifying to see that the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature has quickly become one of the premier international prizes for children’s and young adult literature.” 

The NSK Prize was first awarded in 2003 to Newbery Medal winner Mildred D. Taylor. Other notable winners include National Book Award recipients Katherine Paterson (2007) and Virginia Euwer Wolff (2011), Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye (2013), Frost Medal recipient Marilyn Nelson (2017), and Pura Belpré Medal winner Margarita Engle (2019). The 2025 NSK Prize was awarded to Cherie Dimaline. 

The NSK Prize is given in alternating years with the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. The 2026 Neustadt Prize winner, Ibrahim Nasrallah, will be recognized at the 2026 Lit Fest. Hosted at the University of Oklahoma in Norman each fall, the three-day festival features that year’s winning writer as well as roundtable discussions of literary and cultural trends. The 2027 NSK Prize winner will headline the Neustadt Lit Fest in fall 2027. 

More information about both prizes can be found at neustadtprize.org. For accommodations at this year’s festival, contact Terri Stubblefield at [email protected] or call the WLT offices at 405-325-4531.