May 15, 2020— Beast Rider written by Tony Johnston and Maria Elena Fontanot De Rhoads and Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border written by Mitali Perkins and illustrated by Sara Palacios win the 2020 Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The award links the Americas by reaching beyond geographic borders and multicultural-international boundaries, focusing upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. Three Honor Books, My Papi has a Motorcycle written by Isabel Quintero and illustrated by Zeke Peña Kokila, The Moon Within written by Aida Salazar, and The Other Half of Happy written by Rebecca Balcárcel were recognized this year along with 9 commended titles. Explore the complete list of recognized titles here.
View the Américas Award Video Announcement here.
Up to two annual book awards are given in recognition of U.S. published works that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinx in the United States. Additional titles may be recognized as Honorable Mentions, along with a list of Commended Titles. Books are considered for their distinctive literary quality, cultural contextualization, integration of text and illustration, and potential for classroom use.
The announcement was made at the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) annual Business Meeting on May 15, 2020 over Zoom. The award-winning authors will be recognized at a ceremony during Hispanic Heritage Month at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., hosted and sponsored by the Hispanic Division, pending Covid-19 concerns.
Members of the 2020 Américas Award Selection Committee include Connie Sharp in Nashville, TN (Chair); Christi Moraga in New Haven, CT; Luciano Marzulli in Salt Lake City, UT, Pat Austin in New Orleans, LA, and Maria Thurber in Washington, D.C.
2020 Américas Award Sponsors
The awards are administered by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) and coordinated by both Tulane University’s Stone Center for Latin American Studies and Vanderbilt University’s Center for Latin American Studies. Generous support is also provided by Florida International University, Stanford University, The Ohio State University, UNC-Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Florida, University of New Mexico, University of Texas at Austin, University of Utah, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
CLASP’s mission is to promote all facets of Latin American Studies throughout the world. Its broad range of activities include the encouragement of research activities, funding for professional workshops, advancement of citizen outreach activities, and development of teaching aids for the classroom. For complete annotations of all titles recognized by the Américas Award, as well as curricular resources for previous winning titles and the Américas Award Toolkit, visit www.claspprograms.org/americasaward. Follow the Américas Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/americasaward for current news and author highlights.