About the Award

History of the Award
CLASP founded the Américas Award in 1993 to encourage and commend authors, illustrators and publishers who produce quality children’s and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinx cultures in the United States, and to provide teachers with recommendations for classroom use. CLASP offers up to two annual book awards, together with a commended list of titles. View the complete Américas Award Guidelines.

Criteria
Two awards are given each year, one for a picture book and one for a young adult or middle grade book. The awards recognize U.S. published (including Puerto Rico) works of fiction, poetry, folklore, non-fiction, and works in translation that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or the Latinx community in the United States By linking the Américas, the intent is to reach beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere.

The Américas Award is intended to: 1) recognize the work of authors and illustrators who sensitively portray Latin American, Caribbean, or Latinx cultures in their work; 2) encourage the publication and circulation of such books; 3) provide teachers with potential classroom resources; and 4) offer librarians suggestions for culturally diverse collection development.

View the 2025 Call for Submissions

Award Ceremony
Each year CLASP celebrates winning titles by holding an award ceremony during Hispanic Heritage Month. All are welcome to attend the ceremony. A workshop for K-12 educators takes place in conjunction with the award ceremony, often featuring presentations by the award-winning authors and illustrators. The workshop is open to any educator or librarian. Webcasts, photos, and press releases from past events can be viewed from our Award Ceremony page.

Explore Past Winners
View the annotated lists of recognized titles.

Review Committee
See current members of the Américas Award committee.

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 University of Arizona’s Center for Latin American Studies. Generous support is also provided by Florida International University, Michigan State University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, UNC-Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Florida, University of Michigan, University of New Mexico, University of Texas at Austin, University of Utah, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Vanderbilt University.

Américas Award Coordinators
Katrina Dillon, University of Arizona
Cynthia Garza, Tulane University