Américas Book Award
for Children's and Young Adult Literature

As of the 2012 Américas Award competition, co-coordinators of the award are Claire Gonzalez, Center for Latin American Studies, Vanderbilt University and Denise Woltering-Vargas, Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Tulane University. The latest information on the Américas Award can now be found at: http://claspprograms.org/

The Américas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. By combining both and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The award is sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).

The award winners and commended titles are selected for their (1) distinctive literary quality; (2) cultural contextualization; (3) exceptional integration of text, illustration and design; and (4) potential for classroom use. The winning book will be honored at a ceremony on September 17, 2011 at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.