Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature
The Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature (APAAL) are a set of literary awards presented annually by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA). The APALA was formed in 1980 "to create an organization that would address the needs of Asian/Pacific American librarians and those who serve Asian/Pacific American communities."[1] The Association was the successor to the Asian American Librarians Caucus (AALC), a discussion group within the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Library Outreach Services that focused on providing library service to minority communities and on supporting minority librarians. The APALA incorporated in 1981 (in Illinois) and became part of the ALA in 1982.[1]
The awards honor books about Asian/Pacific Americans, their history and culture. Categories have included fiction and non-fiction for adults, picture/illustrated books, and children's/young-adult literature. Writers and artists do not need to be of Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry, but they must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, the books must be about Asian/Pacific American heritage, and must have been written in English and published for general release within the States.[2]
Winners[]
| Years | Category | Title | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Adult Fiction | T. C. Huo | Land of Smiles | Winner | [3] |
| Adult Nonfiction | Loung Ung | First They Killed My Father | Winner | ||
| Children and Young Adult Literature | Janet S. Wong, illustrated by | The Trip Back Home | Winner | ||
| 2001-2003 | Adult Fiction | Yann Martel | Life of Pi | Winner | [4] |
| Picture Book | Janet S. Wong, illustrated by | Apple Pie 4th of July | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | Tanuki's Gift | Honor | |||
| Yin, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet | Coolies | Honor | |||
| Children and Young Adult Literature | An Na | A Step from Heaven | Winner | ||
| Tanuja Desai Hidier | Born Confused | Honor | |||
| Beacon Hill Boys | Honor | ||||
| Linda Sue Park | A Single Shard | Honor | |||
| 2005–2006 | Adult Fiction | Chang-Rae Lee | Aloft | Winner | [5] |
| Amy Tan | Saving Fish from Drowning | Honor | |||
| Lisa See | Snow Flower and the Secret Fan | Honor | |||
| Picture Book | Linda Sue Park, illustrated by | The Firekeeper's Son | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story | Honor | |||
| , illustrated by | Bread Song | Honor | |||
| Youth Literature | Cynthia Kadohata | Kira-Kira | Winner | ||
| Andrea Cheng | Shanghai Messenger | Honor | |||
| Linda Sue Park | Project Mulberry | Honor | |||
| 2006–2007 | Adult Fiction | Da Chen | Brothers | Winner | [6] |
| Color of the Sea | Honor | ||||
| Picture Book | The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea | Winner | |||
| Yin, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet | Brothers | Honor | |||
| Youth Literature | Justina Chen Headley | Nothing But the Truth | Winner | ||
| Grace Lin | Year of the Dog | Honor | |||
| 2007–2008 | Adult Nonfiction | Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans | Winner | [7] | |
| Bento Box in The Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America | Honor | ||||
| Picture Book | Ellie Crowe, illustrated by | Surfer of the Century | Winner | ||
| Lynne Barasch | Hiromi's Hands | Honor | |||
| Youth Literature | Hiroshima Dreams | Winner | |||
| Keeping Corner | Honor | ||||
| 2008–2009 | Adult Fiction | Jhumpa Lahiri | Unaccustomed Earth | Winner | [8] |
| Fae Myenne Ng | Steer Toward Rock | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Jennifer 8. Lee | Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food | Winner | ||
| Andrew X. Pham | Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars | Honor | |||
| Kao Kalia Yang | The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir | Honor | |||
| Picture Book | , illustrated by Ed Young | Wabi Sabi | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | Monsoon Afternoon | Honor | |||
| Youth Literature | Roots and Wings | Winner | |||
| Naomi Hirahara | 1001 Cranes | Honor | |||
| Good Enough | Honor | ||||
| 2009–2010 | Adult Fiction | Jamie Ford | Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet | Winner | [9] |
| Lisa See | Shanghai Girls | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Bonnie Tsui | American Chinatown: A People's History of Five Neighborhoods | Winner | ||
| Japanese American Resettlement: Through the Lens | Honor | ||||
| Picture Book | , illustrated by | Cora Cooks Pancit | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | Tan to Tamarind | Honor | |||
| Youth Literature | Everything Asian | Winner | |||
| Tofu Quilt | Honor | ||||
| 2010-2011 | Adult Fiction | Karen Tei Yamashita | I Hotel | Winner | [10] |
| Monique Truong | Bitter in the Mouth | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Erika Lee and Judy Yung | Angel Island: Immigration Gateway to America | Winner | ||
| Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History | Honor | ||||
| Neela Vaswani | You Have Given Me a Country | Honor | |||
| Children's Literature | Margi Preus | Heart of a Samurai | Winner | ||
| Bamboo People | Honor | ||||
| Picture Book | , illustrated by | Yasmin's Hammer | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | Fly Free | Honor | |||
| Young Adult Literature | Shooting Kabul | Winner | |||
| A Boy of Heart Mountain | Honor | ||||
| 2011-2012 | Adult Fiction | Amy Waldman | The Submission | Winner | [11] |
| R. Zamora Linmark | Leche | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | The Woman Who Could Not Forget: Iris Chang Before and Beyond The Rape of Nanking | Winner | |||
| Shafiqur Rahman | The Bangladeshi Diaspora in the United States after 9/11: From Obscurity to High Visibility | Honor | |||
| Children's Literature | The Great Wall of Lucy Wu | Winner | |||
| Vanished | Honor | ||||
| Picture Book | Ed Young | The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | Hot Hot Roti for Kaka-ji | Honor | |||
| Young Adult Literature | Orchards | Winner | |||
| Gene Luen Yang | Level Up | Honor | |||
| 2012-2013 | Adult Fiction | Don Lee | The Collective | Winner | [12] |
| Krys Lee | Drifting House | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Third Asiatic Invasion: Empire and Migration in Filipino America, 1898-1946 | Winner | |||
| Martin B. Gold | Forbidden Citizens | Honor | |||
| Children's Literature | Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan | Winner | |||
| R. Kikuo Johnson | Shark King | Honor | |||
| Picture Book | , illustrated by | Good Fortune in a Wrapping Cloth | Winner | ||
| A Path of Stars | Honor | ||||
| Young Adult Literature | Tina's Mouth: An Existential Comic Diary | Winner | |||
| Ichiro | Honor | ||||
| 2013-2014 | Adult Fiction | Ruth Ozeki | A Tale for the Time Being | Winner | [13] |
| Jennifer Cody Epstein | The Gods of Heavenly Punishment | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Citizens of Asian America: Democracy and Race during the Cold War | Winner | |||
| Garden of the World: Asian Immigrants and the Making of Agriculture in California's Santa Clara Valley | Honor | ||||
| Children's Literature | Cynthia Kadohata, illustrated by | The Thing About Luck | Winner | ||
| The Vine Basket | Honor | ||||
| Picture Book | Ji-li Jiang | Red Kite, Blue Kite | Winner | ||
| Marissa Moss, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu | Barbed Wire Baseball | Honor | |||
| Young Adult Literature | Leza Lowitz and | Jet Black and the Ninja Wind | Winner | ||
| Suzanne Kamata | Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible | Honor | |||
| 2014-2015 | Adult Fiction | Celeste Ng | Everything I Never Told You | Winner | [14] |
| Mira Jacob | The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA | Winner | |||
| Alex Tizon | Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self written | Honor | |||
| Children's Literature | Gaijin: American Prisoner of War | Winner | |||
| Ting Ting | Honor | ||||
| Picture Book | and | Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin | Winner | ||
| Father’s Chinese Opera | Honor | ||||
| Young Adult Literature | May-lee Chai | Tiger Girl | Winner | ||
| Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Sonny Liew | Shadow Hero | Honor | |||
| 2015-2016 | Adult Fiction | Viet Thanh Nguyen | The Sympathizer | Winner | [15] |
| Sandip Roy | Don’t Let Him Know | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Erika Lee | The Making of Asian America: a History | Winner | ||
| From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express: A History of Chinese Food in the United States | Honor | ||||
| Madeline Y. Hsu | The Good Immigrant: How the Yellow Peril Became the Model Minority | Honor | |||
| Children's Literature | Full Cicada Moon | Winner | |||
| Erin Entrada Kelly | Blackbird Fly | Honor | |||
| Picture Book | Juna's Jar | Winner | |||
| Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez | Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music | Honor | |||
| Young Adult Literature | Jenny Han | P.S. I Still Love You | Winner | ||
| Ink and Ashes | Honor | ||||
| 2016-2017 | Adult Fiction | Vanessa Hua | Deceit and Other Possibilities | Winner | [16] |
| Peter Ho Davies | The Fortunes | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Picture Bride: Stories | Winner | |||
| Mas Masumoto and | Changing Season: A Father, A Daughter, A Family Farm | Honor | |||
| Children's Literature | Erin Entrada Kelly | The Land of Forgotten Girls | Winner | ||
| Margaret Dilloway | Momotaro Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters | Honor | |||
| Picture Book | Puddle | Winner | |||
| Young Adult Literature | Stacey Lee | Outrun the Moon | Winner | ||
| Marina Budhos | Watched | Honor | |||
| 2017-2018 | Adult Fiction | Lisa Ko | The Leavers | Winner | [17] |
| Viet Thanh Nguyen | The Refugees | Honor | |||
| Adult Nonfiction | Eleanor Ty | Asianfail: Narratives of Disenchantment and the Model Minority | Winner | ||
| The Long Afterlife of Nikkei Wartime Incarceration | Honor | ||||
| Children's Literature | Uma Krishnaswami | Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire | Honor | |||
| Picture Book | Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui | A Different Pond | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | The Nian Monster | Honor | |||
| Young Adult Literature | It’s Not Like It’s A Secret | Winner | |||
| S.K. Ali | Saints & Misfits | Honor | |||
| 2018-2019 | Adult Fiction | The End of Peril, The End of Enmity, The End of Strife, A Haven | Winner | [18] | |
| Though I Get Home | Honor | ||||
| Adult Nonfiction | Not Quite Not White: Losing and Finding Race in America | Winner | |||
| Litany for the Long Moment | Honor | ||||
| Children's Literature | Kelly Yang | Front Desk | Winner | ||
| The House that Lou Built | Honor | ||||
| Picture Book | , illustrated by Dan Santat | Drawn Together | Winner | ||
| , illustrated by | Grandmother’s Visit | Honor | |||
| Young Adult Literature | Darius the Great is Not Okay | Winner | |||
| Emily X.R. Pan | The Astonishing Color of After | Honor | |||
| 2019-2020 | Children's Literature | Jen Wang | Stargazing | Winner | [19] |
| Patti Kim | I'm Ok | Honor | |||
| Picture Book | illustrated by | Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom | Winner | ||
| illustrated by | Bilal Cooks Daal | Honor | |||
| Young Adult Literature | George Takei, and Steven Scott | They Called Us Enemy | Winner | ||
| Frankly in Love | Honor |
- ^ a b APALA History, accessed 2 January 2011.
- ^ Awards Guidelines, accessed 2 January 2011.
- ^ Kipen, David. "Librarians arrive, whoop it up, give prizes". SF Gate. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2001-2003 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2005-2006 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2006-2007 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2007-2008 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2008-2009 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2009-2010 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2010-2011 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2011-2012 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2012-2013 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2013-2014 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2014-2015 Awards Winners". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2015-2016 Awards Winners". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2016-2017 Awards Winners". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2017-2018 AWARDS WINNERS". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winners Selected". APALA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "2020 Youth Media Award Winners". American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-28.