The William C. Morris YA Debut Award honors a book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.
2024 Winner
Rez Ball by Byron Graves
When the varsity basketball team members take him under their wing, Tre Brun, representing his Ojibwe reservation, steps into his late brother’s shoes as star player but soon learns he can’t mess up–not on the court, not in school and not in love.
2024 Finalists:
All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr
In the wake of being sexually assaulted by her pastor, sixteen-year-old Amina struggles to regain her footing until she finds the strength within herself to confront her abuser in court.
Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef
When fifteen-year-old Iranian American Marjan discovers her murdered father was secretly a veterinarian to magical creatures, she realizes she must take up his mantle, despite the many dangers.
Saints of the Household by Ari Tison
When brothers Max and Jay help a classmate in trouble, they struggle with the consequences of their violent actions and worry they may be more like their abusive father than they thought, so the brothers turn to their Bribri roots to find their way forward.
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
Seventeen-year-old bisexual Jade Nguyrn is spending the summer in Vietnam at the French colonial house her estranged father is fixing up as a vacation rental, but unbeknownst to her family, the house and its ghosts have other plans.
2023 Winner & Finalists
Winner:
- The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum
Finalist(s):
- The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson
- Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne
- The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
- Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
Past Winners & Finalists from 2016-2021
Winners in bold
2016
- Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda written by Becky Albertalli
- Because You’ll Never Meet Me written by Leah Thomas
- Conviction written by Kelly Loy Gilbert
- The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly written by Stephanie Oake
- The Weight of Feathers written by Anna-Marie McLemore
2017
- The Serpent King written by Jeff Zentner
- Girl Mans Up written by M-E Girard
- Rani Patel In Full Effect written by Sonia Patel
- The Smell of Other People’s Houses written by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
- Tell Me Something Real written by Calla Devlin
2018
- The Hate U Give written by Angie Thomas
- Dear Martin written by Nic Stone
- Devils Within written by S.F. Henson
- Saints and Misfits written by S.K. Ali
- Starfish written by Akemi Dawn Bowman
2019
- Darius the Great Is Not Okay written by Adib Khorram
- Blood Water Paint written by Joy McCullough
- Check, Please!: #Hockey written and illustrated by Ngozi Ukazu,
- Children of Blood and Bone written by Tomi Adeyemi
- What the Night Sings written and illustrated by Vesper Stamper
2020
- The Field Guide to the North American Teenager written by Ben Philipp
- The Candle and the Flame written by Nafiza Azad
- Frankly in Love written by David Yoon
- Genesis Begins Again written by Alicia D. Williams
- There Will Come a Darkness written by Katy Rose Pool
2021
- If These Wings Could Fly written by Kyrie McCaule
- Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard written by Echo Brown
- The Black Kids written by Christina Hammonds Re
- It Sounded Better in My Head written by Nina Kenwood
- Woven in Moonlight written by Isabel Ibañez
2022
Winner:
- Firekeeper’s Daughter written by Angeline Boulley
Finalist(s):
- Ace of Spades written by FaridahÀbíké-Íyímídé
- Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things written by Margie Fuston
- Me (Moth) written by Amber McBrid
- What Beauty There Is written by Cory Anderson