YAVA
Young Adult Virginia Author Awards
About
The Richmond Public Library’s annual Young Adult Virginia Author (YAVA) Award highlights excellence in writing for readers at the middle and high school level by Virginia authors. The YAVA Celebration began in 2013 as “Teen ‘13.” It has grown to include a year-long award process culminating in the spring with our annual celebration. Beginning in 2020, the YAVA Award winner will be selected by a panel of teen judges and announced during the annual YAVA Celebration. This is our Library's biggest teen event, providing readers an opportunity to interact with local authors, learn about current young adult literature, and engage with others in the community. We value the entire YAVA Award process as an opportunity for teens to connect, engage, and become inspired.
YAVA Timeline
- January 1st - Nomination period begins, Teen Judge applications open
- February 28th - Nomination period ends, Teen Judge Applications close
- 3rd or 4th Saturday in April - YAVA Award Celebration & winning author announced
- May 1 - YAVA Teen Judges notified
- Summer - Nominees are announced
- Rolling - YAVA committee applications open
2024 AWARD NOMINEES
The Getaway
Heat Wave
Hell Followed With Us
High flyers : 15 inspiring women aviators and astronauts
I am Margaret Moore
Love times Infinity
Nightrender
This Vicious Grace
We All Fall Down The River City Duology Series, Book 1
2024 Winner
Lamar Giles
The 2024 winning author is Lamar Giles with his book The Getaway, making him the first repeat winner in YAVA history after previously winning the 2022 YAVA Awards for his book Not So Pure and Simple!
Outside of his writing career, Giles is known for being a founding member of a non-profit organization called We Need Diverse Books, which advocates for change within the publishing industry – not only by producing diverse literature with characters that reflect real world marginalized identities and supporting authors from diverse backgrounds through grants and workshops, but also promoting these books, and putting them in the hands of young people. In addition, he is a faculty member within the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University.
Giles’ 2024 selection, The Getaway, is a dystopian post-apocalyptic horror novel set in a future resort escape for the wealthy ruling class. The novel focuses on the lives of 3 black and 1 mixed race teens as they not only navigate elitism and classism, but also systemic racism, misogyny, and questions of autonomy as they face the horrors of the end of civilization and the future of humanity. Kirkus Reviews said of the novel, “Hold tight: You’ll want to stay on this nightmarish roller coaster till the end.”
As one of our teen judges pointed out,
“Besides the thrilling, innovative, plot and impeccable diction, this book offers necessary and insightful reflection on the state of racial and income inequality in our country. It’s a dire tale of the direction we could be heading.”
Another one of our judges stated,
“I appreciate The Getaway’s emphasis on unity, because I think a lot of young people are really angry when they see injustice, and in the process of venting out that anger are too quick to turn on each other and forget one another’s humanity.”
And finally, another teen judge said of the book,
“The main purpose of the book was to show how even the simplest of people can spark a change and create a better world. The characters were beautifully written, and the strength of these characters throughout the book… inspires growth and change in youth today.”
Past Winners
Me (Moth)
Not So Pure and Simple
Orpheus Girl
The Impossibility of Us
It Started with Goodbye
Breakaway
Come August, Come Freedom
Apply to the Committee
Thank you for your interest in becoming a YAVA Committee Member! We are always looking for librarians, educators, and other community members who work with teens to become part of our team. You don’t have to live in Richmond to apply, we love virtual members as well! We only have three requirements:
- You must live and work in Virginia.
- You must currently work with teens in some capacity.
- You must love YA books and have a passion for literacy!
Committee members may be involved in one or more of the following activities:
- Read/screen nominated YAVA titles.
- Selection of teen judges.
- Planning the annual YAVA Award Celebration.
- Planning/implementing YAVA-related programs across the state.
- General promotion of all YAVA-related activities.
- Helping to generate new, innovative ideas for the YAVA program and all its components.
We accept committee member applications on a rolling basis. For questions, please email Committee Chair, Jennifer Deuell, at jennifer.deuell@rva.gov