World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Jacqueline Amanda Woodson

ジャクリーン・ウッドソン

Jacqueline Woodson

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1963-02-12 （Columbus, Ohio, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Columbus, Ohio → Nelsonville, Ohio → Greenville, South Carolina → Brooklyn, New York → Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York (current)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Author of children's and young adult literature
Active Years
1990-2025
Influenced By
James Baldwin, Virginia Hamilton, Nikki Giovanni, Toni Morrison, Rosa Guy, Louise Meriwether, High-school English teacher (Mr. Miller)
Influenced
An Na

Education

Adelphi University
Country: United States
The New School
Country: United States
Took children's book writing class (Bunny Gable)

Awards

National Book Award (Young People's Literature)
2014
Work: Brown Girl Dreaming
Category: Young People's Literature
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: winner
Newbery Honor
2006
Work: Show Way
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Result: honor
Newbery Honor
2008
Work: Feathers
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Result: honor
Newbery Honor
2009
Work: After Tupac and D Foster
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Result: honor
Newbery Honor
2015
Work: Brown Girl Dreaming
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Result: honor
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
2018
Organization: Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Foundation
Result: winner
Hans Christian Andersen Award
2020
Organization: International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)
Result: winner
MacArthur Fellowship
2020
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: winner
Margaret A. Edwards Award
2006
Organization: Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) / ALA
Result: winner
Coretta Scott King Award (winner/honors)
2001
Work: Miracle's Boys
Organization: American Library Association (ALA)
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Miracle's Boys

2000 Young adult novel

A story of three brothers confronting loss and hardship, exploring family bonds and urban reality.

familylosscoming-of-age
Adaptations
  • [TV miniseries] Miracle's Boys (miniseries) / Spike Lee 他 (2005)

Show Way

2006 Children's picture book

A picture book that traces generations of Black women, using the 'show way' quilting pattern as a metaphor for history and hope.

family historyhopeheritage

Feathers

2007 Middle-grade novel

A short school story about kindness and hope, following the changes that occur when a new student arrives.

compassionfriendshiphope

After Tupac and D Foster

2008 Middle-grade / Young adult

Set in 1990s Brooklyn, it explores friendship, identity, and the influence of music.

friendshipidentitymusic culture

Brown Girl Dreaming

2014 Verse novel / memoir in verse

A poetic verse memoir of the author's childhood, depicting race, family, and the formation of belonging.

growing upracefamily

Another Brooklyn

2016 Adult novel

Set in 1970s Brooklyn, a story about friendship, lost youth, and memory.

friendshipmemoryurban experience

Red at the Bone

2019 Adult novel

Follows three generations of a Black family, weaving family history, trauma, and events in contemporary American history.

generationstraumafamily

Bibliography

  • Last Summer with Maizon (1990)
  • Maizon at Blue Hill (1992)
  • Between Madison and Palmetto (1993)
  • I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This (1994)
  • From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun (1995)
  • Miracle's Boys (2000)
  • Show Way (2006)
  • Feathers (2007)
  • After Tupac and D Foster (2008)
  • Brown Girl Dreaming (2014)
  • Another Brooklyn (2016)
  • Red at the Bone (2019)

Adaptations

  • Miracle's Boys (TV miniseries, 2005)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Poetic, concise verse-novel techniquesDetailed landscape description and immediacy of sceneDirect, emotionally resonant style aimed at young readers
Recurring Motifs
family and generational tiesrace and historyself-discovery and identityhope and resilience

Legacy

Jacqueline Woodson is a major figure in children's and young adult literature who expanded diversity and empathy in the field. Her works, weaving race, gender, family, and socioeconomic background, are widely respected in educational contexts and have received numerous major awards.

Academic Societies

  • American Library Association (ALA)
  • Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

Archives

  • Jacqueline Woodson Papers (University of South Florida)

In Popular Culture

  • The TV adaptation of Miracle's Boys (2005) brought her work to wider television audiences

Quotes

  • I wanted to write about communities that were familiar to me and people that were familiar to me. I wanted to write about communities of color. I wanted to write about girls. I wanted to write about friendship...
    Source: Interview with Jennifer M. Brown, Publishers Weekly (2002)
  • When you're writing to a particular age group, especially a younger age group, the writing can't be as implicit. You're more in the moment... because that's what it feels like to be an adolescent.
    Source: NPR interview (2004)

Trivia

  • Born in Columbus, Ohio
  • Partner is physician Juliet Widoff
  • Has two children
  • Served as Young People's Poet Laureate (2015–2017)
  • Served as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (2018–2019)