Sydney Taylor Book Award - World Literary Awards

Established: 1968
Organizer: Association of Jewish Libraries
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Recommendation
Target: Professional
Frequency: 1 per year
Status: Active

Description

The Sydney Taylor Book Award, established in 1968 by the Association of Jewish Libraries and renamed for author Sydney Taylor in 1978, recognizes outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Medals (gold for winners and silver seals for honor books) are awarded annually in three categories (Younger Readers, Older Readers, Teen Readers). The program also includes Honor Awards, a Notable Books list, a Manuscript Award (started 1985) and a Body-of-Work Award (biennial since 2018). Books are evaluated by a volunteer award committee from the Association of Jewish Libraries based on literary merit, authenticity, age-appropriateness and other criteria.

Prize

Main Prize: Gold medal (one per category) and silver seals for Honor Award winners. No general cash prize for the medal; separate Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award awards $1,000.

Gold medals for category winners
Silver seals for Honor Award winners
Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award: $1,000 (winner)
Body-of-Work Award (honorary; became biennial in 2018)
Notable Children's Books of Jewish Content lists (no medal)

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Submission / Nomination	Publishers, authors or agents submit eligible titles per AJL guidelines; nominations are collected by the award committee	null	Nominated titles are compiled for committee review
Committee evaluation	Volunteer award committee members from the Association of Jewish Libraries	null	Committee evaluates nominations and selects gold medalists and silver Honor Award winners in each category
Final selection and publication	AJL award committee (final selections)	null	Winners and honor books announced on the Association of Jewish Libraries website and in AJL publications; Notable lists published

Submission / Nomination

Judges Publishers, authors or agents submit eligible titles per AJL guidelines; nominations are collected by the award committee

Pass Rate null

Announcement Nominated titles are compiled for committee review

Committee evaluation

Judges Volunteer award committee members from the Association of Jewish Libraries

Pass Rate null

Announcement Committee evaluates nominations and selects gold medalists and silver Honor Award winners in each category

Final selection and publication

Judges AJL award committee (final selections)

Pass Rate null

Announcement Winners and honor books announced on the Association of Jewish Libraries website and in AJL publications; Notable lists published

Criteria

The book has literary merit.
The book has positive and authentic Jewish religious or cultural content.
The book is appropriate for the intended grade level in style, vocabulary, format, and illustration.
Whether fiction or nonfiction, the book is solidly rooted in authentic and accurate detail through scholarship and research by the author.
Particular attention will be paid to titles that demonstrate the broad diversity of the Jewish experience, including diversity of time period and country of origin.
Textbooks, liturgy, and reprints are not eligible. Significantly revised editions and re-illustrated editions are eligible.
Books must be commercially available for purchase in order to be eligible.
Self-published books are not eligible. The author and illustrator must not have paid any money to the publisher. The book must be edited by a professional editor at no cost to the author/illustrator. The publisher must publish books by multiple authors.
Books must be published in English (whether originally in English or in translation).
If the same book is published in English in multiple countries, the first version submitted will be considered for the award. Other versions then become ineligible.

Application Tips

Dos

Submit only books published in English (original or translation) and commercially available.
Ensure the book demonstrates clear literary merit and authentic Jewish religious or cultural content.
Confirm age-appropriateness for the intended category (style, vocabulary, format, illustration).
Follow the Association of Jewish Libraries submission guidelines and provide required publication details.
If multiple English versions exist, submit the first English-language edition.

Don''ts

Do not submit textbooks, liturgy, or simple reprints (ineligible).
Do not submit self-published books (self-published works are ineligible).
Do not submit multiple country versions — only the first English submission is considered.
Do not omit evidence of professional editing or proper publication details when required.

From Judges

Prioritize both literary quality and authenticity of Jewish representation.
Provide clear age-level suitability (format, vocabulary and illustrations matter).
Document research/scholarly grounding when historical or cultural claims are central to the text.
Highlight how the title contributes to the diversity of Jewish experiences, settings, or time periods.

Related Awards

Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award
Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award
Notable Children's Books of Jewish Content (AJL lists)
Association of Jewish Libraries membership awards/programs
Other children's/YA identity-based book awards (e.g., Coretta Scott King Award, Pura Belpré Award)