‘Legendary Frybread Drive-In' wins 2026 Printz Award

CHICAGO — “Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories,” edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, written by the editor and 16 others, and published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, has won the 2026 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. The award was announced today by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA’s Youth Media Awards Announcements in Chicago.

Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In occupies a liminal space where Indigenous teens of all Nations are able to find a place of healing and belonging. Employing a continuation of Native storytelling tradition, seventeen YA authors weave characters, objects, events and themes thereby elevating traditional story elements into a memorable cultural celebration.

In addition to Smith, contributors to the all-Native anthology include Kaua Māhoe Adams, Marcella Bell, Angeline Boulley, K. A. Cobell, A. J. Eversole, Jen Ferguson, Eric Gansworth, Byron Graves, Kate Hart, Christine Hartman Derr, Karina Iceberg, Cheryl Isaacs, Darcie Little Badger, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, and Brian Young.

“Our committee was delighted to find an anthology with relatable stories of uniformly high literary quality, appropriate for the spectrum of YA readers, that is also the equivalent of a literary hug,” said Jodi Kruse, Printz Committee Chair.

Four Printz Honor Books also were named.

“Cope Field,” written by T.L. Simpson and published by Flux, an imprint of North Star Editions, Inc.

“The House No One Sees,” written by Adina King and published by Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

“Sisters in the Wind,” written by Angeline Boulley and published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

“Song of a Blackbird,” written and illustrated by Maria van Lieshout and published by First Second, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

The award, first given in 2000, is named for the late Michael L. Printz, a Topeka, Kansas, school librarian known for discovering and promoting quality books for young adults. The award is administered annually by YALSA and was created in partnership with Booklist Publications.

Members of the 2026 Printz Award Committee are Chair Jodi Kruse, R. A. Long High School, Longview School District, Washington; Dr. Jennifer Balke, Sumner Academy of Arts & Science, Kansas City, Kansas; TuesD Chambers, Seattle; Justin Hofstetter, Winnetonka High School, North Kansas City Schools, Kansas City, Missouri; Megan Maloy, San Jose, California; Wilsinia C. Ocasio, Albany Public Library, Washington Branch, New York; Allison Riggs, Villa Park, Illinois; Stephanie Galvan Russell, Del Valle ISD, Austin, Texas; RaineBo Thunder, Arapahoe Libraries, Franktown, Colorado; and Award Administrative Assistant Vanessa Garbarina, Port Jefferson, New York.

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association is the largest non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to America’s libraries. The ALA mission is to empower and advocate for all libraries and library workers to ensure equitable access to information for all. For 150 years, ALA has provided resources for information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more information, visit www.ala.org.

About the Young Adult Library Services Association

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.

For more information on the Michael L. Printz Award and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/yma.

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