The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. The annual award is administered by YALSA and sponsored by School Library Journal magazine. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.

2009

Laurie Halse Anderson is the winner of the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award for CATALYST, FEVER 1793 and SPEAK. These gripping and exceptionally well-written novels, through various settings, time periods and circumstances, poignantly reflect the growing and changing realities facing teens. Iconic and classic in her storytelling and character development, Anderson has created for teens a body of work that continues to be widely read and cherished by a diverse audience.

In CATALYST, overachiever Kate Malone is forced to confront unresolved issues when girl bully Terri and her family move into her home. FEVER 1793 shows how Mattie Cook’s dreams for the future are reduced to a day-to-day struggle for survival as a yellow fever epidemic fills the streets of Philadelphia. And in SPEAK, a 2000 Printz Honor Book, Melinda Sordino is silenced by a trauma and ostracized by her classmates until she once again faces her attacker and finds the strength to fight back.

Anderson will be honored at the YALSA Edwards Award Luncheon and presented with a citation and cash prize of $2,000 during the 2009 ALA Annual Conference to be held in Chicago, July 9th through July 15th.