Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award Books

The Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe New Talent Award is named for John Steptoe, the Brooklyn author and illustrator who published his first book, Stevie, before he turned twenty and won Coretta Scott King recognition for his own work before his death in 1989. First given in 1995, it is presented by the Coretta Scott King Round Table of the American Library Association to an African American author or illustrator at the very beginning of a publishing career.

It shares the eligibility standards of the Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Awards but adds a limit that defines it: a recipient's published works cannot exceed three in number, the award can be won only once, and anyone taking a Coretta Scott King medal in the same year is not eligible. One award is given each year, for text or for illustration, and the committee may choose to give it in both or in neither.

Where the main Coretta Scott King medals tend to go to established names, this list is a record of first and second books. It is the place to look for a debut voice worth following, and for newer picture books and novels that have not yet accumulated the attention the medal winners carry.

Information from the American Library Association.