2027 NSK Finalists - Neustadt Prizes

Randa Abdel Fattah	Randa Abdel-Fattah is the award-winning author of eleven novels and is published in over fifteen countries. She has worked as a lawyer, human rights advocate, and community volunteer with different human rights and migrant and refugee resource organizations. She has a PhD in sociology and is a researcher on Islamophobia, racism, and everyday multiculturalism in Australia. Randa is currently working on the feature film adaptation of Does My Head Look Big in This? In 2017 her novel Where the Streets Had a Name was adapted to the stage by Australia’s leading children’s theatrical company. Randa is a guest at schools around Australia addressing students about her books and the social justice issues they raise, is a regular guest at writers’ festivals, and is often sought for comment in the media. Randa lives in Sydney with her husband and children. Nominated by Kyle Lukoff / Representative text: Where the Streets Had a Name

Elizabeth Acevedo	Elizabeth Acevedo was the 2022 Young People’s Poet Laureate and the New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Carnegie medal, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Walter Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High–which was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal—and Clap When You Land, named a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book and a Kirkus finalist. Her next book, Anger Is Only a Shadow, will be released on September 15, 2026. She holds a BA in performing arts from George Washington University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem, CantoMundo, and a participant in the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshops. She is a National Poetry Slam Champion and resides in Washington, DC, with her family. Nominated by Hannah V. Sawyerr / Representative text: The Poet X

	Ann Bausum writes books about history that help young people discover the drama and significance of stories that are rarely presented in their textbooks. As she says on her website, her goal is to “make history relevant, engaging, alive, and irresistible.” Since she started her writing career in 2000, her nineteen publications have amassed more than three dozen starred reviews, multiple Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections, placement on numerous state and best-of-the-year lists, and recognition by the National Council for the Social Studies and the National Council of Teachers of English. Her most recent book, White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History, won seven starred reviews alone. Her adopted state of Wisconsin named her a Notable Children’s Author. In addition, she and the body of her work have been recognized nationally with the Nonfiction Award of the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC. She is a frequent presenter at schools and conferences and a mentor for other writers. Nominated by Cynthia Levinson / Representative text: White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History

	Molly Beth Griffin is the author of many picture books, including Ten Beautiful Things, Just Us, Rhoda’s Rock Hunt, and Rings of Heartwood: Poems on Growing. She has also published an award-winning young adult novel, Silhouette of a Sparrow, two chapbooks of poetry, and a series of beginning readers. Three more picture books are forthcoming in 2026. Molly has received a McKnight Artist Fellowship in Children’s Literature as well as several grants from the Minnesota Arts Board. Molly is a graduate of Hamline University’s MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults and has been teaching writing for children at the Loft Literary Center for over fifteen years. She critiques manuscripts, visits schools and libraries, and hosts a monthly Picture Book Salon for writers and illustrators. She lives in South Minneapolis. Nominated by Bao Phi / Representative text: Ten Beautiful Things

	Laurie Halse Anderson is the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award–winning author of numerous books for young people. She is a New York Times bestselling author whose writing spans young readers, teens, and adults. Combined, her books have sold more than eight million copies. Two of her novels, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists. Two more of her books, The Impossible Knife of Memory and Shout, were longlisted for the National Book Awards. The American Library Association gave Laurie the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant contribution to young adult literature. She has been honored for her battles for intellectual freedom by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English. She is a member of RAINN’s National Leadership Council and frequently speaks about sexual violence. She lives in Philadelphia. Nominated by Phil Bildner / Representative text: Rebellion 1776

	Amy Sarig King has been called “one of the best YA writers working today” by the New York Times Book Review. She is the only two-time winner of the American Library Association’s Michael L. Printz Award (2020 for Dig and 2024 for The Collectors) and has won the LA Times Book Prize for Ask the Passengers. In 2022 King received the ALA’s Margaret E. Edwards Award for her lifetime achievement in YA literature, and in 2023 she accepted the ALAN Award for “artistry, courage, and outstanding contributions to YA literature.” In 2024 she released the highly anticipated Pick the Lock—described as “a punk opera, a primal scream, and a portrait of a family buried in lies.” She also writes middle-grade fiction, including the bestselling Attack of the Black Rectangles, The Year We Fell from Space, and Me and Marvin Gardens. She co-founded the University of San Francisco’s Low-Residency MFA in Writing for Young Readers and is the founder of Gracie’s House, a charity that funds and provides safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in rural areas and runs Pennsylvania’s first safe-space LGBTQ+ overnight camp. Nominated by Elisa Stone Leahy / Representative text: Attack of the Black Rectangles

	New York Times bestselling author Kate Messner is passionately curious and has written over seventy books for kids who wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Snow, The Next Scientist, and The Scariest Kitten in the World as well as novels for older readers like Breakout and The Trouble with Heroes. Kate also writes the popular History Smashers graphic nonfiction series and the Ranger in Time historical adventures, and she leads the multiauthor team behind The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class chapter books. Kate lives on Lake Champlain and is a proud Adirondack 46er. Nominated by Lola Schaefer / Representative text: The Trouble with Heroes

	Born in 1947, Roberto Piumini is Italy’s foremost living author of children’s stories. His books are found in every Italian bookshop and school and have been translated into many languages across the world. He received the Rodari Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 and was nominated for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award. Glowrushes was first published in 1987 and is considered his masterpiece. Nominated by Daniel Nayeri / Representative text: Glowrushes

	Sandhya Prabhat is an independent animator and illustrator based in California’s Bay Area and is from Chennai, India. She holds an MFA in animation and digital arts from NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia and a bachelor’s degree in literature from Stella Maris College. She is the illustrator of more than sixty books for children. Nominated by Kavita Ramchandran / Representative text: I Am Brown

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