Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

The Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book is an award given annually to a book published for young adult readers in the field of science fiction or fantasy.[1] The name of the award was chosen because a lodestar is "a star that guides or leads, especially in navigation, where it is the sole reliable source of light—the star that leads those in uncharted waters to safety."[2] The nomination and selection process is administered by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) represented by the current Worldcon committee, and the award is presented at the Hugo Award ceremony at the Worldcon, although it is not itself a Hugo Award.

Members of the current and previous Worldcon are eligible to nominate new writers for the Lodestar Award under the same procedures as the Hugo Awards. Initial nominations are made by members in January through March, at which point a shortlist is made of the six most-nominated writers, with additional nominees possible in the case of ties. Voting on the ballot of six nominations is performed roughly in April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held.[3]

Since the creation and naming of the award were done in separate amendments to the WFSF constitution in 2017[4] and 2018,[1] the award did not have a name in its inaugural year and was referred to as the World Science Fiction Society Award for Best Young Adult Book.[5]

In the 3 years the award has been given, 15 authors have had works nominated. The 2018 award was won by Nnedi Okorafor, the 2019 award by Tomi Adeyemi, and the 2020 award by Naomi Kritzer. Three authors have been nominated twice: Holly Black, Frances Hardinge, and Ursula Vernon (as T. Kingfisher).