Awards

Read Your World, Inc. (RYW) co-founder and president Mia Wenjen and board chairperson Jessica Tranchino are thrilled to announce the creation of two, new, annual children’s books prizes: 

The Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Awards. 

There will be two prizes of $1500 each: one for a picture book or graphic novel, and a second for a middle grade or young adult novel, in which the protagonists are intersectional. 

These annual cash prizes will be funded by RYW board member, Federico Erebia, and his husband, James J. Jordan. 

“Now more than ever, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized or underrepresented voices need encouragement to create their high quality books for children,” Erebia said. “We’re looking for stories that show the beauty, worth, and potential of intersectional children and teens.” 

“It’s our hope that these awards will incentivize publishers to seek more manuscripts with intersectional characters,” Jordan said. “Children who deal with real world societal issues because of who they are should see themselves in some of the books they read.”

The award criteria will define intersectionality as two or more marginalized or underrepresented identities, which may include their:

• Race
• Ethnicity
• Nationality
• Skin tone
• Tribal affiliation
• Physical appearance
• Physical ability
• Neurodivergence
• Gender identity
• Sexual identity
• Religion
• Socioeconomics

Wenjen said, “Intersectional individuals often deal with compounded prejudice and discrimination, because of their identities, in combinations rarely seen in children’s literature, despite the large number of children, teens, and adults who live these truths daily.”

“It’s surprising that there are no awards, prizes or other incentives to promote intersectional books,” Tranchino added. “We hope these awards will shine a spotlight on these stories with intersectional representation.” 

The Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Awards will be administered by Read Your World, Inc. [formerly Multicultural Children’s Book Day].

Details for The 2025 ​Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Award​s [for books published in 2024]:

Submissions

• The book must be traditionally published in 2024.
• Authors, illustrators, translators, or publishers can submit a book for consideration during the submission period​ [​September 15 – ​October 15, 2024].
• ​One physical copy ​of the final version of the book will be required​ for each judge in the initial judging phase.
• An audiobook link ​will be encouraged, but not required, for novel-length books. 
• The prize amount will be shared equally with the co-creators listed on the cover​ of the book [authors, illustrators, translators].

Long List

• A longlist of ​not more than 10 titles for each of the two categories will be announced on​ or around January ​31, 2025. 
• The longlist applicants will ​be asked to send additional copies of the final version of their book ​to the judges of the ​final judging phase.

Winners and finalists

• RYW and the longlist judging committee will announce the winner and finalists for each of the two categories on​ or around Ma​y 15, 2025. 

Timeline 

• September 15, 2024: Submissions open.
• October 15, 2024: Submissions close.
• January 31, 2025: Longlist of 10 books announced.
• May 15, 2025: Winner & Finalists announced.

SUBMIT YOUR BOOK HERE BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 15 AND OCTOBER 15, 2024

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