WYOMING LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

Soaring Eagle Book Award (Grades 7-12)

The Soaring Eagle Book Award provides the opportunity for Wyoming youth in grades 7-12 to select a favorite book and honor its author. Its purpose is to help Wyoming students in grades 7-12:

  • Become acquainted with the best contemporary authors.
  • Become aware of the qualities that make a good book.
  • Choose the best rather than the mediocre.
  • Set a goal to read at least three good books.
  • To honor an author whose books Wyoming students have enjoyed.
The Soaring Eagle Book Award is sponsored by the Wyoming Library Association (WLA) and the Wyoming State Literacy Association (WSLA). 

Committee

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    2025-2026 Awards

    • Voting form (Winter 2025/2026; due March 15, 2026)

    Make sure to collect and save student votes and nominations throughout the year.


    Coming Soon: 

    2026-2027 Awards

    • Nomination form (Winter 2025/6; due March 1, 2026) 

    Make sure to collect and save student nominations throughout the year.

    Soaring Eagle Book Award nominees

    by author (1989-2025) PDF

    Soaring Eagle Book Award Winners

    by date (1989-2025) PDF

    Winners & Nominees (2020-2026)

    2025-2026


    Nominees

    The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming

    Gallant by V. E. Schwab
    Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool
    The Hope of Elephants     by Amanda Rawson Hill

    The Kill Factor by Ben Oliver

    The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen

    Louder Than Hunger by John Schu

    That's Not My Name by Megan Lally
    To Kill the Shadow by Katherine Quinn
    Twelfth Knight     by Alexene Farol Follmuth


    2024-2025


     
    First

    Fallout
    by Steve Sheinkin
    Second (tie)
     All My Rage
    by Sabaa Tahir
    Second (tie)
    T    he Red Palace
    by June Hur    		  
     Second (tie)
    Yonder
    by Ali Standish

    Nominees

    Above the Trenches by Nathan Hale

    The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

    A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen

    Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

    Rez Ball by Byron Graves

    Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings


    2023-2024


     
    First

    The Inheritance Games (#1)
    by Jennifer Barnes
    Second

    You'd Be Home Now
    by Kathleen Glasgow

    		  
    Third

    This Light Between Us
    by Andrew Fukuda 


    Nominees

    Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

    The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M. T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

    Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff 

    The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder Button Pusher by Tyler Page

    The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices of the Donner Party by Allan Wolf

    Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

    2022-2023

     
    First
    I Must Betray You
    by Ruta Sepetys
    Second
    You'll Be the Death of Me
    by Karen M. McManus
    		  
     Third
    The Similars
    by Rebecca Hanover

    Nominees

    Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

    You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

    The Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller

    Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

    Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen

    Paul, Big, and Small by David Glen Robb

    Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury
     2021-2022

    Winner
    Dear Martin
    by Nic Stone
    First runner-up
    A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
    by Holly Jackson
    Second runner-up
    Dragon Hoops
    by Gene Luen Yang
    Nominees

    We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

    A Tale of Magic … by Chris Colfer

    Skyhunter by Marie Lu

    Desert Dust by Paul W. Papa

    Charming as a Verb  by Ben Philippe

    Pretend She's Here by Luanne Rice

    Fable by Adrienne Young

    2020-2021

     
     Winner
    They Both Die at the End
    by Adam Silvera
    First runner-up
    Grenade
    by Alan Gratz
    		  
     Second runner-up
    Game Changer
    by Tommy Greenwald

    Nominees

    Shout     by Laurie Halse Anderson
    Solo     by Kwame Alexander
    Verify by Joelle Charbonneau

    Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

    The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

    Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

    Wizard for Hire by Obert Skye

    2019-2020
     
     Winner
    The Hate U Give
    by Angie Thomas
    First runner-up
    One of Us Is Lying
    by Karen M. McManus
    		  
     Second runner-up
    An Ember in the Ashes
    by Sabaa Tahir

    Nominees

    A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

    What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli

    Onyx & Ivory by Mindee Arnett
    Little White Lies     by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

    Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
    Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
    Renegades     by Marissa Meyer

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    Co-Chairs

    Jenn Beckstead (WLA)

    Leanne Woodfill (WSLA)

    Past committee members list

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    Committee Composition & Responsibilities

    • Eight members: four from each sponsoring organization, appointed by governing members of the organizations or designees.
    • Three-year terms with four terms expiring annually, provided not more than half the committee is new.
    • Two consecutive terms allowed.
    • Terms begin before the spring meeting.
    • Any member serving a partial term is eligible to serve three additional terms.
    • Two members, acting as co-chairs, one from each organization, will be responsible to the parent organizations.
    • Members must be on the committee for at least one year before becoming a co-chair.
    • Co-chairs' terms of office should expire on alternate years.
    • Expenses (cost of the award, postage, display board, treats for the meeting, packet expenses) will be submitted to the WLA secretary.
    • Letters sent to the publishers will be coordinated between the committees.

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    Reports

    2021 Book Awards report
    2020 Book Awards report
    2019 Book Awards report
    2017 Book Awards report
    2016 Book Awards report
    2014 Book Awards report

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    Award Guidelines

    The Soaring Eagle Book Award will consist of one list for grades 7-12. Librarians, reading, and English teachers solicit nominations from Wyoming students in grades 7-12. The nominations are sent to the committee by March 1. If any nomination summary forms are returned with incomplete information, the committee may disregard them. The award committee meets to finalize a list of titles for grades 7-12. This list becomes the ballot for the next school year.

    Nominations

    • The book may be fiction or nonfiction.
    • The book must currently be in print and have a copyright date within the last five years.
    • Adult books may be nominated.
    • The book must not have appeared first as a movie or TV show.

    Voting

    • Each Wyoming student in grades 7-12 who has read at least three books on the list may vote for his or her favorite book.
    • Voting takes place during the month of March. The sponsoring librarian or teacher tabulates the ballots and the ballot tally sheet is returned to the committee by March 15.

    Considerations

    • Use published guidelines for nominations.
    • Consider the number of student nominations.
    • There must be at least two positive recommendations in professional book reviewing publications or by committee members.
    • Each book for the final ballot will have been read by at least one committee member.
    • Only one title by each author will be included on the list. Consider the number of student nominations as the deciding factor.
    • Books that are past winners of the Soaring Eagle or Indian Paintbrush Awards can't be on the list.
    • No books by the winning author can appear on the following year’s list.
    • No title can be on the list two consecutive years.
    • When two or more books, in a series by the same author, have reviews which are equally good and have an equal number of nominations, the earlier one in the series is added to the list.
    • For books by Wyoming authors with no reviews, committee members decide on quality of the book after it is read by at least two committee members.
    • Consider grade level appropriateness of nominations.
    • Consider including some high interest/low vocabulary books.
    • Young adult books may contain some adult language and situations.
    • The list shouldn't exceed ten titles.

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    (800) 969-6562 

    Wyoming Library Association

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    Ballwin MO 63021

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