The Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award was a literary award given annually from 1981 to 2016 to recognize a Canadian book of young adult fiction written in English and published in Canada, written by a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.[1]
The award was administered and presented by the Canadian Library Association, which disbanded in 2016. The award was established by the Young Adult Caucus of the Saskatchewan Library Association in 1980[1] and inaugurated by an award to Kevin Major of Newfoundland and Labrador for Far from Shore, published by Clarke, Irwin & Company of Toronto.[2]
The companion CLA Book of the Year for Children Award was inaugurated in 1947 and was presented annually without exception from 1963.[3] Its criteria included "appeal to children up to and including age 12" and "creative (i.e., original) writing (i.e., fiction, poetry, narrative, non-fiction, retelling of traditional literature)".[3] Corresponding criteria for the YA Book Award are "[appeal] to young adults between the ages of 13 and 18" and "fiction (novel, collection of short stories, or graphic novel)".[1]
The Canadian Library Association also administered a book award for illustrators, the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award.