The Scott O'Dell Award

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Established by Scott O’Dell and Zena Sutherland in 1982, the Scott O’Dell Award is given for a distinguished work of historical fiction for young readers. To be eligible, a book must be published by a U.S. publisher; the setting must be South, Central or North America; and the author must be a U.S. citizen. Books published during each calendar year are eligible for the following year’s award. Awards are normally given during the annual ALA Conference. However, due to author schedules, awards may be given during the Winter meeting. The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction's Awards Committee may consider any eligible book, but publishers’ submissions are valuable in bringing books to the attention of the Committee. To be eligible for the award, a book must have been published as a book intended for children or young people, it must be set in the New World (Canada, Central or South America, or the United States), it must be published by a publisher in the United States, and it must be written in English by a citizen of the United States. Each year the selection is made by the Award Committee, which was headed from its inception in 1982 until her death in 2002 by Zena Sutherland, Professor Emeritus of Children's Literature at the University of Chicago.

The home of The Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction is the Reinberger Children’s Library Center at the Kent State University iSchool in Kent, Ohio.    

In 2022, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction was moved to Kent State University’s iSchool Reinberger Children’s Library Center. In partnership with Kent State University, the O'Dell family and matriarchs Elizabeth Hall (Scott's widow) and Lauren Anderson Gerber (Scott's granddaughter) continue to administer and fund the annual award. The family is grateful to the following members of the Award Committee:  Mary Anne Nichols, Senior Lecturer Kent State University (KSU) iSchool and Committee Chair; and the following committee members: Dr. Deleon M.W. Awill, School Librarian East Baton Rouge Parish Schools; Michelle Baldini, Director, KSU Reinberger Children’s Library Center; Alexandra Bell, Children’s Librarian, Bloomington (IL) Public Library; Dr. Katie Campana, Assistant Professor, KSU iSchool; Angela Durham, School Librarian, Oak Pointe Elementary (SC); Kevin Lee, School Librarian, Washington DC Public Schools; Helen A. Prince, School Librarian, Indian Land High School (SC); Rachel Sweany, Senior Children’s Librarian, New York Public Library; and Maria Trivisonno,  Family Engagement Specialist, Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library. 

If you have inquiries regarding the submission process or timeline that the information provided in the column to the right doesn't address, please email Mary Anne Nichols at mnichol1@kent.edu and put “O’Dell Award” in the subject line.

The O'Dell family also wishes to acknowledge the long-time dedication of former Award Committee members: Deborah Stevenson, Retiring Director and Editor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's School of Information Sciences Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books; Elizabeth (Betty) Bush, former St. Damian School Librarian and adjunct faculty for the University of Illinois’ iSchool; and Roger Sutton, Editor in Chief of the Horn Book, Inc. (The Scott O'Dell Estate is extremely grateful to Ann Carlson, Librarian at Oak Park and River Forest High School, who in October 2019 after twenty years of service, stepped down from the Award Committee.

• Books may be submitted throughout the year to the Award Committee. 

An Awards Nomination Form (download below) must be submitted with the required information for each title you wish to bring to the attention of the Award Committee. 

Send the following information directly to Mary Anne Nichols, Committee Chair, at her email address, mnichol1@kent.edu: 

• Indicate O’Dell Award Nomination Candidate; 
• Submit Book Title (include a subtitle if there is one), Author, Publisher, Month and Year of Publication; 
• Include Name, telephone number, and e-mail address of the publishing house contact. 

The Chair will send a roster to interested parties so that all committee members may receive a copy of the nominated title. 

In addition to print copies of nominated titles, the committee will also accept directly submitted PDFs or e-galleys via Edelweiss, which should whitelist the committee emails and have no expiration date, and committee members should be emailed notice of the Edelweiss submission. 

 Once the award recipient is selected and the publisher and/or literary agent is notified, the publisher must provide two additional copies of the selected book to the Committee for the O’Dell family.

If you have inquiries regarding the submission process or timeline that the information provided in the column to the right doesn't address, please email Mary Anne Nichols at mnichol1@kent.edu and put “O’Dell Award” in the subject line.