Presented annually to authors and illustrators of African descent, The Coretta Scott King Award commemorates the legacies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his widow Coretta Scott and their efforts to secure peace and brotherhood among all races in America. The Coretta Scott King Award seeks to promote an understanding and appreciation for the real “American Dream” and honors those African American artists and writers that lead efforts to that end in the literary field. We have listed the winners for the last ten years.

2004
Author: Angela Johnson, The First Part Last
Illustrator: Ashley Johnson, Beautiful Blackbird

2003
Author Award: The Red Rose Boy, Nikki Grimes
Illustrator Award: Talkin’ About Bessie: The Sory of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman,
illus. E.B. Lewis

2002
Author Award: The Land, Mildred Taylor
Illustrator Award: Going Someplace Special, illus. Jerry Pinkney

2001
Author Award: Miracle’s Boys, Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrator Award: Uptown, Bryan Collier

2000
Author Award: Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis
Illustrator Award: In the Time of the Drums, illus. Brian Pinkney

1999
Author Award: Heaven, Angela Johnson
Illustrator Award: i see the rhythm, illus. Michelle Wood

1998
Author Award: Forged by Fire, Sharon Draper
Illustrator Award: In Daddy’s Arms I am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers, illus. Javaka Steptoe

1997
Author Award: Slam, Walter Dean Myers
Illustrator Award: Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman, illus. Jerry Pinkney

1996
Author Award: Her Stories, Virginia Hamilton
Illustrator Award: The Middle Passage: White Ships Black Cargo, Tom Feelings

1995
Author Award: Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters, Patricia C. & Frederick L. McKissack
Illustrator Award: The Creation, illus. James Ransome

1994
Author Award: Toning the Sweep, Angela Johnson
Illustrator Award: Soul Looks Back in Wonder, illus. Tom Feelings

1993
Author Award: Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural, Patricia A. McKissack
Illustrator Award: The Origin of Life on Earth: an African Creation Myth, illus. Kathleen Atkins Wilson

Other Awards