Ruta Sepetys

Author to receive the 2026 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature

New York Times bestselling author Ruta Sepetys is the winner of the 2026 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature, given by the Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Library Trust. She will accept the award at a free public presentation on Friday, May 1 at 6 p.m. in Connor’s Cove at Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St. At this public presentation, Sepetys will speak about her life, writing process and works. She will also assist in presenting awards to the winners of the 2026 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest.

Who is Ruta Sepetys?

Sepetys is a Lithuanian American No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction. Her novels are considered “crossover” works, as they are enjoyed by youth and adults internationally. Titles by Sepetys have been nominated for over 50 book prizes, are on more than 40 state readings lists and are in development for film and television adaptation. She has been awarded fellowships from England’s University of Oxford and Italy’s Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center.

Sepetys’ repertoire includes titles such as “Between Shades of Gray,” a New York Times Best Seller, an international bestseller and a finalist for the Carnegie Medal; “Salt to the Sea,” awarded the Carnegie Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the California Young Reader Medal; and “I Must Betray You,” winner of the Carnegie Medal for Reader’s Choice, the Joan F. Kaywell Books Save Lives Award and the Josette Frank Award for Fiction.

What is the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature?

The Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature gives formal recognition, on behalf of the Tulsa County community, to a nationally acclaimed author who has made a significant contribution to the field of literature for young adults. The award, presented by the Tulsa Library Trust, consists of a $10,000 cash prize and an engraved crystal book.

Past winners include: Kwame Alexander (2025), Raina Telgemeier (2024), Steve Sheinkin (2023), Nikki Grimes (2022), Jason Reynolds (2021), Katherine Applegate (2020), Rita Williams-Garcia (2019), Pam Muñoz Ryan (2018), Laurie Halse Anderson (2017), Gordon Korman (2016), Sharon Draper (2015), Jack Gantos (2014), Jim Murphy (2013), Jacqueline Woodson (2012), Kathryn Lasky (2011), Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2010), Christopher Paul Curtis (2009), Louis Sachar (2008), Kate DiCamillo (2007), Sharon Creech (2006), Avi (2005), Susan Cooper (2004), Russell Freedman (2003), Richard Peck (2002), E.L. Konigsburg (2001), Jerry Spinelli (2000), Jane Yolen (1999), Cynthia Voigt (1998), Gary Paulsen (1997), Walter Dean Myers (1996), Lois Lowry (1994), Katherine Paterson (1993), Madeleine L’Engle (1992) and S.E. Hinton (1991).

For more information about the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature or library programming, call the AskUs Hotline at 918-549-7323 or visit www.tulsalibrary.org/zarrowaward.