Recognizing Books that Create Change in the Name of Social Justice for All
And the Winners are …
Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, the Nation’s First Shelter for Women, by Christine McDonnell and Victoria Tentler-Krylov (Candlewick Press) and Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City, by Andrea Elliott (Random House) have won Goddard Riverside’s 2022 social justice book prizes.
Goddard Riverside’s Book Prizes
The Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice and Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice celebrate the power of the written word to create change in the name of justice for all people—a value shared Goddard Riverside and our longtime supporters in the publishing community.
The Russo Prize debuted in 2017. It is named in honor of our former executive director, Stephan Russo, and was inspired by his appreciation of books that help us understand the issues of our day. We added the CBC Prize in 2019 in partnership with the Children’s Book Council, to highlight the important role of books in teaching children about social justice.
Adult Book Prize
Eligible works are full-length, nonfiction books with subject matter related to housing, early childhood and secondary education, older adult life, city arts, social policy and other important aspects of community life that support and promote Goddard Riverside’s mission of investing in people and strengthening community.
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Stephan Russo Prize Rules
Rules and Requirements of the Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice
Youth Book Prize
Eligible works are nonfiction books for children or teens related to urban life and issues and supporting values such as community, equality, opportunity, mutual understanding, respect, caring and justice – in accordance with Goddard Riverside’s mission. This prize is administered by the Children’s Book Council. For more information, please contact cbc.info@cbcbooks.org.
Book Prize Judges
Meet the panels for both book prizes.
2021 Winners
Children Under Fire and Pura’s Cuento’s Claim Prizes
John Woodrow Cox’s exploration of the wide-ranging impacts of gun violence on our nation’s children joins Annette Bay Pimentel’s story of an iconic New York City librarian as our judges’ top picks.
In 2021, we released a six-book shortlist for each prize, full of challenging and interesting titles on topics ranging from immigration to health care to housing.
Thank you to our volunteers!
Sheila Rojas
Diana Baez
Valerie Camejo
Emily Bramhall
Brianne Kilpatrick
Mary Beth Dunphe
Melissa Chiles
Amanda Hopper
Marta Kaminski
Grant McKeown
Gabrielle Shatan
Jenny Pfister
Nelly Gomez
Past Winners
2021
Adult Book Prize
John Woodrow Cox’s Children Under Fire: An American Crisis [Ecco/HarperCollins]
Youth Book Prize
Pura’s Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, by Annette Bay Pimentel; illus. by Magaly Morales [Harry N. Abrams]
2020
Adult Book Prize
Anne Kim’s Abandoned: America’s Lost Youth and the Crisis Of Disconnection [The New Press]
Youth Book Prize
Michael W. Waters’ For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World [Flyaway Books]
2019
Adult Book Prize
(Two Winners)
Jan Haldipur’s No Place on the Corner: The Costs of Aggressive Policing [NYU Press]
Alex Kotlowitz’s An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago [Nan A. Talese]
2018
Adult Book Prize
Bernice Yeung’s In a Day’s Work: The Fight to End Sexual Violence Against America’s Most Vulnerable Workers [The New Press]
2017
Adult Book Prize
Susan Burton’s Becoming Ms. Burton [The New Press]
Each year we interview the winners of the Book Prizes. Learn more on our Book Chats page.