Coretta Scott King Awards - Statistics 1970 - 2012

The 44^th Annual Coretta Scott King Awards will webcast live January 28, 2013 at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. The awards are given to African American authors and illustrators of outstanding YA and children books about the black experience.

For fun (yeah, it’s true), I’ve updated a simple spreadsheet of CSK Award winners, including the John Steptoe New Talent Award: year, what award received, recipient name, title of the book, publisher, whether winner was a man, woman or team.  Now, I’m not a statistician. I’m the author of the picture book Martha Ann’s Quilt for QueenVictoria (also in Spanish). Many bloggers and librarians focus on mock Caldecott award winners. I try to guess who will win the Coretta Scott King Awards.

Can past decisions by the CSK Award judges give us any insights into the 2013 winners?

There have been 261 CSK awards presented since 1970. Authors have won 61% of the awards. The annual illustrator awards started in 1974 and now account for 38% of the awards. There have been 3 Lifetime Achievement winners for 1%.

Most recipients of a Coretta Scott King Award have been female.  Women are most likely to be recipient of an Author award; while Illustrator recipients are likely to be men. 

However, most WINNERS of a CSK award have been male.

Since 1995, the John Steptoe New Talent Award has been given to an African American author or illustrator “to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration.”  Unfortunately, there have been five years, including 2012, that the CSK Award Committee was unable to name any new talent for writing or illustration excellence. 

Once a CSK Award Recipient, Likely a Future Recipient
 
Authors or illustrators who have received two or more CSK awards or honors account for the majority of all award recipients. For example, 26 African American authors (33%) have been honored with 67% of all the author awards given since 1970.  And, 17 Black illustrators (40%) have 75% of all the illustrator awards given.

83% of the 2012 CSK award recipients were repeat winners.  Overall, the annual average of repeat winners is 56%.

Who's on my short list for 2013 CSK Award Honors?

 

The photo above includes 33 books published in 2012 by African American authors (21 are by Black women, 11 by Black men, and 1 by a couple). 16 of the authors are previous CSK Award recipients. 

My prediction is that the 2013 Coretta Scott King Author Award(s) will go to at least one of the following:

• No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson - a previous winner
• The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis - a previous winner
• Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass by Lesa Cline-Ransome
• Black Boy White School by Brian F. Walker
• Discovering Wes Moore by Wes Moore

 

The photo above includes 19 books published in 2012 with artwork by African American illustrators (17 Black men and 2 Black women). 16 of the illustrators are previous CSK Award recipients.

My prediction is that the 2013 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award(s) will go to at least one of the following: 

• When Grandmama Sings illustrated by James Ransome - a previous winner
• Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington art by Bryan Collier - a previous winner
• We March written and illustrated by Shane Evans - a previous winner
• Seed Magic illustrated  by Charlotte Riley-Webb
• Ellen's Broom illustrated  by Daniel Minter
• Hope's Gift illustrated by Don Tate (This book was published in late Dec 2012 - so I'm not sure it even arrived in time for CSK Committee consideration.)

So - who do YOU think will win?