Submissions are now invited for the 2022 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature. The prize is awarded annually by Dodd Human Rights Impact, at the University of Connecticut’s Human Rights Institute, and is presented to the author of an outstanding children’s or young adult book addressing human rights issues or themes such as discrimination, equity, poverty, justice, war, peace, slavery, or freedom. Within these larger themes, the award committee is particularly eager to recognize stories about individuals – real or fictional, children or adults – who have been affected by social injustices, and who, by confronting them, have made a difference in their lives or the lives of others.

The winning book of the 2022 Malka Penn Award will be announced in spring 2022, and a ceremony will be held in the fall of 2022 at The Dodd Center for Human Rights in Storrs, Connecticut. The award winner will receive a bronze medallion and certificate and will be invited to deliver an address to the university faculty, students, and wider community. The winner of the 2021 Malka Penn Award was Kim Johnson for her book, This Is My America, a compelling young adult novel which exposes the unequal treatment of African Americans within the criminal justice system.

Any book for children and young adults originally published in the United States between January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021 is eligible for consideration for the 2022 Malka Penn Award. The book may be a work of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, or biography. Books must be published in a physical, print form—e-books are currently ineligible for consideration.

The deadline for submission for the 2022 Malka Penn Award is December 31, 2021.

To submit a book for consideration, please send ten copies to:

Malka Penn Award Selection Committee
Dodd Human Rights Impact
Human Rights Institute
University of Connecticut
405 Babbidge Road, U-1205
Storrs, CT 06269-1205

For more information visit: https://humanrights.uconn.edu/awards/malka-penn-award/