The Walter Award has been announced, along with two honor books, and all three are books we’ve already talked about in terms of Printz contention —  although we only support one of them strongly. Of course, the Walter is a different award, with a different purpose, but the committee is looking for “outstanding books” so it’s fascinating to look at which books they recognized from a year that is relatively rich in diverse titles.

(Yes, we still need more diverse books and more #ownvoices books and yes the numbers are still woefully low — but relative to previous years, it’s more than what we’ve had.)

Does WNDB/Walter recognition for Disappeared and You Bring the Distant Near push them higher on anyone’s Printz speculation? Does the win for A Long Way Down change your bets for its Printzly potential? Speculate away!