Americas Book Award

These 2026 Américas Award Commended Titles celebrate the beautiful complexity of growing up between worlds.

A Festa for Luana written by @joanapastro and illustrated by @dudaoliva.art follows a Brazilian-American girl navigating the joyful but disorienting experience of Festa Junina in Brazil, where she wonders whether she has to choose between two parts of herself. Oshún and Me written by @adibanelson and illustrated by @alleannaharris weaves together Afro-Latina identity, Yoruba spiritual tradition, and the quiet power of braids to tell a story of protection, belonging, and connection. And Speak Up, Santiago! by @julioanta follows a Colombian-American boy whose summer with his grandmother becomes an honest and tender reckoning with language, identity, and what it means to be bicultural.

Stay tuned for more commended title spotlights!

The award is administered by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (@claspprograms) and coordinated by both Tulane University’s Stone Center for Latin American Studies (@tusclas) and the University of Arizona’s Center for Latin American Studies (@uaz_clas). Generous support is provided by @fiulacc, @msuclacs, @clacsberkeley, @lacsconsortium, @ucla_lai, @unmlaii, @uofu.ias, @uf_latam, @uwmclacs, @vanderbilt_clacx, @llilasbenson, @clacsillinois, Stanford University’s CLAS, and the University of Michigan’s LACS.