Jacqueline Woodson Named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

Some good news coming out of Jacket Copy on Friday. The Library of Congress has made Jacqueline Woodson the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. An award-winning author, Woodson has spent her career advocating for the vigorous presence of literature in the lives of young Americans, and she served as Young Peoples Poetry Laureate for the Poetry Foundation from 2015-2017. More from Jacket Copy:

Jacqueline Woodson, the author who won a National Book Award for her young adult memoir “Brown Girl Dreaming,” has been named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

The appointment was announced by the Library of Congress, one of three organizations that selected Woodson, along with the Children's Book Council and Every Child a Reader.

The Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, said she was “delighted” that Woodson agreed to take on the role.

“I have admired Jacqueline Woodson’s work for years, especially her dedication to children and young adult literature,” Hayden said. “The Library of Congress looks forward to Jacqueline’s tenure of encouraging young readers to embrace reading as a means to improve the world.”

Woodson will become the sixth ambassador when she is inaugurated Jan. 9 at the Library of Congress. Previous ambassadors include Jon Scieszka, Katherine Paterson, Walter Dean Myers, Kate DiCamillo and Gene Luen Yang.

Time to head to Jacket Copy to read on!