The 2010 American Indian Youth Literature Award winners were announced at the American Library Association Mid-Winter Conference in January 2010. Author Thomas King and illustrator Gary Clement were the recipients of the Picture Book Award for their book A Coyote Solstice Tale. The Middle School winner is Meet Christopher: An Osage Indian Boy from Oklahoma by Genevieve Simermeyer. Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me by Lurline Wailana McGregor took the Young Adult prize. The winners will be honored at the American Indian Library Association award ceremony at American Library Association annual conference in Washington, DC, on June 28.

The American Indian Youth Literature Awards recognize excellence in books by and about American Indians.  By identifying and honoring outstanding writing and illustrations in the field of youth literature, the American Indian Library Association encourages authors, illustrators, editors, publishers and tribal entities to create materials that “present Native Americans in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts.”  The first awards were presented at the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in Dallas, Texas, in October 2006. 

The American Indian Library Association (AILA), part of the American Library Association, is a membership action group that addresses the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives. AILA was founded in 1979 in conjunction with the White House Pre-Conference on Indian Library and Information Services on or near Reservations.  AILA members are individuals and institutions interested in the development of programs to improve library and information services in all types of libraries that serve Indian communities.