Since 1931, The Commonwealth Club’s California Book Awards has honored the best of California literature. Every year, a jury reads hundreds of books to find the very best; every spring, they choose a small group of finalists for the award. Winners are announced each May.
To celebrate 92 years of the California Book Awards, we invite all readers aged 13 and older to read with us and share your responses to the 2023 finalists! Do you agree with our choices? Did your favorite win the award? Tell us what you think!
You do not have to live in California to take part—in fact, we’d love to hear from readers aged 13 and older all over the US.
Read one or more of the finalists from this year, 2022, or 2021.
Respond to the prompts. You can submit written work, videos, drawings or photographs, or audio recordings.
Share your response on this website.
Explore this site to see what other young people have to say. Even though the books were written by California authors, they include ideas and themes that people from anywhere can relate to. How did readers from different parts of the country respond?
All of the finalists can be found in your local bookstore or library. You can also purchase them online from The Commonwealth Club or other online book sellers.
To ensure that all readers can participate, free books can be sent to people, schools, and organizations with financial need. Please email education@commonwealthclub.org for more information.
About the Book Awards
Many prominent writers have received the California Book Award, some of whom were famous at the time, and others who would become famous later in their careers. Receiving a California Book Award is a high honor. The winners are selected by jurors who spend months reading hundreds of books, judging each one using criteria such as originality, timeliness, and appeal for a particular audience. After careful consideration, the jurors choose a small group of finalists and, from these, they award Gold and Silver medals in different book categories, including Juvenile and Young Adult Literature for young readers.
Watch the 91st annual celebration of the California Book Awards!
About the Commonwealth Club
Located in San Francisco, The Commonwealth Club of California is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the US. Each year, The Commonwealth Club hosts more than 500 programs in person and online, about topics ranging from politics and social justice to entertainment, food, tech, education, and, of course, literature. Creating Citizens is the Club's K-12 civics education initiative designed to ensure that all students are able to participate in the democratic process as active, informed citizens. Recognizing that literacy is a core skill for civic participation, Creating Citizens and The Commonwealth Club are proud to invite young people to take part in the California Book Awards project.
Contact
If you have any questions, please email education@commonwealthclub.org.