Portland author Renée Watson wins 2026 Newbery Medal for grief-themed children’s book All the Blues in the Sky

A national children’s literature honor for a Portland-raised writer

Renée Watson, a Portland-raised author known for writing for young readers, has won the 2026 John Newbery Medal for All the Blues in the Sky, a children’s book that blends verse and prose to follow a 13-year-old character through grief after the death of a best friend. The medal is widely regarded as the United States’ most prominent annual award for a distinguished contribution to children’s literature.

The Newbery announcement was made on Jan. 26, 2026, as part of the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards program in Chicago. The annual event also includes recognitions across children’s and young adult publishing, including awards for illustration and for literature reflecting diverse communities.

What the winning book is about

All the Blues in the Sky centers on Sage, a 13-year-old navigating daily life after the sudden loss of her closest friend. The story portrays grief as uneven and unpredictable, including feelings of guilt, anxiety, loneliness and love, while also showing the character’s gradual movement toward healing through time and support.

The book was published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books and released in February 2025. Its form—short vignettes and poems—places it within a growing segment of children’s and middle-grade literature that uses verse to depict interior experience and emotional change.

How the Youth Media Awards process works

The Youth Media Awards are selected by committees composed of librarians and other literature and media specialists, with the Newbery Medal focused on writing and literary quality rather than sales or popularity. Medal and honor titles announced each January can shape school and library acquisitions nationwide and often drive significant increases in readership.

Alongside the Newbery, the 2026 announcements included the Randolph Caldecott Medal for picture-book illustration, plus multiple awards recognizing achievement in specific communities and categories.

• Caldecott Medal (illustration): Fireworks, illustrated by Cátia Chien and written by Matthew Burgess.
• Coretta Scott King Author Award: Will’s Race for Home, by Jewell Parker Rhodes.
• Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: The Library in the Woods, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (with text by Calvin Alexander Ramsey).

Watson’s local ties and career context

Watson was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in northeast Portland, attending Vernon Elementary School, Binnsmead Middle School and Jefferson High School. Her bibliography includes middle-grade and young adult titles, as well as picture books, and her work has often explored identity, community and the emotional realities of adolescence.

The Newbery Medal is awarded annually for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature published in the United States during the preceding year.

With the 2026 Newbery win, All the Blues in the Sky becomes the latest title to enter the Newbery canon, a list frequently used by educators and librarians as a benchmark for children’s reading selections.