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2025 Virginia Library Association Graphic Novel Diversity Award
Youth Award Winners
The Graphic Novel Diversity Award (GNDA) celebrates diversity captured within the pages of graphic novels. In 2025, our ninth year offering the award, the Graphic Novel Diversity Award Committee selected one winner and five honor titles in the youth division.
The winning title's creator will receive a $500 award and will be recognized during the Opening Session at the 2025 VLA/VLACRL Annual Conference on Thursday, October 2, 2025. This year's conference is at the Richmond Marriott in Richmond, VA. More information about the conference, including registration, can be found here.
Click the buttons below for a downloadable PDF of the committee's complete youth selections for the 2025 Graphic Novel Diversity Awards, including the winners, honors, and overflow choices. Learn more about the Graphic Novel Diversity Award and committee information here.
2025 Youth Winner
The committee is pleased to announce Navigating with You by Jeremy Whitley, art by Cassio Ribero, published by Maverick as the 2025 Youth Graphic Novel Diversity Award Winner.
Jeremy Whitley’s heartfelt graphic novel follows Neesha Sparks, a Black high schooler with cerebral palsy and a passion for costume design and Gabby Graciana, a Puerto Rican surfer new to town. When the two girls discover they share a love for the same manga series they embark on a road trip across North Carolina to find the missing volumes. As they journey together, their friendship deepens into a romantic relationship.
The narrative intertwines their adventure with excerpts from the manga, exploring themes of identity, disability, grief, and self-discovery. Illustrated by Cassio Ribeiro and featuring dynamic lettering by Nikki Fox, the novel offers a nuanced portrayal of queer and disabled characters, with earnest storytelling and emotional depth. |
2025 Cardinal Cup Award Winner and Honors Announced
The Cardinal Cup Committee, previously the Jefferson Cup Committee, is pleased to announce their 2025 winner, honor titles, series of note, and overfloweth selections. The 8-person committee selected these books from 168 historical fiction, historical nonfiction, and biography titles that ranged from picture books to young adult titles. The complete book list can be downloaded below.
The 2025 Cardinal Cup Award presentations at the Virginia Library Association 2025 Annual Conference in Richmond, Virginia are sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University.
Winner
The 2025 Cardinal Cup winner is One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome, published by Holiday House.
Slavery has ended, but life in Mississippi is still hard. Lettie’s father dreams of a better life for his family on their own land in Nebraska. So, Lettie finds herself in a covered wagon, embarking on a perilous journey West. The story is narrated in turns by Lettie, her mother Sylvia, and
Philomena, a young teacher who joins the group midway through the journey. This novel in verse does not gloss over the dangers, whether disease, crossing treacherous rivers, facing bandits on the road, or concerns about running out of money and supplies. But families and fellow travelers band together to support each other.
Lettie and her family are part of a larger migration when thousands of black families left the Reconstruction-era South as pioneers seeking a new life in the West when promised freedoms never came. In the end, this is a hopeful story where black families find a freer space to start their lives anew, and the very dangers of pioneer life provide more autonomy for women homesteaders as well. This compelling middle-grade novel in verse shines a light on a little-known chapter of the American pioneer experience.
About the Author
 Lesa Cline-Ransome is the author of more than twenty books for young readers including the Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor Author Honor Book One Big Open Sky and the award-winning Finding Langston trilogy. Her work has received a plethora of honors, including dozens of starred reviews, NAACP Image Award nominations, the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and a Christopher Award. Her work has been named to ALA Notable Books and Bank Street Best Children’s Book lists and she lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York.
Honors
The 2025 Cardinal Cup Committee has selected four honor titles. The titles are:
- Call Me Roberto: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez (Calkins Creek)
- Heroes by Alan Gratz (Scholastic Press)
- The Soldier’s Friend: Walt Whitman’s Extraordinary Service in the American Civil War by Gary Golio, illustrated by E. B. Lewis (Calkins Creek)
- The Sole Man: Jan Matzeliger’s Lasting Invention by Shana Keller, illustrated by Stephen Costanza (Sleeping Bear Press)
Series of Note
The Cardinal Cup Committee recognizes a series of note. The Committee must read at least two titles from a book series for it to be eligible for this honor. The Series of Note is First Second's History Comics. This middle grade nonfiction graphic novel series aims to make history come alive. The committee received two titles from the series: Hip-Hop: The Beat of America by Jarrett Williams and The Prohibition Era: America’s War on Alcohol by Jason Viola and Roger Langridge. The graphic format of these well-researched books makes history more engaging for young readers without sacrificing accuracy or a balanced representation of America’s past.
About Cardinal Cup Award
Established in 1982 and presented since 1983, the Cardinal Cup Committee’s goal is to promote reading about America’s past; to encourage the quality writing of United States history, biography, and historical fiction for young people, and to recognize authors in these disciplines. From 2012-2021 two books were selected: one for geared toward young adult readers and one for young readers. Beginning in 2022, the Committee returned to the original model, honoring the most distinguished biography, historical fiction, or American history book for young people. In 2023, the Committee and award were renamed. The Cardinal Cup Committee’s mission remains the same, with a commitment to celebrating titles that honor the diverse history of the United States. |
2026 Virginia Library Association Executive Committee Election
ALA Councilor Statements
About the ALA Councilor
The ALA Councilor is the liaison between the chapter association (VLA) and the American Library Association (ALA).. The Councilor’s term is three years, and they assume office immediately.
What's at Stake
VLA's ALA Councilor is our representative in the American Library Association. They attend special meetings, such as for the ALA Chapter Relations Committee, and participate in the deliberations of the American Library Association Council and vote on issues which come before the Council.
There are three candidates for ALA Councilor. Learn more about them below.
Bonnie Shaw began work as a library assistant in spring 2011 in the Youth and Family Services department with Suffolk Public Libraries in Suffolk, Virginia. Shaw says, "Having no library experience when I started, with great mentoring and guidance, I was reading for storytime to toddlers and preschoolers within a couple of months, just in time for the Summer Reading Program season." In 2013, she began working with Portsmouth Public Libraries, where she experienced working in all library departments and discovered her love of cataloging. In 2015, she began working at the Slover Library with Norfolk Public Libraries in the events department, while doing a little cataloging in her downtime.
In March 2018, Shaw accepted a Cataloging Assistant position at William & Mary Libraries in
Williamsburg. While working these positions, she also attended Tidewater Community
College, transferring to Norfolk State University to receive her Bachelors of Interdisciplinary
Studies. When Shaw began at William & Mary, she started her MLIS degree at the University of Alabama in the 14th cohort that summer. She graduated, virtually, in the summer of 2020. After 5 years as a cataloging assistant, she transitioned to her current position as Senior Fiscal & Data Administrator for William & Mary Libraries.
Shaw has been a member of the Virginia Library Association since 2015 and served as the Chair of the VLA Professional Associates Forum from 2017-2018. She also served on the VLA conference planning committee.
Crystal Boyce is a Biological Sciences Librarian at George Mason University, but her journey in libraries began as a page at a public library in Newport News. From there, she worked in Circulation at the College of William & Mary, where she contributed to the Virginia Library Association (VLA) in multiple roles. Her career then took her to Illinois Wesleyan University as a Science Librarian, where she served in leadership positions within the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), contributed to national discussions on academic librarianship, and was recognized as an Emerging Leader by the ACRL Science & Technology Section.
Now back in Virginia, Boyce is eager to serve the VLA as ALA Councilor. Her experiences across public, academic, and special libraries in multiple states have given her a broad perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the profession. She is passionate about advocating for library workers and ensuring that Virginia’s voice is heard at the national level.
Beyond her commitment to professional service, Boyce brings project management and assessment skills, both crucial for a role requiring regular meetings, policy discussions, and strategic planning. Her background in usability testing, instructional assessment, and information policy research allows her to approach advocacy with an evidence-based mindset. Additionally, her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives aligns with ALA’s ongoing efforts to create more equitable and accessible library services.
Says Boyce, "I thrive on collaboration and believe my experience in leadership, policy, and assessment will serve the VLA well. I would be honored to represent Virginia librarians as ALA Councilor and advocate for the needs of our profession at the national level."
 Gladys Bell shares, "VLA has had the benefit of exceptional leadership over several decades, and has consistently brought the central concerns of librarians to the membership. It would be an honor to serve as the VLA ALA Councilor-at-large in a new and impactful way. Having served as an elected ALA Councilor-at-Large for over ten years and as an academic librarian for decades with extensive experience in the governance of librarianship at the state and ALA level. I am deeply committed to the growth, advocacy and support of our profession and this role provides an exciting and a continued opportunity for me to further contribute to the development of the library community in Virginia, while also representing our interests on a national scale. I believe my experience, my passion for libraries, and my dedication to serving the profession make me a strong candidate for this role as Virginia’s ALA Councilor-at-Large. If elected, I am eager to continue to support VLA and the library community in Virginia in this way."
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2026 Virginia Library Association Executive Committee Election
Second Vice President Candidate Statements
About the Second Vice President
The Second Vice President is a member of the Executive Committee and Council. The Second Vice President’s term is two years and they assume office immediately after the annual conference. The winner will serve from October 2026 - October 2028.
What's at Stake
Are you on a VLA committee or interested in joining one? The Second Vice President handles committee placement and will work with VLA staff in the fall to meet with committee leadership and make recommendations on changes to procedures. Additionally, they are responsible for reviewing the VLA Manual and By-laws and making recommendations for changes as needed.
EDIT, JULY 17, 2025: As of today, one candidate has withdrawn from the race. There is one candidate for Virginia Library Association Second Vice President. Learn more below.
 Margaret Howard is the branch manager at Chesterfield Public Library, where she has worked for 14 years. Her favorite part of being a manager is working with and mentoring staff members. She tries to walk in the footsteps of the leaders who have supported and inspired her throughout the years. She hopes to make a small difference in the lives of the people she works with and the community she serves.
In 2013, she was named an ALA Emerging Leader and has served on several ALA committees over the past decade. She chaired the VLA New Members Round Table (NMRT) from 2014–2015 and enjoyed being part of the VLA Conference Committee in 2020 and 2021. After serving on the VLA Continuing Education Committee in 2021, she was named the 2022 VALLA coordinator. She then worked with a team led by Dr. Jennifer Brown and Clint Rudy to reimagine VALLA into the launchpad for library leadership it is today.
Howard says, "Being a VLA member is one of my favorite parts of working in libraries. The connections I’ve made have been invaluable, and I’m constantly inspired by the brilliance of its members and leaders. Although I’ve served on and led several committees over the years, I’ve long hoped to take a more active role in VLA leadership. Now feels like the perfect time to throw my hat in the ring. I’ve gained so much from my membership and would love the opportunity to give back and fully immerse myself in VLA leadership."
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