The Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, presented by The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English (ALAN), is an annual award in the United States for a book that exemplifies literary excellence, widespread appeal, and a positive approach to life in young adult literature.

It is named after Amelia Elizabeth Walden who died in Westport, Connecticut in 2002 and was a pioneer in the field of Young Adult Literature.

[2] The award highlights works written for a young adult audience that demonstrate a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.

Walden told her editor that she intended the novel for young people who lived at "the gateway", on that middle ground between adolescence and adulthood.

[1] The selection committee composed of ten The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) members (3 teachers, 3 university professors, 3 librarians, and 1 chair) appointed by the previous year's chair and current ALAN President for a one-year term with the possibility of re-election for a second term.