Newbery Medal Acceptance Speech Quotes

“Reading is important.
Books are important.
Librarians are important. (Also, libraries are not child-care facilities, but sometimes feral children raise themselves among the stacks.)”
― Neil Gaiman

“It's not irrelevant, those moments of connection, those places where fiction saves your life. It's the most important thing there is.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book

“It was as if some people believed there was a divide between the books that you were permitted to enjoy and the books that were good for you, and I was expected to choose sides. We were all expected to choose sides. And I didn't believe it, and I still don't.

I was, and still am, on the side of books you love.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book

“...I wanted books and made no distinction between good books or bad, only between the ones I loved, the ones that spoke to my soul, and the ones I merely liked.”
― Neil Gaiman

“And I remembered. I would not be the person I am without the authors who made me what I am- the special ones, the wise ones, sometimes just the ones who got there first. It's not irrelevant, those moments of connection, those places where fiction saves your life. It's the most important thing there is.”
― Neil Gaiman