National Awards
Peabody Award
For Amy's contribution to the film adaptation of "Having Our Say" (1999), Amy and the producers were given a Peabody Award in recognition of "outstanding public service and achievement in electronic media." Amy was a consultant and advisor on the film production, which starred Ruby Dee as Bessie Delany, Diahann Carroll as Sadie Delany, and Amy Madigan as Amy Hill Hearth.
ALA "Notable Book" (two times)
The American Library Association selected both Having Our Say and Streetcar to Justice as "Notable Books."
NAACP Image Award Nomination
In 1993, Having Our Say received an NAACP Image Award Nomination for Literature.
Septima Clark "Women in Literature" Award
Amy won the Inaugural Septima Clark "Women in Literature" Award in 2019 from the National Council for the Social Studies for her book, Streetcar to Justice.
"One City, One Book" Selections
Having Our Say selected for "One Book, One City" celebrations (citywide book reads) in numerous cities, including Washington, D.C., New Rochelle, N.Y., Columbia, South Carolina and Lawrence, Kansas. Strong Medicine Speaks: A Native American Elder Has Her Say selected for Cumberland County, New Jersey group read.
New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age" (four times)
New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age" (four times: For Having Our Say, The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom, On My Own, and In a World Gone Mad)
"ABBY" Honor Book Award
For Having Our Say, Amy and the Delany Sisters won an "ABBY" Honor Book Award from the American Booksellers Association in 1994. Photo shows Amy, center, with Sadie Delany, at left, and Bessie Delany, right, at the sisters' home in Mt. Vernon, New York. Photo by Blair Hearth. Copyright 1992 A.H. Hearth.
Theatrical Adaptation Nominated for Three Tony Awards
The Broadway theatrical adaptation of the book, Having Our Say, received three Tony Award nominations, including Best Play (1995). Amy was a consultant and advisor on the theatrical production. Photo shows Amy with her parents with the Booth Theatre, featuring "Having Our Say" on the marquee, in the background. (Photo copyright A.H. Hearth)
Two Christopher Awards
For their book, Having Our Say, Amy and the Delany Sisters won a Christopher Award for Literature (1993). Six years later, the movie adaptation of the book won a Christopher Award for Film (1999). Amy was a consultant and advisor on the film production.
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Award
Amy received a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Award in 2018 for her book, Streetcar to Justice.
Gwen and C. Dale White Award
In 1993, Amy received the Gwen and C. Dale White Award from the New York Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action for "Introducing the Delany Sisters to a World Audience."