In January 2001, Robert Lipsyte received the MAE Award.  The committee cited his books The Contender, One Fat Summer, The Brave, and The Chief in their commendation of his lifetime contribution to young adult literature.

The son of two educators, a principal and teacher, Lipsyte attended Columbia College and later it's Graduate School of Journalism. He began his career as a copyboy with the New York Times and left that paper as a sports columnist fourteen years later "ready to write books."

Lipsyte's work was considered worthy of recognition because his books "help adolescents recognize their role and their importance in relationships, society, and the world."