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CILIP’s Diversity Action Plan Revealed Alongside Carnegie & Greenaway Nominations

November 6, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

The nominations for the 2019 Carnegie and Greenaway Medals were revealed yesterday.

Alongside the lists, CILIP outlined an action plan aimed at ensuring a more diverse representation in the awards.

This will include

an expanded judging panel of librarians, bringing a broad range of lived experiences and perspectives
enhanced diversity training for the judges
an equality, diversity and inclusion advisory panel to support and advise on the Awards process
a new prize voted for by children and young people
and a quarterly publication of Top 10 New Voices eligible for the upcoming Medals

Expanding the judging panel makes very good sense. I’m not so sure about “enhanced diversity training” – it partly depends what will be involved and how this is delivered. The need for an ‘equality, diversity and inclusion advisory panel’ is tantamount to an admission on CILIP’s part that it has failed in the past to be sufficiently cognisant of such matters.

The Carnegie and Greenaway Medals are distinctive because they are judged and awarded by librarians.

The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded annually by CILIP for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people; and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded for distinguished illustration. Adding a new prize voted for by children and young people seems to me entirely unnecessary when there are other awards that are decided upon in this way.

I do like the sound of and very much welcome the launch of a quarterly publication shining the light on the Top 10 New Voices. But is that to be 10 ‘new voices’ per quarterly issue? That would be 40 writers and illustrators having a spotlight put upon them each year. I wonder if there are that many ‘new’ voices being published each twelve months of sufficient distinction to warrant such attention.

This year, 254 books have been nominated for the 2019 Medals; 137 books are in the running for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and 117 for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

From the CILIP website:

What happens next?

Each nominated book is read by every member of the judging panel − 14 children’s and youth librarians representing all regions of CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group − who volunteer their time as judges.

From these nominations the judging panel will decide the long and shortlists and finally, the 2019 Medal winners, based on the official Medals criteria. The long and shortlists identify a range of outstanding books for children and young people, recognising excellent literature and illustration from new and established authors and illustrators.

The awards shadowing scheme engages thousands of children and young people in schools and libraries in the UK and overseas through reading groups that ‘shadow’ the judges as they read and engage with the shortlists. Shadowers critically and creatively explore the shortlisted books, through group participation and online engagement: posting reviews, blogs, artworks, videos, exploring human rights and participating in visual literacy based creative activities.

The winners’ ceremony in June will see one book from each shortlist awarded the first children’s choice prize, voted for and presented by shadowers, alongside the winners of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals.

Carnegie Nominations

Greenaway Nominations

School Librarian Of The Year Award 2018

October 9, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

Emma Suffield, librarian at Saint Wilfrid’s C of E Academy (saintwilfrids.co.uk) Blackburn, has been awarded the honour of the School Librarian of the Year 2018.

This is one of the most significant awards of the children’s book calendar. The School Library Association – which is a body committed to supporting everyone involved with school libraries, promoting high quality reading and learning opportunities for all – created the School Librarian of the Year Award in 2004, at the suggestion of Aidan Chambers and in response to the need for recognition of the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day. Nominees do not need to be members of the SLA, and may be from any phase of education.

Lauren St. John, whose books include The White Giraffe (Orion) and Kat Wolfe Investigates (Macmillan – one of the award’s sponsors) made the presentation at a special ceremony at The Judge’s Court, above Browns in St Martins Lane, earlier today. Just beforehand, St. John had given a brief keynote talk, explaining how she had not had the luxury of a library while growing up in Africa, but had nevertheless devoured books whenever they were on offer, frequently reading the same book many times over. She read everything, from Westerns to Sherlock Holmes, and books that her parents had lying around. At boarding school she read books that were passed from girl to girl, mainly Mills & Boons.

She referred to some research she had read about the benefit of books on the growing mind, in which reading was described as “training in the art of being human”. She also spoke glowingly of an article in The New Yorker, “Growing Up In The Library” by Susan Orlean, who also has a whole book on the subject due out in the UK in January.

St John read directly from the New Yorker piece, in which Orlean remembers her childhood library visits:

Those trips were dreamy, frictionless interludes that promised I would leave richer than I arrived. It wasn’t like going to a store with my mom, which guaranteed a tug-of-war between what I desired and what she was willing to buy me; in the library, I could have anything I wanted. On the way home, I loved having the books stacked on my lap, pressing me under their solid, warm weight, their Mylar covers sticking to my thighs.

In the interval after the four separate video presentations, and before the final winner was announced, I spoke with the Honour Listed librarian from India, Dr Chhavi Jain. The video presentation made it clear that her role is very curricular linked, with an emphasis on information literacy skills, so I wanted to learn more about the reading for pleasure tastes of her students. Although the school is described as ‘International’ the student body is predominantly Indian and she told me that Indian children’s tastes in reading are very much like those of children in this country. They will frequently request new fiction titles and Dr Jain passes their requests to the school management who invariably provide the required funding.

The CBSE – Central Board of Secondary Education – in India apparently makes it mandatory that every school has a properly funded library and librarian. How shameful that the situation in the UK is currently so different. The Award information booklet gave a two page summary of each librarian’s situation. “One of the challenges that X faces at work is that there is no school budget allocation for library stock.” WHAT! One thing this particular primary librarian did have however was a vocal fanbase, including one boy who captured the hearts of the audience with his emphatic and dramatic endorsement of her qualities. She simply had to stay at the school for generations to come, he said, so that his ‘sister and my other descendants’ would benefit from her role.

The winning librarian’s official title is Learning Resources Centre Manager, but Emma Suffield is seen more as a member of the family by many of the 1400 students at Saint Wilfrid’s C of E Academy in a diverse area of Blackburn, thanks to her personalised, thoughtful and supportive approach to engaging all readers across the school – something that came across well in the school’s polished video presentation. Innovative, imaginative practice, frequently going the extra mile, has led to an impressive 450% increase in book borrowing rates since Emma became responsible for the library in 2014.

Lesley Martin, Chair of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Selection Committee, said: ‘‘It is exciting for the profession to have someone as forward thinking, creative, passionate and professional about school libraries and no doubt with a great career ahead of her. Emma makes a real difference in her school and her community and her contribution to the wider library profession is already making an impact.’’

Noting that the award is a unique and wonderful celebration of the work of school librarians, Alison Tarrant, Chief Executive of the School Library Association, said: “The School Librarian of the Year Award is a brilliant opportunity to showcase the impact that school libraries can make, not just on pupils, but on staff and school culture. Our Honour List this year were all strong contenders and demonstrate the nuance needed when talking about school libraries – no two are the same; they are all reflective of the school around them, and it’s aims and priorities. Last month the launch of the Great School Libraries campaign – a three year campaign spearheaded by SLA, CILIP SLG and CILIP. The campaign has three aims: to secure school library funding; to produce a national framework for school libraries and recognition of school libraries within the Ofsted framework. Our Honour List support this aim and prove that supported school libraries can make a difference.”

The three other school librarians on the Honour List are:

Nicki Cleveland at Cannon Park Primary School
Dr. Chhavi Jain at Manav Rachna International School, Gurugram, New Delhi
Alison Kennedy at St George’s Ascot

The 2018 National Book Awards Longlist: Young People’s Literature

September 14, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

The 2018 National Book Awards Longlist: Young People’s Literature

Elizabeth Acevedo, “The Poet X”
HarperTeen / HarperCollins Publishers

M. T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, “The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge”
Candlewick Press

Bryan Bliss, “We’ll Fly Away”
Greenwillow Books / HarperCollins Publishers

Leslie Connor, “The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle”
Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins Publishers

Christopher Paul Curtis, “The Journey of Little Charlie”
Scholastic Press / Scholastic, Inc.

Jarrett J. Krosoczka, “Hey, Kiddo”
Graphix / Scholastic, Inc.

Tahereh Mafi, “A Very Large Expanse of Sea”
HarperTeen / HarperCollins Publishers

Joy McCullough, “Blood Water Paint”
Dutton Children’s Books / Penguin Random House

Elizabeth Partridge, “Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam”
Viking Children’s Books / Penguin Random House

VIDEO FROM THE NEW YORKER
Lies and Truth in the Era of Trump

Vesper Stamper, “What the Night Sings”
Knopf Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House

The judges for the category this year are
Robin Benway, whose book “Far From the Tree” won the 2017 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Lamar Giles, the author of “Fake ID” and a founding member of the nonprofit organization We Need Diverse Books
Grace Worcester Greene, who has spent her career working at libraries with and for young people
Valerie Koehler, the owner of the Blue Willow Bookshop, in west Houston
Mitali Perkins, the author of numerous books, most recently “You Bring the Distant Near.”

via The 2018 National Book Awards Longlist: Young People’s Literature | The New Yorker.

For Second Year Running The Klaus Flugge Prize Has Been Won By Title About The Refugee Experience

September 13, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

Kate Milner has won the 2018 Klaus Flugge Prize (for the most exciting and promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration) with her book My Name is Not Refugee (Barrington Stoke).

Kate studied illustration at St Martin’s College and illustrated magazines on Commercial and Housing Law for a while but has since spent most of her working life as a librarian, developing a passion for children’s books in the process.

When cuts to the library service resulted in her losing her job, she applied to do an MA in children’s book illustration at Anglia Ruskin University and for her degree show created the story that was to become My Name is Not Refugee and with it won Student Illustrator of the Year in the V&A Illustration Awards.

Winning the Klaus Flugge Prize marks her out as an important and extremely talented illustrator with a very special gift for creating picture books.

Judge, Children’s Laureate Lauren Child says: “The questions My Name is Not Refugee asks us to consider help us to think ourselves into someone else’s shoes. And the illustrations do just what they should, allowing the reader time to contemplate the predicament of the storybook child, a chance to imagine and to empathize.”

The Klaus Flugge Prize was founded to honour publisher Klaus Flugge, a supremely influential figure in picture books. Flugge set up Andersen Press in 1976 and has discovered and nurtured many of today’s most distinguished illustrators including David McKee, Tony Ross, Satoshi Kitamura and Susan Varley.

Chair of the judges, Julia Eccleshare said: “The 2017 Klaus Flugge Prize was awarded to Francesca Sanna for her book The Journey, so for the second year running the prize has gone to a book which describes the refugee experience. Klaus Flugge has always championed picture books for children that challenge them to think about the world and how it works, from The Conquerors by David McKee to An Anty-War Story by Tony Ross, and it’s fitting that the prize in his name once again demonstrates that picture books can cover the most important and most topical subjects.”

Kate Milner said: “I felt absolutely amazed and delighted when I heard that I’d won. I was very, very pleased to be shortlisted but I explained to everyone at the time that there was absolutely no chance of me winning. I was quite clear about this. When I got the good news I was alone in the house apart from my son who was still asleep. I was beside myself with delight; he didn’t get to stay asleep long.

I have done all sorts of things in my working life. I have painted pub signs and made prints; been a teacher and a carer. I have always made images and thought up stories, but it was a job at the local library that changed everything for me: I fell in love with children’s books. Part of my job was to read to groups of pre-school children at Rhyme Time, which was an excellent way of discovering which books kept their attention, indeed which books kept my attention. I also helped with Chatterbooks and the Summer Reading Challenge, both of which involved talking to children about books. It was an education. We wondered why picture books contain lots of farm yard animals but no mobile phones, yet most children know all about mobile phones and have never met a lamb. We discussed whether Moody Margaret would beat My Naughty Little Sister in a fight, and we decided she definitely would. Despite my great age, I am, in many ways, about eight years old, and I still love to draw and make up stories. Becoming part of the world of children’s book feels like coming home.”

Victoria Semykina was awarded Highly Commended for her illustrations for The Real Boat (Templar). Lauren Child said: “Here is illustration that is not only exquisitely decorative but also uses the page to great effect. There are many original viewpoints, crops and changes of scale and these beautifully carry the reader across the storybook seas.”

Kate Milner received her award at a ceremony in London on Wednesday 12th September 2018 and was presented with a cheque for £5,000 by Lauren Child. We were very sorry not to be able to attend the event in person this year.

Alongside Lauren Child, the judges were Goldy Broad; Charlotte Colwill of Foyles bookshop; and 2017 Klaus Flugge Prize winner Francesca Sanna. Julia Eccleshare, director of the Children’s Programme at the Hay Festival, is Chair of the Judges.

The shortlist in full

The Night Box, Ashling Lindsay, written by Louise Greig (Egmont)
My Name is Not Refugee, Kate Milner (Barrington Stoke)
Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover, Markus Motum (Walker Studio)
The Real Boat, Victoria Semykina, written by Marina Aromshtam (Templar)
Big Box, Little Box, Edward Underwood, written by Caryl Hart (Bloomsbury)

2019 UKLA Book Awards Longlists

September 10, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

LONGLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2019 UKLA BOOK AWARDS

The UKLA Selection Panel, chaired by outgoing Chair Lynda Graham, have whittled down the 372 publisher submissions to arrive at a set of longlists, which feature books in translation, poetry, verse novels and nonfiction. They were pleased to highlight exciting debut authors as well as established and familiar names in children’s literature. Of particular note is the success of small publishing houses like Sweet Apple Publishing, Laurence King, Pushkin Press, Barrington Stoke, Otter-Barry Books, Gecko Press and Tiny Owl. The new Chair of the awards Chris Lockwood says: “the quality of the record number of submissions this year was of a particularly high standard and the panel had no easy task, but we are confident that the teachers and schools involved in the judging will benefit enormously from the impact of these quality texts in their schools” All of the books exemplify the award criteria of writing which offers language rich in layered meanings, imaginative expression and exciting vocabulary. Where present, high quality illustration is also an important feature of the chosen texts.

Longlist 3-6

Title	Author	Illustrator	Translator	Imprint
Do Not Lick this Book	Idan Ben-Barak	Julian Frost			Allen & Unwin
Luna Loves Library Day	Joseph Coelho	Fiona Lumbers			Andersen Press
After the Fall	Dan Santat				Andersen Press
The New Neighbours	Sarah McIntyre				David Fickling Books
The Old Man	Sarah V	Claude Dubois	Daniel Hahn		Gecko Press
Here We Are	Oliver Jeffers				HarperCollins
The Lost Wolf	Mini Grey				Jonathan Cape
Bob’s Blue Period	Marion Deuchars				Laurence King
Stardust	Jeanne Willis	Briony May Smith			Nosy Crow
This Zoo is Not for You	Ross Collins				Nosy Crow
The Squirrels Who Squabbled	Rachel Bright	Jim Field			Orchard Books
The Big Book of the Blue	Yuval Zommer				Thames & Hudson
The Drum	Ken Wilson-Max	Catell Ronca			Tiny Owl Publishing
I Am Bat	Morag Hood				Two Hoots
The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse	Mac Barnett	Jon Klassen			Walker
Baby Goes to Market	Atinuke	Angela Brooksbank			Walker
We Travel So Far	Laura Knowles	Chris Madden			Words & Pictures

Longlist 7-11

Title	Author	Illustrator	Translator	Imprint
The Chinese Emperor’s New Clothes	Ying Chang Compestine	David Roberts		Abrams Books for Young Readers
The Explorer	Katherine Rundell	Hannah Horn		Bloomsbury
The Children of Castle Rock	Natasha Farrant			Faber
Running on Empty	S. E. Durrant	Rob Biddulph		Nosy Crow
Nevermoor	Jessica Townsend	Beatriz Castro		Orion
Ghost Boys	Jewell Parker Rhodes			Orion
Riding a Donkey Backwards	Sean Taylor and Khayaal Theatre	Shirin Adl		Otter-Barry Books
Overheard in a Tower Block	Joseph Coelho	Kate Milner		Otter-Barry Books
Sky Dancer	Gill Lewis			Oxford
The Wild Robot	Peter Brown			Piccadilly
Boy 87	Ele Fountain			Pushkin Press
The Murderer’s Ape	Jakob Wegelius		Peter Graves	Pushkin Press
All the Things That Could Go Wrong	Stewart Foster			Simon & Schuster
The Muslims	Zanib Mian			Sweet Apple Books
Kick	Mitch Johnson			Usborne Publishing
The House with Chicken Legs	Sophie Anderson	Elisa Paganelli		Usborne Publishing
Three Cheers for Women!	Marcia Williams			Walker

Longlist 12-16

Title	Author	Illustrator	Translator	Imprint
Things a Bright Girl Can Do	Sally Nicholls			Andersen Press
Rook	Anthony McGowan			Barrington Stoke
Moonrise	Sarah Crossan			Bloomsbury
We See Everything	William Sutcliffe			Bloomsbury
Thornhill	Pam Smy			David Fickling Books
Mike	Andrew Norris			David Fickling Books
The Poet X	Elizabeth Acevedo			Egmont Electric Monkey
Long Way Down	Jason Reynolds

Canadian Children’s Book Prize Finalists

September 7, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has announced the finalists in eight award categories, celebrating the best in Canadian children’s literature. Not surprisingly, Town is By the Sea, by Joanne Schwartz and illustrator Sydney Smith, and The Marrow Thieves, by Cherie Demaline, are nominated. Both books have already won multiple awards in Canada and internationally and were named Quill & Quire books of the year.

Adding to the excitement for this year’s awards is the news that TD Canada has raised the value of their sponsored awards – TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award prize and le Prix TD de littérature pour l’enfance et la jeunesse – from the already significant amount of $30,000 to $50,000.

At two separate galas – in Toronto on Oct. 29 and in Montreal on Nov. 19 – the CCBC will announce the winners of the English- and French-language awards respectively.

Here are the English-language nominations:

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($50,000)
Sponsored by TD Bank Group
Dragonfly Song, Wendy Orr (Pajama Press)
Picture the Sky, Barbara Reid (North Winds Press/Scholastic Canada)
Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, Monique Gray Smith (Orca Book Publishers)
Town is by The Sea, Joanne Schwartz and Sydney Smith, ill. (Groundwood Books)
When the Moon Comes, Paul Harbridge and Matt James, ill. (Tundra Books)

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000)
Sponsored by A. Charles Baillie
Little Blue Chair, Cary Fagan and Madeline Kloepper (Tundra Books)
My Beautiful Birds, Suzanne Del Rizzo (Pajama Press)
Sam & Eva, Debbie Ridpath Ohi (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Stolen Words, Melanie Florence and Gabrielle Grimard, ill. (Second Story Press)
When the Moon Comes, Paul Harbridge and Matt James, ill. (Tundra Books)
You Hold Me Up, Monique Gray Smith and Danielle Daniel, ill. (Orca Book Publishers)

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction ($10,000)
Sponsored by the Fleck Family Foundation
#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale, eds. (Annick Press)
Meatless? A Fresh Look at What You Eat, Sarah Elton and Julie McLaughlin (Owlkids Books)
The Sockeye Mother, Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson) and Natasha Donovan (HighWater Press)
Rewilding: Giving Nature a Second Chance, Jane Drake and Ann Love (Annick Press)
When Planet Earth Was New, James Gladstone and Katherine Diemert (Owlkids Books)

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000)
Sponsored by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Bilson Endowment Fund
The Agony of Bun O’Keefe, Heather Smith (Penguin Teen Canada)
The Assassin’s Curse (The Blackthorn Key, Book 3), Kevin Sands (Aladdin)
A Blinding Light, Julie Lawson (Nimbus Publishing)
Clutch, Heather Camlot (Red Deer Press)
Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh, Uma Krishnaswami (Tu Books/Lee & Low)

John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000)
Sponsored by John Spray
The Assassin’s Curse (The Blackthorn Key, Book 3), Kevin Sands (Aladdin)
Blood on the Beach, Sarah N. Harvey and Robin Stevenson (Orca Book Publishers)
The Hanging Girl, Eileen Cook (Houghlin Mifflin Harcourt)
Recipe for Hate, Warren Kinsella (Dundurn)
The Case of the Missing Mage (Tank & Fizz, Book 3), Liam O’Donnell and Mike Deas, ill. (Orca)

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000)
Sponsored by Sylvan Learning
The Agony of Bun O’Keefe, Heather Smith (Penguin Teen Canada)
Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined, Danielle Younge-Ullman (Razorbill Canada)
The Marrow Thieves, Cherie Dimaline (DCB)
Munro vs. the Coyote, Darren Groth (Orca)
The Way Back Home, Allan Stratton (Scholastic Canada)

School Librarian Of The Year Award Shortlist

September 7, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

The SLA School Librarian of the Year Award is the School Library Association’s prestigious honour to recognize the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day and highlight the best practice of those whose work is outstanding.

Four exciting and innovative librarians have made it onto to the Honour List for the SLA School Librarian of the Year Award 2018, with one from outside the British Isles for only the second time in the history of the Award.

Nicki Cleveland

Nicki Cleveland is School Librarian (and Higher Level Teaching Assistant) at Cannon Park Primary School on the outskirts of Coventry. Despite having only 3.5 dedicated hours in the library and no real budget, Nicki has revolutionised the way the teaching staff at Cannon Park Primary think about Reading for Pleasure; due to working in close partnership with the staff around her, it is now at the forefront of the school’s ethos. Thinking outside the box and passionate engagement with the children’s book world via Skype and Twitter have enabled Nicki to enrich her pupils engagement with books in an extremely powerful way.
www.missclevelandsreading.com @MissNCleveland

Dr. Chhavi Jain

Dr. Jain manages a large, multilingual library and makerspace in Manav Rachna International School (Gurugram) outside New Delhi in India, where she supports 1100 children aged 6-17 years. Dr. Jain is breaking down barriers and raising the profiles of school librarians in India with her innovative and rigorous approach to her work. Exemplary in her promotion of reading with numerous author visits (in person and via Skype), pupil awards and international collaborative projects, her enthusiasm, professionalism and passion for reading is recognised throughout the school.
mris.edu.in/?s=library&lang=en

Alison Kennedy

Alison Kennedy is Head Librarian at St George’s Ascot, an independent boarding and day school for girls 11-18 in Berkshire. Alison’s role reaches far beyond the bookshelves of her library, and as Head of House, Form Tutor, Extended Project Qualification Coordinator and living on site she is truly embedded in her school. Her enthusiastic and proactive approach to promoting Reading for Pleasure ensures the library is seen as a hive of energy and imagination, and creative use of social media plays a key role in engaging the entire school with the library and its resources. @SGA_Library

Emma Suffield

Although her official title is Learning Resources Centre Manager, Emma Suffield is seen more as a member of the family by many of the 1400 students at Saint Wilfrid’s C of E Academy in a diverse area of Blackburn, thanks to her personalised, thoughtful and supportive approach to engaging all readers across the school. Innovative, imaginative practice, frequently going the extra mile, has led to a whopping 450% increase in book borrowing rates since Emma became responsible for the library in 2014. emmasuffield.wordpress.com @emmasuffield

These four exceptional school librarians have each has made a huge difference to the lives of the students and people they work with, igniting a passion for reading, setting students on a learning journey, teaching them essential skills, as well as supporting staff and reaching out to the wider community. Any one of these four would be a worthy winner of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Award. Full profiles will be published once a week from 6 September (in alphabetical order) on the SLA website at www.sla.org.uk.

The work of these inspirational librarians will be celebrated at a ceremony held on 9 October 2018 at the The Judge’s Court, The Rooms at Browns in Covent Garden. Blue Peter Book Award Winner Lauren St John will announce the SLA School Librarian of the Year 2018.

The School Library Association created the School Librarian of the Year Award in 2004 in response to the need for recognition of the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day, and to highlight best practice through celebrating those whose work is outstanding. Nominees do not need to be members of the SLA, and may be from any phase of education.

The selection panel, all of whom have donated their time to enable the awarding of the School Librarian of the Year 2018 comprises:

Lesley Martin, Chair of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Selection Committee, and Chair of SLA (School Library Association)

Sue Bastone, SLA Vice-Chair and SLA School Librarian of the Year Award – Honour List (2010)

Amy Mackay, Librarian at Corby Business Academy, SLA Board Member and past winner of SLA School Librarian of the Year Award (2016)

Margaret Pemberton, SLA Board Member and freelance School Library and Book Consultant

Previous Winners of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Award

2017: Lucas Maxwell – Glenthorne High School, London Borough of Sutton

2016: Amy McKay – Corby Business Academy

2015: Annie Brady – St Paul’s CBS Secondary School, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

2014: Liz Millett – Weatherfield Academy, Dunstable

2013: Hilary Cantwell – St Paul’s Community College, Waterford, Republic of Ireland

2013: John Iona – Oasis Academy, Enfield, Middlesex

2012: Adam Lancaster – Monk’s Walk School, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire

2011: Carol Webb – Forest Hill School, London

2010: Duncan Wright – Stewart’s Melville College, Edinburgh

2010: Kevin Sheehan – Offerton School, Stockport

2009: Lucy Bakewell – Hill West Primary School, Sutton Coldfield

2008: Nikki Heath – Werneth School, Stockport

2007: Ingrid Hopson – George Abbot School, Guildford

2006: Anne-Marie Tarter – Ripon Grammar School, North Yorkshire

2005: Anne Robinson – Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College, Bedworth

Nominations for School Librarian of the Year 2019 will open in early September 2018. Nomination forms will be available from the SLA website: www.sla.org.uk/slya.php

2018 Kelpies Prize Winner

August 31, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

This year’s winner of the Kelpies Prize is Hannah Foley, with The Lost Wizard of Nine Wtiches Wood.

Celia Bryce and Robin Scott-Elliot were the two other shortlisted authors.

The Kelpies Prize is an annual prize for new Scottish writing for children run by publisher Floris Books.

Floris Books launched the Kelpies Prize in 2004 with support from the Scottish Arts Council, now Creative Scotland, to encourage and reward new Scottish writing for children. Previous winners include Mike Nicholson, Scottish Children’s Book Award winners Janis Mackay and Alex McCall (the youngest writer ever to win the Kelpies Prize), and the prize also launched the writing career of the multi-award-winning Lari Don.

Bookbug Picture Book Prize Shortlist

August 31, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

There are three books on the shortlist of the Bookbug Prize, administered by Scottish Book Trust.

These three books will be gifted to each Primary 1 pupil in Scotland.

The winning title will be announced in January. Shortlisted authors and illustrators receive £500 per book, and the winner £3,000.

>>>http://scottishbooktrust.com/bpbp/shortlist-2019

Kick Wins Branford Boase Award For Author Mitch Johnson & Editors Rebecca Hill & Becky Walker

July 6, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

Mitch Johnson and editors Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker of Usborne have won the 2018 Branford Boase Award for Kick.

Last year’s winner, M.G. Leonard, a judge for the 2018 award said: “Kick is a skillfully written and perfectly paced. Mitch Johnston has produced a fantastically original debut that champions hope, dogged optimism in the face of adversity, and friendship. This book needs to be on the bookshelf of every school library, not just because it will encourage empathy, but because it’s a great book. Mitch Johnston is definitely one to watch.”

Johnson the winning author said: “The Branford Boase Award has recognized many of my favourite authors over the years, and so to receive the award myself is a wonderfully surreal experience. Kick is a novel that I came close to abandoning on several occasions, but the thought that kept me going was that perhaps one day my book would get published, and perhaps if it got published someone might read it, and perhaps if someone read it they might question the way things are made. The plight of garment workers is a global issue affecting millions of people, and yet somehow it manages to remain largely out of sight. My hope is that Kick will make this problem more visible, and winning the Branford Boase will undoubtedly encourage more readers to find out about the subject for themselves, and for this I am extremely grateful.

I am very fortunate that Kick found two brilliant editors, Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker, who understood exactly what I was trying to achieve and shared my passion for telling Budi’s story. Their insight, expertise, and sensitivity improved Kick immeasurably, and I am thrilled that the Branford Boase acknowledges the crucial role they played in making this book a success.”

via Branford Boase Award Winners.

Inexplicably and highly annoyingly I missed being at this award, one of the most pleasurable to attend, owing to it disappearing from my online calendar.
Can recommend checking the set of photos taken at the event by its regular photographer Paul Carter:
http://www.branfordboaseaward.org.uk/BBA_Current/bbapartyphotos.html