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Angolan Writer Fernandes Wins Top Children's Literature Prize

by Bontle on 06 Jul 2010   |   

The writer Maria Celestina Fernandes recently won the first prize for literature for children in Angola.

The writer got the prize with her 24-page book entitled As Amigas em Kalandula, and according to the head of the Institute of Cultural Industries, (INIC), António Fonseca, the award is due to its creative value and the accessible language.

• Read the complete article

An Interview with 2010 Bessie Head Literature Award Winner Jenny Robson

by Bontle on 23 Jun 2010   |   

This year’s Bessie Head Literature Awards celebrated children’s literature with a new category for children’s story with Jenny Robson taking the top prize for her book The Right Time. Robson has lived in Maun in Botswana for many years and hopes to stay there for the rest of her life.

Robson has won many awards for her children’s books and young adults stories. When asked why this award was so important to her, she said:

For one thing, just entering the competition means that I am back here in Botswana. And that is a wonderful thing for me. I was away for a number of years and felt as though I were in exile. Botswana is the only place where I feel truly ‘me’.

For another, I have such respect for the late Bessie Head – not the icon, but the real flesh-and-blood woman who faced such struggles and pain yet could turn that into meaning and beauty through her writing. I always felt a bond with her. Not that my writing is any way in her league, but she was an inspiration to me.

• Read the complete article at the Voice BW

Deadline for Percy FitzPatrick Award for Youth Literature Approaches

by Bontle on 25 May 2010   |   

The deadline for entries for English Academy literary award, The Percy FitzPatrick Award for Youth Literature, is fast-approaching. The Percy FitzPatrick Award for Youth literature, awarded in alternate years, is aimed at encouraging the publication of books directed towards children between the ages of 10 and 14.

This year’s deadline is May 31st. For further information the administrative officer can be contacted at 011 717 9339 or at englishacademy@ societies.wits.ac.za

The English Academy of Southern Africa was founded in 1961. It is an association dedicated to promoting the effective use of English as a dynamic language in Southern Africa.

• Visit the English Academy Website

Mandela Comic Book Wins American Children's Literature Award

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 03 May 2010   |   

Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book by the Nelson Mandela Foundation which tells the story of Madiba’s birth and childhood, his struggle against apartheid and oppression, his 27 years incarcerated in prison on Robben Island, and his eventual rise as the first democratically elected leader of South Africa, won the 2010 Best Book for Older Reader in the Children’s African Book Awards.

A graphic novel depicting the life of Nelson Mandela has won an American award for children’s literature. Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book won the 2010 Best Book for Older Readers in the Children’s Africana Book Awards from the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA).

The ASA is a non-profit corporation founded in 1957, which aims to bring together people with a scholarly and professional interest in Africa.

The award will be presented in November at a ceremony in Washington DC at the National Museum of African Art.

Verne Harris, Head of the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Memory Programme, said he was delighted that the book, which was initially designed as a series of comics for South African school children, has been honoured in this way. The book was first published in South Africa in 2008 to coincide with Mr Mandela’s 90th birthday. It has since been published in the Netherlands, France and the United States.

The book was produced by Umlando wezithome in association with the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Creative Director of Umlando wezithombe (meaning history of pictures) Nic Buchanan said he and his colleagues were very happy about the award.

The comic book came about because, “it was a realisation by the Foundation that most kids these days had a good idea of who Nelson Mandela is but not the whole history,” he said.

“Kids don’t engage with documentary biographies so we went to the Foundation with an idea of a comic book, because young people can handle little chunks of information.”

• Read the complete article at Sowetan

Book details

• Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book by Nelson Mandela Foundation, illustrated by Umlando Wezithombe
  Ages 8 to 12
  EAN: 9780393070828
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Literacy Organisation Wins International IBBY Award

by Bontle on 09 Apr 2010   |   

The Osu Children’s Library Fund, a non-profit organisation started by Kathy Knowles 20 years ago, was selected as one of the recipients for the International Board on Books for Young People-Asahi Reading Promotion Award last month.

The Osu Children’s Library Fund encourages reading and literacy among children and adults in Ghana. The IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion award, which includes a $10,000 cheque, will be presented at the 32nd IBBY Congress in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, at an event in September. The award was initiated by the International Board on Books for Young People and sponsored by the Japanese newspaper company the Asahi Shimbun, is presented to projects run by groups or institutions that are judged to be making a lasting contribution to reading promotion for children and young people.

Knowles and her Osu Children’s Library Fund (OCLF) have helped more than 200 libraries in Africa. The organisation has built six to date

Established in 1991, the OCLF has funded and stocked five large community libraries in impoverished areas of Accra, as well as a community library in the small fishing village of Goi.

• Read the Complete Article at Winnipeg Free Press

• Read More about the Award

Burt Award for African Literature Launches in Ghana and Ethiopia

by Bontle on 09 Apr 2010   |   

Sponsored by retired Toronto businessman William Burt and administered by the literacy organization CODE and its local partners, the Burt Award for African Literature promotes the creation of young adult novels by and for Africans in English. The aim is to provide homegrown alternatives to works by foreign authors that will complement the many excellent books for young readers now available in Swahili and other African languages. The award launches in Ghana and Ethiopia this year but is already up and running in Tanzania.

The award was also initiated to support and motivate the development of supplementary reading materials for a critical stage of learning – the transition period between mother-tongue and English medium instruction, in grade four or when starting secondary school.

Writers of the award win $12,000 for gold, $6,000 for silver and $3,000 for bronze (CAD), while publishers receive a guaranteed purchase, which means that funds from the Award support the purchase of approximately 3,000 copies of each title to distribute to CODE supported schools and libraries. In addition, publishers agree to publish additional copies to sell commercially.

• Read More on the Burt Award Website

2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award Winners Announced

by Bontle on 24 Mar 2010   |   

The 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Awards were announced at the Biennial International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Congress. The Author Award has gone to David Almond of Britain while the 2010 Illustrator Award has gone to Jutta Bauer of Germany. David Almond is the two-time winner of the Whitbread Children’s Book Award and a best-selling author. Jutta Bauer is a popular children’s writer and illustrator who also makes films for youngsters.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is sometimes called the “Little Nobel Prize”. Every other year IBBY presents the Hans Christian Andersen Awards to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children’s literature. The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children’s books.

The nominations are made by the National Sections of IBBY and the recipients are selected by a distinguished international jury of children’s literature specialists.

• Read More About the Award Here

2010 Once Upon A World Children's Book Award Calls For Submissions

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 10 Mar 2010   |   

The Once Upon A World Children’s Book Award, annually honors children’s books (ages six to ten) , which best represent the values of tolerance, diversity, human understanding and social justice. Previous winners include South Africa author Elinor Sisulu with The Day Gogo Went to Vote and American author Ntozake Shange with Ellington Was Not a Street. Read more here.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of Tolerance Library and Archives welcomes submissions for the 2010 Once Upon A World Children’s Book Award. We invite book publishers and members of the public to nominate children’s books that meet the following selection criteria:

1. Depict heroic deeds that lead to tolerance and social justice.

2. Promote acceptance of social and personal responsibility.

3. Portray good communications between people.

4. Show a sense of urgency and empowerment of the individual.

5. Convey the importance of history.

6. Published in the English language (translations acceptable).

7. Are fiction or non-fiction.

8. Published in 2009.

9. Intended for an audience of young readers (ages 6-10) or young adults (ages 11+)

How to Submit

o Publishers

Please send four copies of the book for consideration to:

Adaire Klein, Director of Library and Archival Services

Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of Tolerance

1399 South Roxbury Drive

Los Angeles, CA 90035-4709

o Members of the Public

We invite you to tell us about books that have made an impression on you, that have encouraged you to think differently about your fellow man. Please submit your suggestions with the following information to bookaward@wiesenthal.net – title, author, publisher and ISBN (if available).

o Deadline for submissions is April 20, 2010

The winners will be announced in June, 2010 and presented with an award of a plaque, $1,000 and hotel accommodations to attend the award ceremony to take place on Sunday, November 7, 2010, at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

• For more visit Wiesenthal here

Book details

• The Day Gogo Went to Vote by Elinor Sisulu, illustrated by Sharon Wilson
  Ages 4 to 8
  EAN: 9780316702713
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Ellington Was Not A Street by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
  Ages 8 to 12
  EAN: 9780689828843
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Winners of the World's Largest Children's Literature Award to be Announced this Month

by Bontle on 10 Mar 2010   |   

Niki Daly, Gcina Mhlope and the organisations First Words in Print, PRAESA and Biblionef from South Africa are all nominated for the 2010 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Candidates from around the world have been nominated by experts from many different countries. On the list is a variety of authors, illustrators, oral storytellers, children’s literary organisations and promoters of reading working in various literary traditions and languages.

On March 24 the winners of the Astrid Lindgren Award will be announced at the birthplace of Astrid Lindgren in Vimmerby, Sweden.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the world’s largest prize for children’s and young adult literature. The award, which amounts to SEK 5 million, is awarded annually to a single recipient or to several. Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and those active in reading promotion may be rewarded. The award is designed to promote interest in children’s and young adult literature, and in children’s rights, globally. An expert jury selects the winners from candidates nominated by institutions and organisations worldwide. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is administered by the Swedish Arts Council.

• Read the complete list of candidates here

Going Bovine Wins Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence

by Bontle on 24 Feb 2010   |   

On the tenth anniversary of the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature Award, Going Bovin was named the winner of the 2010 prize. The Michael L. Printz Award is an annual award that honors young adult (YA) books published in the previous calendar year.

Libba Bay’s charming book tells the story of Cameron, a sixteen-year-old slacker, who sets off on a madcap road trip along with a punk angel, a dwarf sidekick, a yard gnome and a mad scientist to save the world and perhaps his own life.

An excerpt from the book:

The best day of my life happened when I was five and almost died at Disney World.

I’m sixteen now, so you can imagine that’s left me with quite a few days of major suckage.

Like Career Day? Really? Do we need to devote an entire six hours out of the high school year to having “life counselors” tell you all the jobs you could potentially blow at? Is there a reason for dodgeball? Pep rallies? Rad soda commercials featuring Parker Day’s smug, fake-tanned face? I ask you.

• Read More of ‘Going Bovine’

Book details

• Going Bovine by Libba Bray
  Book homepage
  Ages 14 to 17
  EAN: 9780385733977
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!