Connecticut's 2015 Tassy Walden Award For Children's Writers

The Award

Connecticut's Shoreline Arts Alliance in Guilford sponsors the Tassy Walden Award for New Voices in Children's Literature. This is a program for unpublished Connecticut writers and illustrators, and awards are given in five categories. Entries are judged on the basis of literary or artistic quality, and the organizers are quite clear at the website that didactic and popular content are not considered. (Didactic material frequently raises its preachy head in children's literature.) The Tassy Walden people even run informational workshops for writers interested in submitting.

Leslie Bulion and Lorraine Jay

The Tassy, as you sometimes hear it called hereabouts, began fifteen years ago. Two of the founders were Leslie Bulion and Lorraine Jay.  There are cash prizes for the top winners, but what really makes this a significant award in this state is that a number of winners have gone on to be traditionally published. Among them are A.C.E. Bauer,  Leslie Bulion, Stacy DeKeyser, Frank Dormer, Deborah Freedman, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Martha Seif Simpson, and Jane Sutcliffe.

And The Winners Are 

 

 The 2015 Tassy Walden Awards winners, finalists, and honor mention designees were announced a few weeks ago. Last night a reception was held for them at the James Blackstone Memorial Library (pictured above) in Branford. Attendee and finalist Nancy Tandon provided Original Content with photographs of the event.

Winners

To the left are the winners:

Edward Tucchio - Illustrated Picture Book

Janet Croog - Illustrated Portfolio

Kelly Hill - Young Adult Novel

Jeanne Zulick - Middle Grade Novel

There was no winner in the Picture Book Text category this year, but there were four finalists: Erika Bajrami, Charlene Haukom, Cherish Ann Lisee,Wi and Linda Zajac.

Other finalists and honorable mention authors:

All honorees

Illustrated Picture Book: Carolyn Bull and Gabriella Svenningsen

Illustrator's Portfolio: Diane Holtzworth, Dominique Monroe, and Virginia Zimmerman

Young Adult Novel: Holly Howley, Karen Lindeborg, Christine Dokko, and Karen Fortunati

Middle Grade Novel: Jacquelin Devlin, Heather Sherlock DiLorenzo, Meira Rosenberg, Nancy Tandon, and Rudy Vene

New Voices

Remember, this is an award for unpublished authors. Good luck to everyone going forth with your careers.