2024 Malka Penn Awards Announced

The University of Connecticut's Malka Penn Awards for 2024 have been announced. The award "honors outstanding children's books that explore important human rights issues." This year there are two winners, five honor books, and a special recognition title.

One of the positive things I think awards do is bring books to readers' attention that they might not otherwise have heard of. In this case, one of the honor books particularly interests me.

The Bodyguard Unit: Edith Garrud, Women's Suffrage, and Jujitsu by Clement Xavier, Lisa Lugrin, and Albertine Ralenti speaks to a number of my interests--women's history, early twentieth century history, and martial arts. I'll be looking for it.

2023 Alex Awards

It came to my attention very recently that the ALA Awards have been announced. You know, Newbery, Caldecott, yada yada. The award I'm always most interested in is the Alex Awards, which is a list of adult books that are considered to be of special interest to teen readers.  I often find some decent reading there, and lo' and behold, this year I have already read two of the Alex winners.

True Biz by Sara Novic I actually mentioned here in an annotated reading post. I liked it, and so did my sister, who read it with her book club.

The other book I read was The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. I reviewed it on Goodreads. I cannot figure out how to link to my review, so I'll just reprint it here:

"I like scifi that overlaps with another genre. The Kaiju Preservation Society is both scifi and thriller. It's also very witty without undermining other elements. On top of all that, there's pop culture references, including a big one, and an everyman protagonist. Lots to like here."  I hate the star system, but I gave it 5, so I'll pass that info on.

I don't know what the criteria are for the Alex Awards. True Biz has some significant YA characters. Kaiju Preservation Society doesn't (or I don't recall any). It may just be an entertaining book that transcends age groups. 

I'll try to go through the rest of the list when I have time and see if there's anything else I want to read.

Connecticut Book Award Winners Announced

The Connecticut Book Award winners were announced this past weekend. The following books/authors won in the Young Readers category.

Picture Books

Fiction: Soul Food Sunday by Winsome Bingham                 

Nonfiction: Walrus Song by Janet Lawler

Middle Grade

Nonfiction: Fairy Tale Science by Sarah Albee                  

Fiction: To Tell You the Truth by Beth Vrabel

Young Adult

The Secret Life of Kitty Granger by G.D. Falksen        

You can check out the lists of finalists in these categories here.        

Connecticut Book Award Finalists Announced

The Connecticut Center for the Book has announced the finalists for the 2022 Connecticut Book Awards, which recognize the best books either about Connecticut or by authors or illustrators from Connecticut.

The Young Readers' categories include a number NESCBWI colleagues

Picture Books-Fiction

• Soul Food Sunday, Winsome Hudson-Bing
• Three Pockets Full, Cindy Rodriguez

Picture Books-Nonfiction

• Bei Bei Goes Home: A Panda Story, Cheryl Bardoe
• Walrus Song, Janet Lawler

Middle Grade-Nonfiction

• Fairy Tale Science, Sarah Albee
• Robo-Motion: Robots That Move Like Animals, Linda Zajac

Middle Grade-Fiction

• View From Pagoda Hill, Michaela MacColl
• The Flyers, Beth Turley
• To Tell You the Truth, Beth Vrabel

Fiction-Young Adult

• The Secret Life of Kitty Granger, G.D. Falksen
• Mercury Boys, Chandra Prasad                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Winners will be announced at the Connecticut Book Awards event at the Hartford Public Library on Sunday, October 23.

Connecticut's Nutmeg Award Winners For 2022

Connecticut's readers' choice award, the Nutmeg Award, has announced its winners for this year.

Elementary: InvestiGATORS by John Patrick Green 

Intermediate: Wink by Rob Harrell  

Middle School: Insignificant Events In The Life Of A Cactus by Dusti Bowling 

High School: Sadie by Courtney Summers

Kim Johnson's "This Is My America" Wins This Year's Malka Penn Award

This Is My America by Kim Johnson has won the 2021 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children's Literature. The Malka Penn Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding children’s book addressing human rights issues or themes. It recognizes works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, or biography written for children from preschool to high school. The award is named in honor of author Michele Palmer who writes under the pseudonym Malka Penn and presented by Dodd Human Rights Impact at the University of Connecticut.

This Is My America is Johnson's debut YA novel. HBO Max is working on a TV adaptation.

2021 Honor Books 

 

• Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri 
• Mexique: A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War by Maria José Ferrada and illustrated by Ana Penyas 
• Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
• Stand Up! Speak Up! by Andrew Joyner 
• Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker and April Harrison

On-line Awards Ceremony Tomorrow Night, November 2

An awards ceremony for the Malka Penn Awards will be held tomorrow night, Nov. 2, 7:00 PM ET. Johnson and the Honor Book authors will be taking part in a panel, Mirrors, Windows, and Doors: Stories for Equity, Empathy, and Activism.

Register here.

The 2021 Tassy Walden Award Ceremony Is Coming Up Next Week--You Can Be There!

Every year since 2001, the Shoreline Arts Alliance in Connecticut has sponsored the Tassy Walden Award, a competition for unpublished children's authors and illustrators in this state. This year's winners and finalists have been announced, and the awards ceremony is next Wednesday, May 26, at 7:00 PM ET. It....is...virtual!!!!

This Year's Winners And Finalists

Picture Book Text

Winner: Sabrina Petersen--Postcards from Papi

Finalists: Patricia Finnegan--We are the Vel-Crows

                Bethany Jensen--Ballerhino

                Jodi Kelly--The Allergic Alligator

                Stephanie Yu Lim--The One and Only Carnegie Hall

 

Illustrated Picture Book Writer/Illustrator

 

Finalists: Thomas Drew--The Night of the Jangler 

                 Pamela Hanks--Paige and Webb: Ski Adventure 

 

Middle Grade Novel

 

Winner: Rudy Vener--Iceteroid 

Finalists: Miriam Giskin--You Bet

                 Kimberly Mach--Beneath the Straw

                 Dawn Michelle Mancarella--Orchard of Sorrows 

                 Jackie Mead--The Missing Mask

                 Cynthia Sygrove--Kate of Fayerweather Island 

 

Young Adult Novel 

Winner: William Ollayos--Lightening Born

 

Honorable Mention: Paige Classey Przybylski--Heavy Lightness

 

The Tassy Walden Award is important in this state because a number of winners and finalists have gone on to publication. This is not a one-and-done award. It's often a stepping stone to other things.

This Year's Ceremony

 

This year's ceremony features a speaker, author Nancy Tandon, whose first two books will be published next year. One of them, The Ghost of Spruce Point, was a finalist for the Tassy Award in the middle grade category. She also happens to be a member of my writers' group, which, yes, is a way of making this about me, but also an attempt at some professional transparency.

 

You can register to hear Nancy and, you know, attend an awards ceremony! 

I'm going to have to fix myself up a bit for this, in case it's a Zoom event where you may be seen by others (versus a webinar where you're not ), because I'll actually know some of the other audience members.