News, Awards, and Announcements

Abstract

Probably, you are enjoying the wonderful summer by reading books, books, and more books. We, too, are busy reading and enjoying summer so the news this time around is brief.

In June, Barbro Lindgren was awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial award at the Stockholm Concert Hall. This award, founded in 2002 by the Swedish Arts Council, is the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature at 5 million SEK (about $700,000 CAD). If it sounds suspicious that a Swedish writer with the same surname as the Swedish award’s Swedish namesake has won, rest assured that it truly is open to the world. In fact, Barbro is the first Swede among the 14 recipients (12 other countries represented). The selection process begins 15 months before the award with nominations coming from very select nominating bodies in various countries.
ALMA: http://www.alma.se/en/
Nominating bodies: http://www.alma.se/en/Nominations/Nominating-bodies/

Did you know about Ireland’s Laureate na nÓg (Children’s Literature Laureate)? Eoin Colfer, best known for his Artemis Fowl books, is the third laureate to hold the 2-year term. He will continue the project’s aims of introducing and raising the profile of high quality children’s literature in Ireland. According to Wikipedia, the only other Children’s Laureate equivalents are in the UK and the USA but it does look like Australia has one as well as Sweden in the non-English world (somebody should update wikipedia entry …).
See: http://childrenslaureate.ie/
Previous Laureate na nÓg: http://childrenslaureate.ie/laureate-na-nog/

We are proud that our very own Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta recently launched their newly renovated Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) collection. It is “one of 5 regional collections of Canadian children’s and young adult materials” with the others in Toronto, Vancouver (UBC), Winnipeg (UManitoba), and Halifax (Mt. Saint Vincent Univ.).
Launch Photos and Blog post: http://blogs.library.ualberta.ca/ednews/index.php/2014/07/02/2765/
CCBC collections: http://www.bookcentre.ca/library/regional_collections/

Also in the Coutts education library’s CCBC, Deakin editor Robert Desmarais had an opportunity to interview Jill Bryant during the 2014 TD Canadian Children’s Book Week. See the  interview here (6:53 duration): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtdX4fj-CB4

And yet one more CCBC-related note, the call for submissions for the Spring 2015 edition of “Best Books for Kids & Teens (BBKT) is out. The deadline is October 1, 2014. http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/call_for_submissions_best_books_kids_teens_spring_2015

It struck me recently that a main source of summer reading for many Canadians is the biannual Cross Country Checkup Book List episode on CBC radio. So, I wondered if there were suggestions this summer for our readers. While most of the recommendations are for adults, there are a few that recall childhood reads (e.g. “Anne of Green Gables,” and “Who has seen the wind”) and a few suggestions:
- "I think every high school student should be given a copy of Chester Brown's Louis Riel" (recommended by guest Craig Taylor)
- “Anything by Charles De Lint ...pretty much the creator of Urban fantasy and intertwines stories of street kids with Gaelic and Aboriginal mythology” (from listener D. Price)
http://www.cbc.ca/checkup/book-lists/2014/07/03/june-29-2014-summer-book-list/

Have a great summer reading in the yard, on the couch, at the beach, in the family car, on a hammock, or wherever your summer reading finds you.

David Sulz

David is a Public Services Librarian at University of Alberta and liaison librarian to Economics, Religious Studies, and Social Work. He has university studies in Library Studies, History, Elementary Education, Japanese, and Economics;  he formerly taught in schools and museums. His interests include physical activity, music, home improvements, and above all, things Japanese.