Submission Guidelines
Antioch University Los Angeles is proud to announce an exciting new opportunity - the First Annual Horace Mann Upstanders Book Award, honoring Children’s Literature. Here are the key elements of the 2008 awards:
- We are accepting submissions of books for K-6 (fiction only during the first year of the awards)
- Published in North America (2007-2008)
- Demonstrates and/or encourages the reader to be an ‘Upstander’
- $500 prize awarded to the author
- Deadline for submission is March 15, 2008
- Award Date: June 7th, 2008 in Los Angeles
At Antioch, with our 150 year history of social justice education, our teacher education program encourages both our teacher candidates and our master’s students to work in urban schools where issues of mediocre education and life challenges loom large. We encourage our teachers to be Upstanders and want to encourage the production of more literature that does the same. We house a children’s literature library that focuses on social issues and intend to expand that collection as a national model for these kinds of books. (If you have back list titles to suggest for this collection I would be pleased to add them)
We define an Upstander as a person who recognizes injustice and acts in a way to right the wrong. The goal of this award is to provide children with examples of Upstander behavior and to encourage them to be one themselves. Being an Upstander is a foundational skill necessary in the support of a democracy. AULA, in partnership with the Better World JL Institute and the South Bay Literacy Foundation, is initiating this as a way to encourage dialogue about Upstanding behavior.
The 2008 Award will be given to the author whose work best exemplifies this ideal. The author will receive a $500 gift and will be invited to participate in the first AULA Children’s Literature Conference on June 7th.
This award will be given to an author who writes fiction for grades K-6. In future years we hope to expand the grade levels and to non-fiction. Please limit suggested books to 2007/2008 titles. Here are a few examples of the kinds of books that might meet this criteria; The Araboolies of Liberty Street (Sam Swope), Farmer Duck (Martin Waddell), and The Good Griselle (Jane Yolen), and Mr. Maxwell’s Mouse (Frank Asch).
Submission Process
Our selection committee will consist of Los Angeles residents, therefore we only need one copy of the nominated book. If you have book(s) that you would like to nominate, please forward them by March 15, 2008 to:
Dr. J. Cynthia McDermott,
Program Chair
Antioch University Los Angeles
400 Corporate Pointe
Culver City, CA 90230
If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact Dr. J. Cynthia McDermott, Chair of the Education department at Antioch University Los Angeles at cynthia_mcdermott@antiochla.edu or 310-578-1080 ext 352.
We hope you find this award as intriguing as our AULA community does, and look forward to receiving and reviewing your submission(s). |
