The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators announced winners of the 2018 Crystal Kite Awards, which are peer-selected and voted on by SCBWI members from local regions. The prize recognizes excellence in the field of children's literature in 15 U.S. and international regions. This year's Crystal Kite regional division winners are:
Atlantic: 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story by Tara Lazar (Disney-Hyperion)
Australia/N.Z.: The Scared Book by Debra Tidball (Lothian Children's Books)
California/Hawaii: Lost Boys by Darcey Rosenblatt (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Canada: My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo (Pajama Press)
Internationals (Other): Will You Read My Book with Me by Lawrence Schimel (Epigram Books)
Mid-South: A Dog Like Daisy by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb (Katherine Tegan Books)
Middle East/India/Asia: Yossi and the Monkeys by Jennifer MacLeod (Kar-Ben Publishing)
Midwest: Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus (Dial Books For Young Readers)
New England: This House, Once by Deborah Freedman (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
New York: Beastly Brains: Exploring How Animals Think, Talk, and Feel by Nancy Castaldo (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Children)
Southeast: Mouse by Zebo Ludvicek (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers)
Southwest: If Your Monster Won't Go to Bed by Denise Vega (Knopf/Random House Children's Books)
Texas/Oklahoma: The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
U.K./Ireland: Mold and the Poison Plot by Lorraine Gregory (Oxford University Press)
Western: The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken (Dial Books for Young Readers)
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Winners of the 30th annual Lambda Literary Awards, which "identify and celebrate the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books of the year and affirm that LGBTQ stories are part of the literature of the world," were announced this week. Roxane Gay and Edmund White were honored with Lambda's Trustee and Visionary Awards, respectively. See the winners in 23 categories on Lambda Literary's website.
During her acceptance speech, Gay said, "As a woman, as a black woman, as a queer woman, writing has offered me salvation and sanctuary.... I want queer writers to create the work that they want to put into the world, regardless if all of the work does or does not meet the expectations of those who read it."
White observed: "Contained in the word novel is novelty and lesbian and gay writers have been lucky to write about this new world."
Remarking on his ninth and final year as Lambda Literary executive director, Tony Valenzuela said, "What I want to leave with you tonight is that, despite our continued challenges, you have a community through Lambda Literary that has your back. I feel deeply grateful to have spent the last nine years with the help of so many of you, to make Lambda Literary into a space where more of us will be seen and can thrive." The organization's incoming executive director is Sue Landers.
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Writer John Dougherty and illustrator Laura Hughes won the £5,000 (about $6,645) Oscar's Book Prize, which recognizes "the best book for under-fives published in the past year," for There's a Pig Up My Nose, the Bookseller reported. Presenting the award, Princess Eugenie said: "I had the best day reading the shortlist and laughing at all the books. I am proud to be here this evening in remembrance of Oscar Ashton."