 |
| LARRY COLTON |
Literary Arts is pleased to announce the special awards recipients for the 26th annual Oregon Book Awards. This year’s recipients will receive their awards at the Oregon Book Awards ceremony on April 8 at the Gerding Theater at the Armory. Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets.
In addition to recognizing the finest achievements of Oregon authors in several genres, Literary Arts recognizes individual contributions with the Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award and the Walt Morey Young Readers Literary Legacy Award
The Stewart H. Holbrook Award
The Stewart H. Holbrook Award is presented to a person or organization in recognition of significant contributions that have enriched Oregon’s literary community. Past recipients include Brian Booth, founder of the Oregon Book Awards, Paulann Petersen, and Kim Stafford.
2013 recipient: Larry Colton
Larry Colton is the founder and former executive director of two nonprofit programs: Community of Writers, a non-profit program to improve writing instruction and student achievement in Oregon schools; and Wordstock, the acclaimed Portland book festival. Katherine Dunn states, “the welfare of writers and the quality of teaching in the public schools have been central preoccupations in Colton’s life for more than thirty years.”
Colton is also the author of No Ordinary Joes, Counting Coup, Goat Brothers and Idol Time. He has also played professional baseball, taught high school, worked for Nike, and published articles for publications such as Esquire, New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated and Ladies Home Journal. Additionally, his newest book, Southern League, a story of civil rights, Birmingham and baseball, will be released in May 2013.
The Walt Morey Young Readers Literary Legacy Award
The Walt Morey Award is presented to a person or organization in recognition of contributions to young readers literature. Past recipients include the organizations The Children’s Book Bank and Young Writers Association, and Dr. Ulrich Hardt.
2013 recipient: The Oregon Battle of the Books
The Oregon Battle of the Books is a statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension program sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries in conjunction with a Library Services and Technology Act grant. Students in 3rd-12th grade, regardless of ability, are exposed to quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints. Their mission is to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, to increase reading comprehension, promote academic excellence, and to promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students.
The Oregon Battle for the Books is run by volunteers through the Oregon Association of School Libraries, OASL, and funded partially through the Library Services and Technology Act, LSTA. Jim Scheppke, the former State Librarian at the Oregon State library, says ” the power of Battle of the Books in motivating thousands of students to become serious readers, some for the first time, has become so evident that in the last year we had about 400 schools participate.”
Oregon Book Awards Special Awards candidates are nominated by the public and reviewed by the Oregon Book Awards Advisory Committee and the Literary Arts Board of Directors. For more information, please visit www.literary-arts.org.
