Bringing the World Around Us to Life

LONDON, November 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

2011 Educational Writers' Award Shortlist Announced

The four non-fiction titles on the shortlist for the 2011 Educational Writers' Award, announced today, all excel in bringing the natural world to life for young readers aged 5-11. They are:

Nick Baker's Bug Zoo
Nick Baker, Dorling Kindersley

'Ideal for all budding zoologists… full of information and practical activities for children to find out more for themselves…'

Gorilla Journal
Carolyn Franklin, Salariya Book Company

'Looks and reads like a real journal with a great mix of informative text, sketches and photographs…'

Mission: Explore    
The Geography Collective, Can of Worms Press

'A brave book which encourages children to explore the world around them, developing their curiosity, confidence and courage along the way…'

Moon
Stewart Ross, Oxford University Press

'A highly readable text and a fascinating mix of science, history, literature, music, cinema,  folklore and religion…'

The Educational Writers' Awards was established in 2008 by the Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) and the Society of Authors "to celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity and encourages students to read widely and build up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications".

The 2011 Award focused on books for 5-11 year olds, published in 2009 and 2010. This year's judges were children's writer Nicola Davies; teacher Chris Freudenberg and librarian Fiona Kirk.

The winner of the 2011 Educational Writers' Award will be announced at the All Party Writers Group (APWG) Winter Reception at the House of Commons on Tuesday 6^th December. The winning author will receive a cheque for £2000.

Editor's Notes

About the Judges

Nicola Davies' writing is strongly connected with the natural world and she writes for a variety of age groups:  eight non-fiction picture books in an award winning series of books called Walker Nature Stories, non-fiction for the 8-12 age group and six novels, including Home, a science-fiction novel for older children and teenagers, and a book of short stories.

Teacher Chris Freudenberg has worked in primary schools in London for 15 years. He has recently introduced foreign language teaching into Selborne School, Perivale and has promoted literacy through a programme of Talk for Writing and small group tuition, drawing on the children's own interests.

Fiona Kirk is a librarian in a Tower Hamlets primary school, working part of the week at Jack Petchey Academy in Hackney. She also reviews for Letterbox library.

The Society of Authors

The Society of Authors has been serving the interests of professional writers for more than a century. Today it has more than 9,000 members (from novelists to doctors, textbook writers to ghost writers, broadcasters to academics, illustrators to translators) writing in all areas of the profession. Services include the confidential, individual vetting of contracts, and help with professional disputes. In addition, the Society holds meetings and seminars, publishes a quarterly journal, The Author, and maintains a database of members' specialisations. It administers a wide range of prizes, as well as the Authors' Foundation, which is one of the very few bodies making grants to help with work in progress for established writers. For further information, contact info@societyofauthors.org or see http://www.societyofauthors.net

The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS)

ALCS collects fees on behalf of the whole spectrum of UK writers: novelists, film & TV script writers; literary prize winners; poets; freelance journalists; translators and adaptors, as well as thousands of professional and academic writers who include nurses, lawyers, teachers, scientists and college lecturers. All writers are eligible to join ALCS: further details on membership can be found at http://www.alcs.co.uk  

ALCS collects fees that are difficult, time-consuming or legally impossible for writers and their representatives to claim on an individual basis: money that is nonetheless due to them. Fees collected are distributed to writers twice a year in February and August. Since its inception, ALCS has distributed over £250 million to the nation's writers. For further information, contact alcs@alcs.co.uk or see http://www.alcs.co.uk

For further information please contact:

Caroline Sanderson: +44(0)1453-759889/07958-558196/ carosande@aol.com

Alison Baxter, ALCS:  +44(0)20-7264-5700/ alison.baxter@alcs.co.uk

Paula Johnson, Society of Authors: +44(0)20-7373-6642/ pjohnson@societyofauthors.org