WHAT:

The Award for Young Readers' Literature was inaugurated in 1991 and is given annually by the Tulsa Library Trust. In 1992, it was permanently named in honor of Anne V. Zarrow. Its purpose is to give formal recognition, on behalf of the Tulsa County community, to nationally acclaimed authors who have made a significant contribution to the field of literature for children and young adults.

The award consists of a $7,500 cash prize and an engraved crystal book.

Past winners are: Sharon Creech (2006), Avi (2005), Susan Cooper (2004), Russell Freedman (2003), Richard Peck (2002), E.L. Konigsburg (2001), Jerry Spinelli (2000), Jane Yolen (1999), Cynthia Voigt (1998), Gary Paulsen (1997), Walter Dean Myers (1996), Lois Lowry (1994), Katherine Paterson (1993), Madeleine L'Engle (1992) and S.E. Hinton 1991).

WHO:

Kate DiCamillo is the winner of the 2007 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature.

WHEN:

Aug. 24 and 25, 2007

Award Presentation: 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 24
Creative Writing Discussion: 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 25

On Aug. 24, Kate DiCamillo will receive the Zarrow award, and speak about her life and works. On Aug. 25, DiCamillo will present awards to the winners of the Young People's Creative Writing Contest, and teach youths how to write creatively, and give life to words and voices to characters. DiCamillo will answer questions from the audience and sign books at both events. You may purchase copies of her books at the programs.

Both programs are free and open to the public.

WHERE:

Central Library, second floor, Fourth Street and Denver Avenue

SPONSORS:

Tulsa Library Trust and Tulsa City-County Library

ABOUT THE AWARD WINNER:

Kate DiCamillo, an enchanting, gifted storyteller, is the author of several works for children and young adults, including “Because of Winn-Dixie” (a Newbery Honor book), “The Tiger Rising” (a National Book Award finalist) and “The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread” (winner of the 2003 Newbery Medal). She recently completed a series of early chapter books about a pig named Mercy Watson who is very fond of toast; the newest title, “Mercy Watson Fights Crime,” was just released. She won the 2006 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” a delightful story of a porcelain rabbit.

Though she trained to become an author, DiCamillo only had published a few adult short stories in magazines prior to the publication of her first book “Because of Winn-Dixie” in 2000. She said the story came to her while she was just about to go to sleep – the book’s narrator, India Opal Buloni, spoke to her, saying, “I have a dog named Winn-Dixie.” DiCamillo said that after hearing that voice, the story told itself.

DiCamillo’s second novel, “The Tiger Rising,” demonstrates her versatility by treating themes similar to those of her first novel with a completely different approach, according to a critic for Publishers Weekly.

DiCamillo credits her gift for storytelling to being sick often as a child. “I was a sickly child. My body happily played host to all of the usual childhood maladies … plus a few exotic extras … most dreaded of all, pneumonia, recurring every winter for the first five years of my life. At the time, it seemed like such a senseless and unfair kind of thing to me, to be sick so often, to miss so much school, to be inside scratching or sneezing or coughing when everybody else was outside playing. Now, looking back, I can see all that illness for what it was: a gift that shaped me and made me what I am. I was alone a lot. I learned to rely on my imagination for entertainment. Because I was always on the lookout for the next needle, the next tongue depressor, I learned to watch and listen and gauge the behavior of those around me. I became an imaginative observer."

GOALS OF THE ZARROW AWARD:

• To encourage children and teens to read and write by promoting the prize, and the author's books and visit, throughout the library's summer reading programs and the Young People's Creative Writing Contest.
• To introduce children and teens to favorite authors of literary distinction and present famous authors as real people and role models.
• To provide a major event that brings families into the library and is a rallying point for the summer reading programs.
• To give young readers the opportunity to learn from a successful author's writing experiences.

ABOUT THE LIBRARY TRUST:

The Tulsa Library Trust is a public foundation created by private contributions to benefit Tulsa City-County Library. Income generated by the Trust's endowment is used to fund projects and purchase materials that the library could not afford through its operating budget.

ZARROW AWARD COMMITTEE:

Melinda Adwon is chairwoman of the 2007 Zarrow Award Committee, which is made up of about 15 community volunteers. Annette Murray is chairwoman of the Author Selection Committee.