The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and poet Lee Bennett Hopkins have announced the creation of the Lee Bennett Hopkins SCBWI Poetry Award. The award will recognize and encourage the publication of a book of poetry or anthology for children and/or young adults and will be awarded to an SCBWI member every three years. The first winner will be announced in 2016, selected from poetry published between 2013 and 2015, and will be chosen by Hopkins.
Hopkins, who is funding the award, said in a release that he created the award “to bring poetry and children together,” hoping to help “continue to produce, promote, and encourage poets to further add to this canon of literature.” Hopkins is an author and editor of poetry for children, who in 2009 was awarded the National Council of Teachers of English Excellence in Poetry for Children. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a writers’ and illustrators’ organization, with over 22,000 members worldwide specifically for those working in the field of children’s literature and multimedia. More about the award can be found here.
