Yesterday, we held the 51st Gala with special Keynote Speakers Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann.
Their first joint book project is the picture book Oh No! (Random House, September 2012)
The Candace and Eric were adorable and funny as they shared the stage and talked about what it was like to work on Oh No!
Candace began by sharing about how she loves working with white loose-leaf paper and bic pens to write.
Eric followed by talking about how he worked on the illustrations for Candace's manuscript.
I loved listening to Eric share about decisions that he needed to make with certain pages.
Candace finished up by reading Oh No! which was influenced on a trip to Borneo that the couple had taken.
After the great presentation by Fleming and Rohmann, the Book Awards were announced. Each year, the Awards Committee reviews over 150 books written and/or illustrated by Southern California authors and illustrators and selects 5 books to receive awards. The 2012 committee reviewed books released in the 2011 publishing year. And the winners were:
Outstanding Picture Book
I Want My Hat Back
by Jon Klassen
(Candlewick Press, 2011)
Inspiring Work of NonFiction
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
by Kadir Nelson
(Harper Collins, 2011)
Distinguished Work of Historical Fiction
Breaking Stalin’s Nose
by Eugene Yelchin
(Henry Holt & Co., 2011)
Myra Livingston Cohn Award for Poetry
Won-Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku
by Lee Wardlaw;
Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
(Henry Holt & Co., 2011)
The Peggy Miller Award for Young Adult
Literature
I’ll Be There
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
(Little, Brown, & Co., 2011)
Congratulations to all of the award winners! And thank you Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann for your amazing presentation.
