ALSC/REFORMA's Belpré award celebrates 10th anniversary

Contact: Laura Schulte-Cooper


ALSC


312-280-2165


lschulte@ala.org

For Immediate Release


March 28, 2006

ALSC/REFORMA’s Belpré award celebrates 10th anniversary

CHICAGO
— The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, are marking 10 successful years of the Pura Belpré Award with a celebration at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans on Sunday, June 25, 2006, 1 to 4 p.m.

The event will honor the 2006 Belpré winners as they receive their awards and deliver their acceptance speeches. Many past award winners also will be present to share in the anniversary festivities. Songwriter and performing artist Jose-Luis Orozco, who appeared at the first award celebration in 1996 in Austin, Texas, returns for a special performance. A DVD, created by Scholastic and Weston Woods Studios in association with ALSC and REFORMA, which highlights the significance of the Belpré Award, also will be presented.

The 2006 Belpré winning authors and illustrators along with past esteemed winners will participate in a book signing immediately following the awards ceremony. The line up of authors and illustrators will include: Alma Flor Ada
, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Viola Canales, Raúl Colón, Lulu Delacre, David Diaz, Lucía González, Floyd Martinez, Pat Mora, Amada Irma Pérez, Pam Muñoz Ryan, and other Belpré winners.

Plan to join in the revelry and help ALSC and REFORMA celebrate a decade of dedication to the Latino heritage fostered through the Belpré Award. Meet your favorite Latino authors and illustrators, enjoy the music of Jose-Luis Orozco, mingle with colleagues, and receive commemorative mementos to mark this special occasion. All attendees will receive a copy of the Belpré Award DVD, compliments of Scholastic and Weston Woods Studios, and a leather bookmark.

The Pura Belpré Award, administered by ALSC, a division of ALA, and REFORMA, an ALA affiliate, is awarded biennially to a Latino writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. For more information about the Belpré Award, visit
www.ala.org/alsc and click on “Awards & Scholarships.”