Michael Morpurgo to deliver 2013 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture

DALLAS– Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo will deliver the 2013 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. The announcement was made today by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA Midwinter Meeting held Jan. 20 – 24, in Dallas.

“The author of more than 100 titles of humor, magic and realism, Morpurgo movingly captures the struggles faced by both children and animals during wartime,” stated 2013 Arbuthnot Committee Chair Susan J. Pine.

Born in England, Michael Morpurgo was teaching when he discovered the magic of storytelling and began writing. His books are noted for their imagination, power and grace. In 1976, he and his wife established the charity Farms for City Children. He is an officer of the Order of the British Empire and served as Britain’s third Children’s Laureate. His novel, “War Horse,” has wowed theater audiences in London and New York and movie audiences all over.

The lecturer, announced annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, may be an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature, of any country, who shall prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature. This paper is delivered as a lecture each April, and is subsequently published in Children and Libraries, the journal of ALSC. Once the name is made public, institutions wishing to host the lecture may apply. A library school, department of education in a college or university, or a public library system may be considered. Applications to host the 2013 lecture will be available online from ALSC at www.ala.org/alsc this spring.

Members of the 2013 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Committee are: Chair Susan J. Pine, Forest Hills, N.Y.; Gratia Banta, Lane Public Library, Hamilton, Ohio; Carolyn Phelan, Northbrook (Ill.) Public Library; Victor Schill, Fairbanks Branch Library, Houston; and Rachael Vilmar, Eastern Shore Regional Library, Salisbury, Md.

ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit their Web site at http://www.ala.org/alsc.

For more information on the Arbuthnot Honor Lecture and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/yma.

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