Speak Out Feb 2013

Book of the Year 2013 nominations

C ulminating in a presentation in October, these annual Awards continue to grow in stature and generate positive public and media interest each year. Speech pathologists are in a unique position to recommend books to parents and educators that assist children’s speech, language and literacy development. This year marks only the third year books are open to be nominated for the ‘Best Book for Language and Literacy Development – Indigenous Children’, part of SPA’s initiative to bridge the gap in literacy rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. Our first step is to collect book nominations, but if you’d like to be a particularly integral part of this initiative, why not consider expressing your interest as a judge? Book of the Year Awards 2013

Call for Nominations Share an enticing children’s book – it’s nomination time! We’re asking you, your families and the people around you to nominate a best book for language and/or speech sound development. Each year we receive a number of nominations from non-members, but it is crucial that we have input from you to maintain a speech pathology focus for the awards.

Nomination forms can be found by clicking on the ‘Book of the Year Awards’ link on the website.

The deadline for nominations is 8 March 2013

Children’s Language & Literature Award: Call for Nominations A special part of the Book of the Year Awards is the presentation of the Children’s Language and Literature Award. This award is a ‘Hall of Fame’ concept which aims to recognise a writer who has contributed significantly, and in an ongoing manner, to children’s language and literature. By recognising a well-known author, additional media spotlight can fall on these Awards, and in turn highlight speech pathology to a mass audience. Previous winners include: Paul Jennings (2005), Colin Thiele (2006) Mem Fox (2007) and Graeme Base (2012). This Award is no longer annual, but will be presented if a suitable candidate is nominated. We are now seeking nominations from members for a potential candidate for 2013.

The four categories awarded are: •

Young Children (age range 2-5 years) Lower Primary (age range 5-8 years) Upper Primary (age range 8-12 years) Indigenous Children (up to 12 years)

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Each book should be exciting and stimulating, and needs to satisfy a list of eligibility criteria: • Written by an Australian author • Readily available in Australia • Must have been published in 2012 or 2013 • Retail for no more than $30 • Facilitates interaction and communication • Appeals to a child • The book must have quality graphics, design and production

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Speak Out February 2013

Speech Pathology Australia