ANNOUNCEMENT: 2018 Golden Kite Award and Sid Fleishman Humor Award

SOCIETY OF CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS TO PRESENT 2018 GOLDEN KITE AWARDS AND SID FLEISCHMAN HUMOR AWARD AT 17th ANNUAL NEW YORK WINTER CONFERENCE New Talents and Internationally Recognized Names Claim Top Spots LOS ANGELES, January 2018 – The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) announced the winners and honor recipients of the annual Golden Kite and Sid Fleischman Awards. The Golden Kites are the only children’s literary award judged by a jury of peers. The Awards recognize excellence in children’s literatures in six categories: Young Reader and Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Picture Book Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction for Older Readers, Picture Book Text, and Picture Book Illustration. The Sid Fleischman Award is for exemplary writing for children in the genre of humor. The awards will be presented at a star-studded gala during the New York Winter Conference on Friday, February 2 at 7pm at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Featured guest Chelsea Clinton, humanitarian advocate and children’s author, will make a special presentation at the event at 7pm. SCBWI Executive Director, Lin Oliver, said about this year’s winners. “The 2017 Golden Kite winning books were chosen from a field of over 1,000 entries, and show the diversity of creative views, topics and approaches that are re-defining our industry. We send congratulations to the creators of these outstanding books and thanks to the judges who selected them.” GOLDEN KITE AWARD WINNERS Middle Grade Fiction: Jack Cheng - SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS (Dial Books/Penguin Random House) Non-Fiction for Older Readers: Debora Heiligman - VINCENT AND THEO (Godwin Books/Henry Holt and Company)   Non-Fiction for Younger Readers: Carole Boston Weatherford - SCHOMBURG: THE MAN WHO BUILT A LIBRARY (Candlewick Press)   Picture Book Illustration: Kenard Pak - GOODBYE AUTUMN, HELLO WINTER (Henry Holt and Company) GOLDEN KITE AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE BOOK TEXT Picture Book Text: Carolyn Crimi - THERE MIGHT BE LOBSTERS                                                                                           (Candlewick Press) Young Adult Fiction: Elana K. Arnold – WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF (Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Publishing) 🙂Sid Fleischman Award Winner:   CRYSTAL ALLEN , THE  Crystal Allen - THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: THE WALL OF FAME GAME (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins) GOLDEN KITE HONOR BOOKS Middle Grade Fiction: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - THE WAR I FINALLY WON (Dial Books/Penguin Random House) Ruth Freeman - ONE GOOD THING ABOUT AMERICA (Holiday House)   Picture Book Text: Carmen Agra Deedy- THE ROOSTER WHO WOULD NOT BE QUIET (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, Inc.) Picture Book Illustration: LeUyen Pham - FALLINGWATER (Roaring Brook)   Young Adult Fiction: Courtney Stevens - DRESS CODES FOR SMALL TOWNS (Harper Teen/HarperCollins) Liara Tamani - CALLING MY NAME (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins) ### About SCBWI The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization which is one of the largest existing organizations for writers and illustrators. It is the only professional organization specifically for those individuals writing and illustrating for children and young adults in the fields of children’s literature, magazines, film, television and multimedia.