Thursday, July 3, 2008

Martha Weston Grant winner!

Our grant committee received a fantastic group of applications for the Martha Weston grant. There are so many people doing such wonderful work, taking leaps in their creative endeavors. After careful reading, rereading, sifting and weighing, we chose Betsy James. Martha (Hairston) Weston's family provides the grant, which will fund Betsy James' trip to the national SCBWI conference this August.

The author of more than a dozen picture books and three YA novels, Betsy's interested in exploring the kind of books that made her a reader in the first place: illustrated middle-grade novels. She wants to experiment with combining words and images that can be less culture-bound and serve as access to new words and new worlds, particularly for kids who don't have strong literacy skills.

Check out her website; betsyjames.com.

Congratulations to Betsy, and thanks to all of you who sent in such heartfelt apllications.

1 comment:

Elizabeth Partridge said...

Thanks, Dayana! Nice to hear from you.