The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship of $5,000 is offered annually to a North American author of children’s or young-adult fiction. Eligible candidates are writers in financial need, who have published at least two books, and no more than five, during the past ten years, which have been warmly received by literary critics, but which have not generated sufficient income to support the author.

Previous winners have included Deborah Wiles, Graham McNamee, Lori Aurelia Williams, Franny Billingsley and Amanda Jenkins.

Submissions for this year’s award are due by January 16, 2006, and the Fellowship will be presented in May 2006 as part of the annual PEN Literary Awards.

Writers must be nominated by an editor or a fellow writer. It is strongly recommended that the nominator write a letter of support, describing in some detail how the candidate meets the criteria for the Fellowship. The nominator needs to provide:
— a list of the candidate´s published work (preferably accompanied by copies of reviews, where possible).
–a description of the candidate´s financial resources, such as a summary of recent earnings, or some articulation of why monetary support is particularly needed at this time (the need for child care, research expenses, etc.).
— three copies of no more than seventy-five pages of current work, intended as part of a new book.
— a self-addressed, stamped envelope of a suitable size if the candidate wishes return of the manuscripts.

All inquiries and nominations should be sent to:

Naylor Fellowship/PEN American Center
588 Broadway, Suite 303
New York, NY 10012

For more information, please call 212-334-1660 ext. 108 or email awards@pen.org.

Cynsational News & Links

Arthur’s blog from children’s book editor Arthur A. Levine.

BBYA Nominees 2006: (especially if you’re an LJ subscriber) take another look at this post, which now reflects updates for nominees since the last ALA update.

In Celebration of Books, Writing, Art, and The First Amendment from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Chapin Auditorium at Mount Holyoke College is located on 50 College Street in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Featuring M.T. Anderson, Natalie Babbitt, Susan Cooper, Steven Kellog, David Macaulay, Gregory Maguire, Patricia MacLachlan, Fredrick and Patricia McKissack, Katherine Paterson and two-time Caldecott winner David Wiesner. “Following the discussion the NCBLA will host A Reception With The Authors, offering an opportunity for a limited number of guests to meet with the NCBLA authors and illustrators in an informal setting, with light fare, convivial beverages, and a chance to have your books autographed!”