Tassy Walden Awards winners, finalists named

BRANFORD — Shoreline Arts Alliance will celebrate the 18th annual New Voices in Children’s Literature competition and bestow the 2018 Tassy Walden awards at the Blackstone Library, 758 Main St, Branford, May 30 at 7 p.m..

The event is open to the public and free to attend and will feature presentations of winner’s work for the very first time. All are invited to join the winners and finalists at a reception following the awards presentation.

An annual juried competition, the Tassy’s were established in 2001 to encourage and nurture the creation and publication of exceptional quality books for children by unpublished Connecticut writers and illustrators. Board books, picture books, chapter books and novels are many of the works submitted by authors and illustrators in Connecticut for review by a panel of experts in the field of children’s literature.

Editors, publishers and art directors from major children’s publishing houses have selected the following recipients for this year’s awards:

Picture Book Text: Winner: Deborah Kascak (You and I Wash the Dog); Honorable Mention: Deborah Lucibello (To Granny’s House); Finalists: Deborah Lucibello (The Ladybug Rule) ; Jodi Kelly (Perfectly Penelope) ; Karen Mae Adams (Winter Birds)

Illustrator Portfolio: Winner: Sarah Walsh ; Honorable Mention: Abi Cushman; Finalist: Denise Dunham

Illustrated Picture Book WriterIllustrators: Winner: Charlice Culvert (Clam); Finalists: Debra Paulson-Deep River (What Iris Saw); Debra Paulson (The Prunes)

Middle Grade Novel: Winner: Kimberly Mach (Present, Still Missing); Finalists: Heather Jessen (Leo Is Allergic to Lies); Kimberly Mach (Ekimmu); Krista Suprenant (Remember Where You’re From)

Young Adult Novel: Winner: Finger Merante (Of Pine, Rose, and Wing); Honorable Mention: K.B. Lindeborg (North Star); Finalists: Rachel Horsting (De-Coding Fear); Katherine A. Owens (Werks, Queens, and Other Dangerous Things)

New Voices in Children’s Literature is produced in part with support from dedicated volunteers and generous funding from The Walden Family and the CT Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts. Additional support was received from:Mary-Kelly Busch and Daniel Picchioni, Deborah Freedman and Ben Ledbetter, Thea and John Guidone, Lorraine Jay, and Meira Rosenberg. The group thanked the Blackstone Library for the use of their facility for the awards presentation and reception and to the members of the Tassy Walden Awards committee for all the dedication in coordinating and overseeing this program each year.