Seven Stories - The Centre For Children's Books

Frances Lincoln Limited, an award–winning publisher, and Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books, an innovative cultural centre for children's literature, have announced that they have created an award in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945 – 2001).

The purpose of The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award is to:

• Take positive steps to increase the representation of people writing from or about different cultural perspectives, whose work is published in Britain today.
• Promote new writing for children, especially by or about people whose culture and voice are currently under-represented.
• Recognise that as children's books shape our earliest perceptions of the world and its cultures, promoting writing that represents diversity will contribute to social and cultural tolerance.
• Support the process of writing rather than, as with the majority of prizes, promoting the publication.

The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award is for a manuscript that celebrates cultural diversity in the widest possible sense, either in terms of its story or in terms of the ethnic and cultural origins of its author. The prize of £1,500, plus the option for Frances Lincoln Children's Books to publish the novel, will be awarded to the best work of unpublished fiction for 8–to-12-year-olds by a writer, aged 16 years or over, who has not previously published a novel for children. The writer may have contributed to an anthology of prose or poetry. The work must be written in English and it must be a minimum of 10,000 words and a maximum of 30,000 words. The closing date for all entries is 30th January 2009. The winner will be announced at an award ceremony at Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books, in April 2009.

The distinguished panel of judges includes:

• Trevor Phillips -
  Chair of The Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Jake Hope –
  Children’s Librarian for Lancashire Libraries, and a freelance consultant
• Geraldine Brennan –
  Journalist and former Books Editor at the Times Educational Supplement
• Janetta Otter-Barry -
  Editorial Director, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
• Mary Briggs -
  Co-Founder of Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books

The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award is supported by Frances Lincoln Limited and Arts & Business through their New Partners Investment Scheme.

Entry forms can be downloaded from this page By email: diversevoices@sevenstories.org.uk Or telephone Helena McConnell at Seven Stories on T 0845 271 0777

Press enquiries to: Nicky Potter E: nicpot@dircon.co.uk

Frances Lincoln Limited was founded by Frances Lincoln in 1977. In 1983 the company started to publish illustrated books for children. Since then it has won many awards and prizes with both fiction and non-fiction children's books. Best-selling titles include Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman with illustrated by Caroline Binch, and We are Britain by Benjamin Zephaniah with photographs by Prodeepta Das.

Frances Lincoln died, aged 55, in February 2001. She was described by Julia Eccleshare in the TES as “the publisher best known for pioneering multicultural books for children." Michael Rosen, the Children's Laureate, commented that," Publishing has lost a brave and innovative person who has left behind her, much too soon, a thriving legacy.”

Frances's husband, John Nicoll, now runs the company. Frances Lincoln publish well over 100 new books a year, and have nearly 1000 in print. Their turnover is around £7 million per annum and they employ about 40 people.

For more information go to www.franceslincoln.com