Posted on

Dr. Florita Bell Griffin named recipient of Zora Neale Hurston Award for promotion of African-American Literature

BOSTON— Dr. Florita Bell Griffin, Creative Director of ARC Communications, LLC, a Texas-based Visual Art Communications and Publishing Company is named as the 2016 recipient of the Zora Neale Hurston Award, an annual achievement award administered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association and sponsored by HarperCollins Publishers.

The Zora Neale Hurston Award Committee has selected Dr. Florita Bell Griffin in recognition of her outstanding leadership and tireless efforts in promoting literacy and African American literature through the creation of the Little Flower® literacy project. The Little Flower® project works to improve youth literacy, self-esteem, and imagination through the use of art, artistic media, and African American literature (storytelling).

Little Flower® utilizes African American Literature, educational products, film, paint, sculpture, transmedia, performing arts, photography, music, mobile games and even the wildly popular Minecraft game platform to inspire children of all ages to read.

Little Flower®, the project’s namesake and storybook heroine, is a young African-American girl growing up during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement.  A vocal anti-bullying advocate, Little Flower® uses her sharp mind, big heart, and even bigger imagination to inspire and organize  her ever expanding circle of multi-cultural friends to address the problem of bullying in their school.

The Zora Neale Hurston Award honors an ALA member who has demonstrated leadership in promoting African-American literature. Dr. Griffin will be honored at the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando. Dr. Griffin will also receive a $1,250 monetary prize to fund travel expenses to the ALA Annual Conference, two tickets to the United for Libraries author events: The Gala Author Tea and The Laugh’s On Us, two complete sets of Zora Neale Hurston’s books and audiobooks and a beautiful personalized plaque.

Dr. Griffin was selected by the Zora Neale Hurston Award committee: Deborah Abston (Chair), Arizona State University; Janice Derr, Eastern Illinois University; Sue K. Dittmar, St. Charles City-County Library (Mo.); Cynthia Sorrell, University Of Maryland.

Posted on

“The Book of Aron: A Novel” named 2016 Sophie Brody Medal for achievement in Jewish literature

BOSTON – The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced its selection for the 2016 Sophie Brody Medal, an annual honor bestowed by the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of RUSA at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting today in Boston.

This year’s winner is “The Book of Aron:  A Novel” by Jim Shepard, published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House.  This book is an eloquent blend of fiction and non-fiction that recounts the story of the Warsaw Ghetto through the unvarnished voice of a child.  Shepard’s narrator, Aron, gives a chilling and realistic depiction of the progressive deterioration of his world.  Shepard weaves Aron’s voice with that of Dr. Janusz Korczak, a heroic historical figure dedicated to the welfare of the Jewish children in his charge. This is a haunting story of the Holocaust.

Honorable mentions include:  (1)  “After Abel and Other Stories” by Michal Lemberger, published by Prospect Park Books; (2) “The Complete Works of Primo Levi” by Primo Levi and edited by Ann Goldstein, published by Liveright; (3) “The House of Twenty Thousand Books” by Sasha Abramsky, published by The New York Review of Books; and (4) “Killing a King:  The Assassination of Yitzak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel” by Dan Ephron, published by W.W. Norton.

The Sophie Brody Medal is funded by Arthur Brody and the Brodart Foundation and is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. Works for adults published in the United States in the preceding year are eligible for the award.

This year’s winner and honor books were selected by the Sophie Brody Medal committee:  Edward Kownslar (Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi), chair; Donald Altschiller (Boston University); Emily Bergman (University of Southern California); Barbara Bibel; Jack Forman (San Diego Mesa College); Kathleen Gallagher (University City Public Library, Mo.); Elliot H. Gertel (University of Michigan); Daniel Mack (University of Maryland); Mary Parker (Minitex, University of Minnesota); Adela Peskorz (Professor Emerita, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, Minn.); Nonny Schlotzhauer (Pennsylvania State University); and Barry Trott (Williamsburg Regional Library, Va.).

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers’ advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more about RUSA’s Book and Media Awards atwww.ala.org/rusa/awards.