PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship facts for kids
The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship is a special award given each year by PEN America. It goes to writers who create amazing children's or young adult books. The award helps them finish a book they are working on, especially when they really need support.
The award gives the writer $5,000. It was created thanks to Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, a famous author and a member of PEN. She won the Newbery Medal for her books like Sang Spell and Shiloh.
Who Can Win This Award?
To be considered for this award, a writer must be suggested by an editor or another writer. The writer must have already published at least two novels for kids or young adults. These books should have been well-liked by critics. However, they shouldn't have earned enough money for the author to live on. This award helps writers who are talented but might be struggling financially.
Part of a Bigger Family of Awards
The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Fellowship is one of many awards given by International PEN. This is a worldwide group with over 145 centers in different countries. The awards from PEN America are known as some of the most important literary prizes in the United States.
Award Winners: Who Has Won?
Here are the writers who have received the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship:
- 2001 Graham McNamee
- 2002 Lori Aurelia Williams
- 2003 Franny Billingsley
- 2004 Deborah Wiles
- 2005 Amanda Jenkins, Night Road
- 2006 Barbara Shoup, Everything You Want
- 2007 Diane Les Becquets, Genesis
- 2008 Theresa Nelson, Julia Delany: The American Version
- 2009 Carol Lynch Williams, A Glimpse Is All I Can Stand
- 2010 Pat Schmatz, Bluefish
- 2011 Lucy Frank, Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling
- 2012 Sarah Dooley, Free Verse
- 2013 Amy Goldman Koss, The Intake Office
- 2014 Linda Oatman High, "The Taste of Elephant Tears"
- 2015 Stephanie Kuehn, The Pragmatist
- 2016 Ash Parsons, A Chemical Distance
- 2017 Philippe Diederich, Finding a Home at the End of the World
