Mem Fox receives CBCA Nan Chauncy Award

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has presented Mem Fox with the 2017 CBCA Nan Chauncy Award for her contribution to Australian children’s literature.

The award was presented on the evening of 18 August following the announcement of the CBCA Book of the Year Awards.

CBCA National Board chair Margot Hillel said in a statement: ‘Mem Fox’s contribution to children’s literature in Australia and around the world is simply remarkable. She has delighted generations of children with her beautiful stories, but beyond her writing, this prestigious award also acknowledges Mem’s work as a brilliant and dedicated educator.’

Fox is the author of numerous children’s picture books, including the 1983 classic Possum Magic (illus by Julie Vivas, Omnibus), as well as the nonfiction books Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever and Radical Reflections on Teaching, Learning and Living. She was associate professor of Literary Studies at Flinders University in South Australia for 24 years.

The CBCA Nan Chauncy Award is named after Tasmanian children’s book author Nan Chauncy, and was created in 1983 to ‘honour individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to Australian children’s literature’.

The previous recipient of the award in 2015 was author Libby Gleeson.

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Category: Junior Local news