Local Librarian Announced as Judge for Book of the Year Awards

Published on 21 February 2018

Kristin Twomey.jpg

Kristin Twomey, Council Coordinator Library Services has been announced as a judge for the Children’s Book Council of Australia 2019 Book of the Year Awards.

Council’s Acting Director Strategy, Community & Development Robert Cox said the announcement was another great achievement for Kristin and for Snowy Valleys Libraries.

“Having Kristin recognised on such a level again shows how fortunate Snowy Valleys Council is to have her services as Library Coordinator”, Mr Cox said.

In 1946 the Children’s Book Council of Australia established its annual book awards to promote children's books of high literary and artistic quality. These awards are now the most influential and highly respected in Australia.

The criteria for qualifying to become a Judge included:

  • Recognised standing and qualifications in the field of children’s literature
  • Wide and current knowledge of children’s literature, especially Australian
  • Awareness of illustration techniques, design, editing, printing & production processes
  • Ability to communicate assessment effectively, both verbally and in writing

Ms Twomey is one of three judges for the Eve Pownall Award for Information Books.

Books in this category are judged on the balance and harmony of language style and presentation, graphic excellence, clarity, appropriateness and aesthetic appeal of illustrations, and the overall design of the book. 

“As a public librarian I have always been a strong supporter of the CBCA and the yearly Book Week celebrations, so when the offer was made to judge the Eve Pownall awards for 2019, I simply couldn’t turn it down,” Ms Twomey said.

While studying her second Bachelor of Arts (English/History) at Charles Sturt University, Ms Twomey completed several subjects related to the oral tradition of storytelling, the history of fairy-tales and contemporary literature for children and youth.

“These were real highlight subjects for me and I thoroughly enjoy the process of deconstructing these stories and the influence literature can have on children and youth,” said Ms Twomey.

As a judge Ms Twomey will be required to read all books entered in her category during the judging period and write preliminary annotations and reports on each entry.  There are between 50-120 books entered in each category.

“The judging process starts this April and I can expect to receive between 1 to 3 books per week. I will review the overall content, publication style, illustrations and relevance to the children and youth genres,” Ms Twomey said.

The three judges will then convene in April 2019 to finalise a short list and from there they will select the winner and honour lists.

Ms Twomey said that Judges for these awards tend to come from a school, writing or publishing background, so it is wonderful to provide a public librarian’s input into the judging process.

“This judging opportunity presents a wealth of opportunities for our local libraries through my contact with publishers, authors and the CBCA itself.”

For more information on the Children’s Book Council of Australia 2019 Book of the Year Awards visit their website  www.cbca.org.au/about-the-awards