Do you know about the Phoenix Award? I have to admit, shamefully, that I did not -- until tonight. Tonight, Virginia Euwer Wolff was named the recipient of the 2011 Phoenix Award for her glorious novel, The Mozart Season.
Could there ever be a better reason for giving a prize than this one? Here is the citation:
The Children's Literature Association Phoenix Award is presented annually to the author of a children's or young adult book, originally published in English twenty years earlier, that did not win a major award at the time of its publication. The award recognizes works of high literary merit and lasting significance.
Jinny Wolff is almost pathologically modest, so I will crow on her behalf. The Mozart Season is a book that bears reading and re-reading. (So great was my respect for her novel that I'd clean my apartment on druggy St. Mark's Place -- vacuum even! -- before I'd allow myself to open her manuscript and read her sentences.) Read it if you have a chance.Hats off to the 2011 Children's Literature Association committee for their far-sighted choice; three cheers for the 17-year-old boy who composed that stunning violin concerto; and kudos to the brilliant Virginia Euwer Wolff for writing a book that will rise again and again.
Posts
9 comments:
I did not know about this. What an excellent idea!
Oh, how lovely! It's a wonderfully named award, and beautifully bestowed on Virginia. I'm so happy for her!
Yay, yay, yay! Thanks for letting us know. I can't believe that as a kidlit writer and classical musician I had not come across this book.
I will have to add it to my "must read" list.
Thanks so much for sharing this! Will be getting myself a copy for sure.
I've never heard of this award, but I've certainly read and enjoyed the book several times!
Most deserving...to a talented author and a wonderful person.
cheers, kkosko
I love this book. It turned me on to Mozart and to the author. I re-read it every year.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention Brenda. It is great to know that wonderful books that didn't get the recognition they deserve can be brought to the attention of a new generation of readers.
Post a Comment