Children's Laureate, now known as the 'Waterstones Children's Laureate' is a prestigious position awarded in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field." The role promotes the importance of children’s literature, reading, creativity and storytelling while promoting the right of every child to enjoy a lifetime of books and stories. Each Laureate uses their tenure to focus on an aspect of children’s books – these have included poetry, storytelling, readers with disabilities and illustration. The aim of the Waterstones Children’s Laureateship is to celebrate and promote creativity, storytelling and inspiring all children to read a rich and diverse range of stories. The Laureateship also promotes the importance of children’s books, reading and champions the right of every child to enjoy a life rich in books and stories. The post stemmed from a discussion between the (now deceased)

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

and children's writer

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo (''né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as ''War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytellin ...

. The Waterstones Children's Laureate receives a £30,000 bursary and an inscribed silver medal. The main sponsor of the Waterstones Children's Laureate is

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

, with additional funding from

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

and support from children's publishers. A selection panel considers nominations from a range of organisations representing librarians and sellers, including the

International Board on Books for Young People The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland. IBBY history In 1952, Jella Lepm ...

. The Waterstones Children's Laureate is managed by BookTrust, who supports the Laureate, organise events and run th
official website
The post is currently held by Joseph Coelho.

UK officeholders

Comparable offices elsewhere

Australia

In 2008, an Australian Children's Literature Alliance was founded to select and appoints an annual

Australian Children's Laureate The Australian Children's Laureate is a role appointed to an Australian children's author and/or illustrator with the purpose of promoting the power of reading to children. It is a two-year role and was inaugurated in 2011, for the 2012–2013 pe ...

. In fact the first year saw two writers sharing the role. Boori Monty Pryor and

Alison Lester Alison Jean Lester (born 17 November 1952) is an Australian author and illustrator who has published over 25 children's picture books and two young adult novels; ''The Quickstand Pony'' and ''The Snow Pony''. In 2005 Lester won the Children's ...

were announced in Adelaide in December 2011, with

Noni Hazlehurst Leonie Elva "Noni" Hazlehurst , (born 17 August 1953) is an Australian actress, director, writer, presenter and broadcaster who has appeared on television and radio, in dramas, mini-series and made for television films, as well also on stag ...

as patron.

United States

In January 2008, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

inaugurated its National Ambassador for Young People's Literature scheme, as the U.S. equivalent of the Children's Laureate. The inaugural Ambassador was

Jon Scieszka Jon Scieszka ( :) (born September 8, 1954) is an American children's writer, best known for picture books created with the illustrator Lane Smith. He is also a nationally recognized reading advocate, and the founder of Guys Read – a web-based li ...

. A similar honour is awarded bi-annually by the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

for the Young People's Poet Laureate.

Ireland

Ireland has a Laureate na nÓg, a two-year office inaugurated by the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

in May 2010. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is one supporter."About the Project"
''Laureate na nÓg'' (childrenslaureate.ie). Arts Council of Ireland. Retrieved 2013-09-29.

Sweden

The

Swedish Arts Council The Swedish Arts Council ( sv, Statens kulturråd, or ''Kulturrådet'') is a Swedish administrative authority organized under the Ministry of Culture, and is tasked with promoting culture and its availability by distributing and following up on g ...

appoints an author as "Ambassador for reading", Läsamabassadör, for a two-year office since 2011. The ambassador is announced at

Gothenburg Book Fair The Gothenburg Book Fair (also known as ''Göteborg Book Fair'', ''Bok & Bibliotek'', ''Bok- och biblioteksmässan'' or ''Bokmässan'') is an annual event held in Gothenburg, Sweden, since 1985. Overview It started primarily as a trade fair (fo ...

by the Swedish

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

. As part of the tenure, the ambassador help communicate to children about books and reading.

The Netherlands

From 2013, every two years, the Dutch Reading Foundation appoints a well-known children's books author as an ambassador for children's literature. Since 2017, this 'Kinderboekenambassadeur' has a seat in his special embassy in the Children's Book Museum in The Hague.

References

;Citations
''Children's Laureate''
(childrenslaureate.org.uk). Booktrust. Retrieved 2013-09-28.

External links

* {{official website, http://www.childrenslaureate.org.uk British children's literary awards British children's literature 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom