Jane Yolen presents the Mid-List Author Award

Jane speaks eloquently of how re-inventing a career in the arts every seven to ten years is a way to keep your writing fresh and alive. And yet, how difficult it is when then re-invention is forced on you.

So, to help honor the contribution of mid-list authors in general, and celebrate two mid-list authors in particular, Jane announces this year's winners:

Karen Coombs and Sallie Wolf

Sallie was here and joined Jane on stage for an enthusiastic standing ovation!

Jane Yolen Presents Her Eponymous Mid-List Author Grant

After Lin leads us in a Happy Birthday serenade to Jane Yolen, Jane takes the podium.

Jane speaks about starting and re-starting careers, explaining the motivation for her establishing the Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Award.

This year there was an honoree (Jane Mitchell) and a winner, and the winner was here - Jane called Sanna Stanley up on stage to applause!

Congratulations to both Jane Mitchell and Sanna Stanley!

And you can find out more about the Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant here.

The 2013 Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant

Jane Yolen onstage presenting the grant she established for Mid-List authors

Jane starts by speaking about being a re-starter, and what to do if you're a midlist author (after defining what a 'midlist' author is!)

Even with Owl Moon and the How Do Dinosaurs series, she says

"I still get lots of rejections.  It goes with the territory."  

Even with over 300 books published, she herself has 30 unsold picture book manuscripts!

"All of us, we writers and illustrators are in this together. And when we get somewhere, we must give forward, and give back."

Jane teamed up with SCBWI to say to published mid-list authors, "We honor you.  We recognize you.  We are still paying attention to your work.  And we want to help..."

And so she gives back, with her Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant.

The two honor winners are...

Barbara Shook Hazen

and

Margo Lemieux


and the WINNER is

Valiska Gregory!!!

Valiska onstage being cheered on for winning the Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant

We'll be profiling the honorees and winner on SCBWI: The Blog in the coming weeks!  You can find out details (and how to nominate a mid-list author you know) for the 2014 Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant here!

Jane Yolen Announces A New Grant For Mid-List Authors... And the 2012 Winners!

Congratulations to Mary K. Whittington for winning this year's inaugural Jane Yolen Mid-List Author grant!  A published author who hasn't had a new book come out in a while, Mary recently had a stroke, and is halfway through writing a new novel using voice recognition software.  Jane calls Mary her hero, and hopes the grant helps her get that novel finished and out into the world.

And our cheers as well to Ann Whitford Paul and Barbara Diamond Golden for their honor grants.

More information about the Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant (and how to nominate a mid-list author you know for next year) will be forthcoming on scbwi.org, where you'll find information on all the author and illustrator Grants and Awards.