Posted on 6th December, 2011
Much-loved children’s authors Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor are being announced today as the first Australian Children’s Laureates at the launch of the initiative in Adelaide.
Both are talented and award-winning storytellers who bring a wealth of experience and creativity to the role – Alison as a renowned author and illustrator, and Boori as a celebrated author, performer, dancer and poet.
This prestigious national honour, the first of its kind in this country, is to be awarded at the launch by the Hon. Grace Portolesi, SA Minister for Education and Child Development and iconic children’s presenter Noni Hazlehurst, and is the culmination of the work by the Australian Children’s Literature Alliance (ACLA) to promote the transformational power of reading, creativity and story in the lives of young Australians.
ACLA Chair Marj Osborne says, “We are delighted to announce Alison and Boori as our joint inaugural Australian Children’s Laureates for 2012 and 2013. In them we found not one but two incredible individuals with the creative and passionate spirit we were looking for, so we made the unusual but exciting decision to appoint both.”
During their appointment Alison and Boori will act as national and international ambassadors for Australian children’s literature and will separately visit every state and territory inspiring young people to tell their own stories.
“I am very happy to share this honour with Boori, a friend and respected colleague,” says Alison, a previous winner of many literary awards and author of more than 20 books. “We come from very different backgrounds and perspectives, but we are both incredibly passionate about sharing our stories and encouraging children to share theirs.”
Boori, who this year also won a Prime Minister’s Literary Award for his book Shake a Leg, also sees the joint appointment as an honour and great opportunity to create change and awareness around reading and literacy.
“Like Alison, for the last twenty years I’ve been teaching kids about the beauty and power found in stories and words, using dance, song, play, pictures and writing to inspire in them a love of books. Accepting the Laureate role together means we can reach more children, no matter where they may be in Australia, and double our focus on bringing children in this country into the circle of reading.”