If you’ve been following along on this little journey of mine, you likely already know that I (with the help of Rebekah Buchanan and other amazing colleagues) started The Rural Assembly of English Language and Literacy Education through the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) as a home for rural ELA teachers and teacher educators within the organization. We were officially approved as an assembly just after the NCTE national convention last year. (Yay!)
If you’re new here, welcome! You can learn more about TRAELLE (pronounced “trail”) here. We hope you consider joining our ranks! Note: You don’t need to be an NCTE member to join.
You also likely know that I am a current co-chair of the selection committee for the Whippoorwill Book Award for Rural Young Adult and Middle Grade Literature. You can learn more about its inception from co-founder Dr. Jenn Sanders here.
What you may not know (but are about to find out) is that these two wonderful entities are joining forces! The Whippoorwill Award will now be housed within TRAELLE. But, what does that mean? I’m so glad you asked! There are lots of changes happening! Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know:
- Moving forward, the Whippoorwill Award will be announcing one winner and up to nine honor books.
- In line with other literary awards, a long list will be announced around this time every year.
- The winner and honorees will be announced and honored at the TRAELLE business meeting at NCTE each year.
- The winner will be invited to speak at the TRAELLE meeting and will be awarded a yet to be determined beautiful statuette.
Much of this is still in process since both the Whippoorwill Award and TRAELLE are so young, but I’m so excited for the possibilities and futures of both that I couldn’t keep it quiet!
In the continued spirit of sharing of exciting news, the following are the books that have been long-listed for the Whippoorwill Award this year:
Fire from the Sky by Moa Backe Åstote
Dragging Mason County by Curtis Campbell
Fault Lines by Nora Shalaway Carpenter
Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr.
Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson
Once in a Blue Moon by Sharon G. Flake
The Storyteller by Brandon Hobson
A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis
Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo
Saints of the Household by Ari Tison
Where You Left Us by Rhiannon Wilde
Keep an eye out for more exciting announcements, and we hope to see you at NCTE in Boston at the TRAELLE meeting on Saturday, November 22 at 5:15 PM where Nora Shalaway Carpenter (a previous award winner and current member of the long list) will be giving our inaugural address.
Dr. Parton's Literacy In Place 