ALCS: "SOMETIMES I FEEL…" by SARAH MAYCOCK wins the UK's sole award for creative educational writing

Winner of 2021 ALCS Educational Writers' Award receives £2000

LONDON, Dec. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The winner of the 2021 ALCS Educational Writers' Award is Sometimes I Feel: A Menagerie of Feelings Big and Small, written and illustrated by Sarah Maycock.

The 2021 judges praised this "tender and touching" book for deftly translating complex emotions into relatable animal illustrations, realised with a few brushstrokes; and for the way the carefully chosen words of the text help put universal feelings into perspective.

The result of this year's ALCS Educational Writers' Award – the UK's only award for creative educational writing – was announced this evening by Lord Parkinson at the All Party Writers' Group Winter Reception at the House of Commons. Sarah Maycock receives prize money of £2000.

Published by Big Picture Press, Sometimes I Feel explores common but complex emotions – including bravery, timidness, curiosity and happiness – through a collection of animal similes and poetic prose, accompanied by beautifully paintings of animals which embody each emotion. Of the book's creation, Sarah Maycock writes that she "wanted to explore the universal nature of animals and how we can relate them to our own experiences and characteristics".

This year's judges – children's author, Trish Cooke; junior school librarian, Hazel Forbes; and former primary headteacher, Katie Purdey – highlighted the winning title's relevance to our times, adding that "linking feelings to relatable characteristics of animals is a fantastic way to teach children about the power of emotions; their temporary nature, and how we can respond to them in a healthy and helpful way. This book is a must-have for any primary classroom".

Runner-up for the 2021 ALCS Educational Writers' Award is I Am Not a Label, written by Cerrie Burnell, illustrated by Lauren Baldo, and published by Wide Eyed Editions. The judges praised the book for encouraging young people to accept and embrace others for who they truly are. "The empowerment this book could give to young people living with a disability or chronic illness is fantastic, with the potential to really make an impact in overcoming misconceptions and celebrating difference.

Further information about the winning author can be found below. The 2021 ALCS Educational Writers' Award focused on books for 5–11-year-olds, published in 2019 and 2020. Sometimes I Feel… beat off strong competition from the five other titles shortlisted for this year's Award. They were:

I AM NOT A LABEL, written by Cerrie Burnell and illustrated by Lauren Baldo (Wide Eyed Editions)
BE AMAZING: AN INSPIRING GUIDE TO BEING YOUR OWN CHAMPION, written by Chris Hoy and illustrated by Miguel Bustos (Walker Books)
A CLIMATE IN CHAOS, written and illustrated by Neal Layton (Wren & Rook)
I AM A BOOK. I AM A PORTAL TO THE UNIVERSE, written by Miriam Quick and illustrated by Stefanie Posavec (Particular Books) 
OUR PLANET, written by Matt Whyman and illustrated by Richard Jones (HarperCollins Children's Books)

The ALCS Educational Writers' Award was established in 2008 by ALCS and the Society of Authors (SoA), "to celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity, encourages students to read widely and builds up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications".

#EWA21 #ALCSAwards

EDITOR'S NOTES

The Winning Author/Illustrator 
Sarah Maycock studied Illustration at Kingston University, where her book "Sometimes I Feel…" began life as her final year project, having trained herself to draw animals by watching nature documentaries and spending time at London Zoo. In 2011, she was selected as an "It's Nice That" Graduate, and in 2018, she was commissioned to create a series of illustrations for the Whales exhibition at London's Natural History Museum. She lives and works in Hastings in East Sussex. She says that she will "never tire of drawing animals".

The 2021 Judges
Trish Cooke writes for theatre, film, TV and radio. She is also the author of more than 20 books for children including the multi-award-winning picture book, "So Much".

Hazel Forbes has worked in non-fiction publishing for over 20 years. Since 2007 she has been a school librarian both at senior school level and, for the last ten years, as a junior school librarian.

Katie Purdy has worked in education for the past 15 years. A former primary school headteacher, she is the founder of Mindful Brain, a specialist education service offering academic and wellbeing support for children, parents, and educators.

The Society of Authors (SoA) 
The Society of Authors is a trade union for all types of writers, illustrators, and literary translators, and has been advising individuals and speaking out for the profession for more than a century. The SoA supports and runs many other prizes for poetry, short stories, fiction and non-fiction, and in addition to the ALCS Educational Writers' Award also administers the Sunday Times/University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year Award. The SoA distributed almost £600,000 in prizes and grants in 2020.
societyofauthors.org

The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) 
ALCS is a not-for-profit organisation for the benefit of all types of writers. Owned by its members, ALCS collects money due for secondary uses of writers' work. It is designed to support authors and their creativity, ensure they receive fair payment, and see their rights are respected. It promotes and teaches the principles of copyright and campaigns for a fair deal. Today, ALCS represents over 113,000 members, and since 1977 has paid out more than £570 million to writers.
alcs.co.uk

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