Books to Inspire Young Minds: 2014 Educational Writers' Award

LONDON, November 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Shortlist announced for only UK award for educational writing 

The four titles on the shortlist for the 2014 Educational Writers' Award, announced today, are outstanding examples of non-fiction books which help readers aged 11-18 years to broaden their horizons as they tackle some of life's important questions.

They are:

Keep Your Cool: How to Deal with Life's Worries and Stress
Author: Dr Aaron Balick        
Illustrator: Clotilde Szymanski
(Publisher: Franklin Watts)

Filled with practical activities to provide support and guidance, this book aims to help you deal with issues such as bullying, family strife, exam panic and what it means to be you in your life.

Our judges said: No matter which troubles and traumas, keep your cool and look in here for spot-on sensible advice. It has just the right tone and masses of helpful suggestions.

Mission: Explore FOOD
Author: The Geography Collective        
Illustrator: Tom Morgan-Jones
(Publisher: Can of Worms)

Aiming to change the way you see food forever, this "alternative cookbook" contains 159 tasty, revolting and seemingly random food-related missions to complete, with the idea of turning you into an extreme explorer and guerrilla geographer.

Our judges said: A varied, imaginative, lively inter-disciplinary approach to food, both on the plate and on its way there. Packed with challenges and activities, there's never a dull page.

The Danger Zone: Avoid Being Sir Isaac Newton!
Author: Ian Graham        
Illustrator: David Antram
(Publisher: Book House)

You are one of the most famous scientists of the 17^th century. You will be thought of as the father of modern science. You are a remarkable person but your obsessions, quarrels and secrets make you lonely and unhappy.

Our judges said: A fascinating look at the man behind the theories of gravity, optics and calculus - tantrums, heresy, warts and all.

the world in infographics: ANIMAL KINGDOM
Authors: Jon Richards & Ed Simkins        
(Publisher: Wayland)

From the weight of krill a blue whale can eat - measured in cars - to the number of offspring a garden snail can produce in a year, you marvel at the dazzling variety of animal life: the biggest, smallest, deadliest and rarest, visualised in icons, pictograms and graphics.

Our judges said: More information is packed into this vivid, colourful book than looks possible, all presented through brilliant, easy-to-read infographics.

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

The 2014 Award focused on books for 11-18 year olds, published in 2012 and 2013. This year's judges are teacher Vanessa Casey; school librarian Aidan Higgins; and author Anne Rooney.

The winner of the 2014 Educational Writers' Award will be announced at the
All Party Writers Group (APWG) Winter Reception at the House of Commons on Tuesday 2nd December. The winning author will receive a cheque for £2000.

Editor's Notes 

About the Judges 

Vanessa Casey has taught French, German and Spanish for the past 22 years and was Head of Languages in two schools, including Burlington Danes Academy in West London, where she is currently working with the charity IntoUniversity to promote higher education to students where there is no background of HE. She also organises Maths Masterclasses in local primary schools.

Aidan Higgins has worked as a school librarian in a number of London schools since 2005, following his MA in Arabic Literature and Translation at the School of Oriental and African Studies.  Since August 2008, he has been Learning and Resources Centre Manager at The Bridge Academy in Hackney, East London.

Anne Rooney describes herself as a writer of short books for short people and longer books for longer people. She is a prolific author for all ages: her current book projects include Mega Machine Record Breakers; Keeping Safe: Around Drugs, Alcohol and Cigarettes and retellings of Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde.

The Society of Authors (SoA) 

The Society of Authors has been serving the interests of professional writers for more than a century. Today it has more than 9,000 members (from novelists to doctors, textbook writers to ghost writers, broadcasters to academics, illustrators to translators) writing in all areas of the profession. Services include the confidential, individual vetting of contracts, and help with professional disputes. In addition, the SoA holds meetings and seminars, publishes a quarterly journal, The Author, and maintains a database of members' specialisations. It administers a wide range of prizes, as well as the Authors' Foundation, which is one of the very few bodies making grants to help with work in progress for established writers. For further information, contact info@societyofauthors.org or see http://www.societyofauthors.org

The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) 

ALCS collects fees on behalf of the whole spectrum of UK writers: novelists, film & TV script writers; literary prize winners; poets; freelance journalists; translators and adaptors, as well as thousands of professional and academic writers who include nurses, lawyers, teachers, scientists and college lecturers. All writers are eligible to join ALCS: further details on membership can be found at http://www.alcs.co.uk . ALCS collects fees that are difficult, time-consuming or legally impossible for writers and their representatives to claim on an individual basis: money that is nonetheless due to them. Fees collected are distributed to writers twice a year in February and August. Since its inception, ALCS has distributed over £350 million to the nation's writers. For further information, contact alcs@alcs.co.uk or see http://www.alcs.co.uk