The Tomás Rivera Book Award celebrates a decade of winners

Date of Release: 04/07/2005

SAN MARCOS – The Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in 2005 with a reunion of 14 past author and illustrator winners.

The decade celebration, sponsored by the Texas State University-San Marcos College of Education, will be Oct. 28-29 in the San Marcos Activity Center and Public Library. This program is made possible in part by grants from Humanities Texas, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The authors and illustrators will appear in a joint discussion panel Friday evening, Oct. 28, followed by a book signing. On Saturday, Oct. 29, authors and illustrators will again participate on a variety panels, with additional sessions featuring experts on Mexican American literature, culture and history.

Among those authors/illustrators winning the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award are Rudolfo Anaya, Edward Gonzales, Gary Soto, Susan Guevara, Carmen Lomas Garza, Pat Mora, Raúl Colón, Bobbi Salinas, Amada Irma Pérez, Maya Christina Gonzalez, Francisco Jiménez, Beatriz Vidal, and Yuyi Morales. The winner for publication year 2004 will be announced in the fall.

Artwork of the illustrators will appear in an exhibit in the Walker’s Gallery of the San Marcos Activity Center, Sept. 3-Nov. 5. An additional exhibit is planned for the Mitte Gallery on the Texas State campus Oct. 26-28. A display about the award and the winners will be featured in the Alkek Library, first floor, in conjunction with the decade celebration. A video/dvd documentary is planned to commemorate the award and the work of the authors and illustrators for their contributions to children’s literature.

The award was established in 1995 to encourage authors, illustrators, and publishers of books that authentically reflect the lives of Mexican American children and young adults in the United States and is endowed by the Anheuser Busch Companies, Inc. Sponsors of the program include the College of Education of Texas State University-San Marcos, the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award steering committee, the Central Texas Writing Project, and the Texas Library Association. For more information about the award, go to http://www.education.txstate.edu/subpages/tomasrivera/index.html