New York Times best-selling author Katherine Applegate is the winner of the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2020 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature.
She will accept the award at a public presentation at Hardesty Regional Library’s Connor’s Cove, 8316 E. 93rd St., Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m. She also will present awards to winners of the 2020 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest at the ceremony.
Katherine Applegate has published more than 100 books, mainly for young readers, including “The One and Only Ivan,” winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal. Along with her husband, Michael Grant, they published the “Animorphs” series under the name K.A. Applegate. The series features more than 60 books that have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide. She also has written the popular chapter book series “Roscoe Riley Rules,” the picture book “The Buffalo Storm” and the award-winning novel “Home of the Brave.”
Applegate said she was inspired to write “The One and Only Ivan” after reading about the true story of a captive gorilla know as Ivan, the Shopping Mall Gorilla. The real Ivan lived alone in a tiny cage for 27 years at a shopping mall before being moved to Zoo Atlanta after a public outcry. He was a beloved celebrity at the zoo, which houses the nation’s largest collection of western lowland gorillas. Ivan was well known for his paintings, which he signed with a thumbprint.
Her novel, “Crenshaw,” spent more than 20 weeks on the New York Times children’s bestseller list. The heart-warming story follows a homeless boy and his family, as well as his imaginary friend, a large cat. Applegate joined with her publisher and bookstores for the “Nationwide Crenshaw Food Campaign,” to help combat childhood hunger.
The Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature gives formal recognition, on behalf of the Tulsa County community, to a nationally acclaimed author who has made a significant contribution to the field of literature for young adults. The award, presented by the Tulsa Library Trust, consists of a $10,000 cash prize and an engraved crystal book.
Past winners include: Rita Williams-Garcia (2019), Pam Munoz Ryan (2018), Laurie Halse Anderson (2017), Gordon Korman (2016), Sharon Draper (2015), Jack Gantos (2014), Jim Murphy (2013), Jacqueline Woodson (2012), Kathryn Lasky (2011), Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2010), Christopher Paul Curtis (2009), Louis Sachar (2008), Kate DiCamillo (2007), Sharon Creech (2006), Avi (2005), Susan Cooper (2004), Russell Freedman (2003), Richard Peck (2002), E.L. Konigsburg (2001), Jerry Spinelli (2000), Jane Yolen (1999), Cynthia Voigt (1998), Gary Paulsen (1997), Walter Dean Myers (1996), Lois Lowry (1994), Katherine Paterson (1993), Madeleine L’Engle (1992) and S.E. Hinton (1991).
For more information on the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature or library programming, call the AskUs Hotline, 918-549-7323, or visit the library’s website, www.tulsalibrary.org.
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