JEREMIAH LUDINGTON MEMORIAL AWARD

In 1975, Jeremiah Ludington, owner of Ludington News Company in Detroit, Michigan, founded the Educational Paperback Association, now known as the Educational Book and Media Association. To honor his dedication and commitment to the educational paperback market, the EPA in 1979 established the Jeremiah Ludington Memorial Award.  

The Ludington award is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the educational paperback business, and is the EBMA version of a "Lifetime Achievement Award."  Recipients receive a framed certificate and EBMA presents a $2,500 check to the charity of their choice.  Past winners of the award have included illustrators, authors, educators, and librarians such as John Scieszka, Lois Lowry, Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume. 

40th ANNUAL WINNER

Congratulations to the 40th Annual (2018) Ludington Award winner, Jane Yolen. 

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. All of Yolen's stories and poems are rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate paper-cut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding.

Click here to read the Ludington Award Press Release announced on October 23, 2018.