New Book Award for Children's Literature Announced

Online, January 27, 2014 (Newswire.com) - A call for entries was announced today for a new prize for children's books. The Children's Literature Independently Published Principals' Award (CLIPPA) will honor outstanding children's books that offer fun, learning and creativity and were self-published by independent authors.

Awards will be presented in two categories: children's books for Grades K-2 and children's books for Grades 3-4. Entries will be judged by a panel of elementary school principals and reading specialists on originality, learning quality and use of language standards.

The awards are sponsored by Kabuki Helps, a community of parents and teachers committed to making learning fun. "We created these awards to recognize independent authors, who face many challenges in getting their stories into the hands of young readers," said Lisa Hayes, President of Kabuki Helps. "There is a long, honored tradition of self-publishing in children's literature. Some of our greatest children's books, like 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit,' would have not exist if the author had waited for a traditional publisher to accept them."

Each of the two CLIPPA award winners will receive a cash prize of $250, a consultation session on promoting self-published books with brand-builder Mike Michalowicz, author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur (valued at $450); 100 gold foil award stickers for the winning book; a publicity campaign announcing the award; and feature placement on the KabukiHelps website (kabukihelps.com) for a month.

Since this is the first year for the award, the competition is open to books printed in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. To be eligible, books must be self-published by the author, published in English, and printed in hard copy and available for purchase in the U.S.

Entries will be accepted between February 1, 2014 and July 31, 2014, and awards will be announced October 1, 2014. For more information, official rules and an entry form, visit the CLIPPA website at www.clippaward.com.