"2007 Raab Associates Prize"
Susan Salzman Raab is a University of Connecticut Alumna who graduated in 1980 with a degree in English. She has experience in the retail book business and has worked at Bantam, Dell, and Scholastic. With her husband, David, she began her own children's book marketing agency, Raab Associates in 1986, now based in Chappaqua, New York. During the summer of 1999, Ms. Raab approached Terri J. Goldich, Curator of the Northeast Children's Literature Collection at the Dodd Center with the idea of creating a contest open to UConn students of art, for the best illustration of a children's story to bring attention to the field of children's book illustration as well e ncouraging students who have an interest in the arts and the world of publishing. A cooperative agreement was developed with School of Fine Arts Professor Cora Lynn Deibler, who assigns an entry for the contest as part of her fall curriculum.
This is now the ninth year of the Raab Associates Prize, and the assignment was to create an illustration to accompany 3 haikus created by Jane Yolen. The judges were Ms. Raab, Ms. Yolen, Dr. John Cech (Director for the Center for Children's Literature and Culture at the University of Florida), and Ms. Goldich.
This year the students produced an unusually diverse and fine group of artwork and it was decided to split the prize. There are two First Place winners and one honorable mention. The prizes were awarded by Susan Raab at the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007. The winners also receive a year's membership in the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators courtesy of SCBWI President Stephen Mooser. The two first prize winners are Elizabeth Gibbings, from Hampton Connecticut, who hopes to go into children’s books, graphic design, and advertising. Sharing the prize with Liz is Reena Allen, from Stafford Springs, Connecticut, who plans on going into teaching and children’s book illustration. Sarah Mikolowsky, from Hebron, Connecticut, who earned the honorable mention, says her future plans are “keeping myself happy, healthy, and illustrating."
The contest judges congratulate all of the contestants and are sincerely grateful for their participation, and also wish to thank Jane Yolen for generously supplying the haikus for this year’s contest.
