CLPE Children’s Poetry Award announcement

Submissions open for the CLPE Children’s Poetry Award - CLiPPA 2018

Announcement of Chair, judges and venue for the 2018 Award

Publishers are invited to submit books of children’s poetry published in 2017 for CLiPPA 2018. Established in 2003, the Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award (CLiPPA) is the only award to recognise excellence in published poetry for children in the UK. It encourages and celebrates outstanding new children’s poetry and is presented annually for a book of poetry by a single poet or collection of children’s poetry published in the preceding year.

Chair and Judges

This year the Chair of the Judging panel will be poet and first ever CLiPPA winner, Grace Nichols.

Grace is joined by a range of poetry experts who share a passion for poetry and its place in children’s developing literacy.

·        Anthony Anaxagorou – Poet and poetry educator. Founder of Out-Spoken Press

·        Charlotte Hacking - CLPE Learning Programme Leader

·        Imogen Lycett Green – Director of the Betjeman Poetry Prize for Young Poets

·        Kate Wakeling - Poet and CliPPA 2017 winner for Moon Juice

Grace Nichols, Chair of Judges said: “Poetry is so important for children because it helps them to see the world with new eyes, as each poem is like a freshly created little universe, at the same time awakening them to the power, beauty and rhythm of language. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to chair the judging panel for this year’s CLiPPA and look forward to celebrating the very best new poetry for children.”

Louise Johns-Shepherd, Chief Executive, CLPE said: “We know from our research that giving children opportunities to enjoy, practise and perform poetry supports their developing literacy, making the CLiPPA and the shadowing scheme incredibly important to all the schools and children who take part.  We also know that despite a rich heritage and significant contribution to the literary canon, children’s poetry is still under-represented on the school curriculum and in the publishing world.  This is why we are proud that CLiPPA highlights the full range of poetry published for children and delighted to be celebrating poetry again in 2018 with such a distinguished chair and panel of judges.”

The shortlist will be announced in May and the winner revealed at the CLiPPA 2018 Poetry Show in June in the 1,000-seater Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre, London in front of an audience of poets, publishers, teachers, and young readers from the Shadowing Scheme.

The winner of CLiPPA 2018 will join an incredible past line up of winners from the world of children’s poetry including Sarah Crossan, Michael Rosen, Joseph Coelho, Roger McGough, Carol Ann Duffy and John Agard. For many poets, winning the CLiPPA has been a pivotal moment in their writing career and a springboard to increased profile and further book commissions. Both Rachel Rooney and Joseph Coelho, who won with debut collections, are now widely known amongst primary school children.

CLiPPA forms a central part of CLPE’s work at the forefront of poetry teaching in schools. In 2017 CLPE delivered their first Power of Poetry course, bringing together published poets and an anthologist with teachers to develop teachers' knowledge, confidence and expertise in their own poetry repertoire and about the teaching of poetry.

Research evaluation from the training showed that poetry provides a means for children to find and develop their own voice bringing a wide range of benefits, particularly development of their own writing. Opportunities to practise and perform poetry adds to the understanding and enjoyment of it and having a performance goal, such as CLiPPA is a real motivator in children engaging with poetry.

The research demonstrates the real need for a focus on poetry as a vehicle for improving children’s engagement in and enjoyment of reading and creative writing in schools.

More findings from The Power of Poetry, combined with knowledge and understanding gained from CLPE’s work with teachers, children and poets over the last forty years are presented in the updated ‘What We Know Works’ poetry booklet.

Shadowing Scheme

2018 will be the 4^th year of the hugely popular CLiPPA Shadowing Scheme. Running in schools alongside the CLiPPA judging, the shadowing scheme has so far reached more than 600 teachers and 14,000 children. As part of their commitment to support teachers to teach poetry in an exciting and creative way, CLPE will create teaching materials for all shortlisted books. This will include videos of the shortlisted poets which will be accessible on CLPE’s free Poetryline site which reaches almost 300,000 teachers every year. Shadowing schools will have the opportunity to win copies of all the shortlisted books and to attend or perform at the CLiPPA 2018 Poetry Show.