SANTA BARBARA, Calif.
The University of California at Santa Barbara has announced that Pat Mora, a poet and author, will receive the 2008 Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature at the Santa Barbara Book & Author Festival on Saturday, September 27.
Sponsored by UC Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Book Council, the annual award will be presented at a 3:30 p.m. ceremony in the Faulkner Gallery of the Santa Barbara Main Library.
A champion of children’s literacy programs, Mora is the author of several award-winning children’s books, including Here Kitty, Kitty/!Ven gatita, ven!, English and Spanish editions of Grandparents; and the forthcoming Wiggling Pockets/Los bolsillos se menean. A native of El Paso, Texas, and graduate of University of Texas/El Paso, she also writes adult fiction and nonfiction about the Mexican American experience.
In addition, she is the founder of the family literacy initiative El dia los ninos/El dia de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day). Known as Dia, the event emphasizes the literacy for children.
“Pat Mora is a truly exceptional writer who embodies the very essence of the Leal Award – recognized excellence and commitment to one’s community,” said Mario T. Garcia, professor of Chicana and Chicano studies and history at UCSB and the organizer of the annual Leal Award.
The Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature is named for Luis Leal, a professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at UCSB
For more information, contact the Santa Barbara Book & Author Festival at (805) 966 1442 or visit the event Web site at http://www.sbbookfestival.org.
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