A nice surprise …
I was at home last Saturday morning idly wondering about flicking a duster round the place whilst texting Peter to wish him luck with his IATEFL conference talk – this year in our home town of Birmingham, UK. I had a text back from him with some unexpected but rather lovely news. A New Song for Nina, my ELT graded reader, had been announced as a finalist in the Language Learner Literature Awards 2016. Unknown to me, my publisher National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning had put the book forward, so I was genuinely surprised to learn it had been shortlisted in the Intermediate category for Adolescents and Adults.
So what are the Awards?
From the Extensive Reading Foundation website:
“Every year, the Extensive Reading Foundation recognizes the best new works of language learner literature in English. From books published in 2015, the ERF judges have selected sixteen titles of particular merit – the finalists. From these sixteen, the ERF will select one winner in each of six categories taking into account the votes and comments of students and teachers of English worldwide.”
About the book
A New Song for Nina is part of the Page Turners series of original (not adapted) language learner fiction from National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning. The story is about 8000 words, and the vocabulary and grammatical structures are suitable for adult students at A2/B1 level of English, usually described as Intermediate. The genre is Human Interest/Romance.
I have to say I loved writing this book and working with the editorial team. In fact I blogged about the book and ELT graded readers here when it was still a work-in-progress.
So here’s the blurb:
“Twenty-five-year-old Nina Cross loves music, so she is happy when she gets a job with the Jambox Music Festival. When she sees the band Breakdown, she knows she must have them play for the festival–especially when she finds out that the drummer is her first boyfriend, Craig! Before long, Nina realizes that her feelings for him haven’t gone away…”
This is a truly original story. The writing is so good you really feel you know the characters. The popular topics of love and music turn it into an exciting reading.
Judge’s comment on A New Song For Nina
The judging panel is also looking for feedback from actual readers. Here’s how teachers and English Language students from anywhere in the world can take part in the judging.
The winning books will be announced online and at the Vocab@Tokyo Conference, 12-14 September, Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo. https://sites.google.com/site/vocabattokyo/ The judges’ comments are presented with the listing of each finalist book below, in alphabetical order within each category.
Here’s how you can support A New Song For Nina
1. Read the book. Full bibliographic details here.
Title: A New Song For Nina
Author: Fiona Joseph
Illustrator: Redbean Design PTE Ltd.
Publisher: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning
ISBN: 9781424046591
2. Complete a short questionnaire on the Extensive Reading Foundation website. Login as a “guest” and then enter the access key: 2016-evals
3. Review or comment on Goodreads, Amazon or any other review site.
Good luck to all the other Finalists. I hope you’re as excited as I am. And long may I/we continue to have such delightful distractions from housework on a Saturday morning.
