Penguin Random House | New York, 03/11/2019

Penguin Random House And NCTE To Award Two Grants For Teachers

Penguin Random House and the National Council of Teachers of English will recognize the work of teachers of English. They will award two $10,000 grants. The National Teacher Award for Lifelong Reading honors teachers who inspire their students to read all genres of writing. The Maya Angelou Teacher Award for Poetry recognizes teachers who inspire their students to love poetry.

For their students, teachers open doors to the world – including the world of reading. Almost like parents, they are responsible for whether children find access to books and discover the fascinating world of reading. For this reason, Penguin Random House wants to honor teachers who do exceptional work in this area with two awards in the future. Together with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the world’s largest publishing group will award two $10,000 grants. One of them has been awarded since 2017 and the other is new. The grants aim to help teachers make their ambitious book projects possible at schools. Full- or part-time teachers can now apply for the grants. The decision will be made in November.

The two partners have organized the new National Teacher Award for Lifelong Reading and, since 2017, the Maya Angelou Teacher Award for Poetry. The first honors teachers who motivate their students to discover books and the entire spectrum of literary genres; the second honors teachers who instill the love of poetry in their students. The award is named after civil rights activist and author Maya Angelou, who died in 2014 at the age of 86. Jaci Updike, President, Sales, Penguin Random House, said about the expanded recognition of dedicated teachers: “Teachers are the strength and fabric of our society. Their commitment and passion are essential in opening the world to their students and helping them achieve their goals and pursue their dreams.”  Through this new partnership with the National Council for Teachers of English, the publishing group is able to go beyond the books it publishes and celebrate exceptional teachers by presenting grants that support their critical work.