Summer Edward

Summer Edward
Edward in 2019
Born (1986-03-10) 10 March 1986 (age 38)
San Fernando, Trinidad
NationalityTrinidadian and American
EducationTemple University, University of Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Writer, children's editor

Summer Edward (born 10 March 1986) is a Trinidadian American writer, children's editor, educator, literary activist and children's literature specialist based in the USA.[1] In 2010, at the age of 24, she founded Anansesem ezine, the first children's literature publication in the English-speaking Caribbean and served as its editor-in-chief for 10 years.[2] At 26, she became one of the Caribbean's youngest literary editors. Anansesem has published some of the most distinctive and distinguished voices in Caribbean literature for young people including Floella Benjamin, Gerald Hausman, Ibi Zoboi, Itah Sadu, Lynn Joseph, Margarita Engle, Nadia L. Hohn, Olive Senior and Vashanti Rahaman.

Education

Edward earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology at Temple University, where she organized the College of Liberal Arts' World Voices Poetry Festival and received the Jane D. Mackler Baccalaureate Award for academic achievement. She holds a Master of Education degree in reading, writing, literacy from the University of Pennsylvania. She remained a straight-A student throughout her university career and is a lifelong Roothbert Fellow and a lifelong Phi Beta Kappa member.

Literary activism

Edward has worked for diversity in children's publishing and for the advancement of Caribbean children's literature. She has been a judge and editor for writing competitions, including the Golden Baobab Prizes for African children's literature, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards,[3] the CODE Burt Awards, and OpenIDEO's Early Childhood Book Challenge.[4] Her writings on multicultural children's literature appear in School Library Journal,[5] The Horn Book Magazine,[6] WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom, sx salon, Charlotte Huck’s Children’s Literature: A Brief Guide, The Millions,[7] NoveList (EBSCOhost), on the Social Justice Books website,[8] on the International Literacy Association's website, and on the KidLit TV website.[9]

Bibliography

Books for young readers

  • The Wonder of the World Leaf (HarperCollins UK, 2021)
  • Renaissance Man: Geoffrey Holder's Life in the Arts (Heinemann USA, 2021)
  • Grannie's Coal Pot (Heinemann USA, 2021)
  • The Breadfruit Bonanza (Heinemann USA, 2021)
  • First Class: How Elizabeth Lange Built a School (Heinemann USA, 2021)
  • Zarah and the Zemi (Heinemann USA, 2021)

Anthologies

References

  1. ^ Summer Edward at Poets & Writers.
  2. ^ Anansesem Caribbean children's literature ezine (inglés)
  3. ^ "2020 National Writing Jurors", Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
  4. ^ "Early Childhood Book Challenge Editors", OpenIDEO.
  5. ^ Edward, Summer (14 June 2023). "10 Picture Books for Caribbean American Heritage Month". School Library Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  6. ^ Edward, Summer (21 November 2016). "Foreign Correspondence: An Interview with Deborah Ahenkorah: Torchbearer for African Children's Publishing — The Horn Book". www.hbook.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  7. ^ Edward, Summer (30 July 2018). "On the Imperialist 'Charity' of Rebuilding Caribbean Children's Libraries with Eurocentric Books". The Millions. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  8. ^ Edward, Summer (28 February 2023). "14 Caribbean Picture Books Out in 2023". Social Justice Books: A Teaching for Change Project.
  9. ^ Edward, Summer (8 May 2023). "5 Picture Books Featuring Caribbean Boy Protagonists Coming in 2023". KidLit TV.