National Reading Conference
Address: 7044 S. 13th St. Oak Creek, WI 53154
Main Office: 414.908.4924
CustomerCare Center: 414-908-4924, ext. 450
Fax: 414-768-8001
Email: customercare@nrconline.org

History of the Award

The purpose of the Edward B. Fry Book Award is to recognize NRC members who author a book on literacy research and practice. The award was established by Edward B. Fry who contributed a fund to support it. The first award was presented in 1995. An award seal was designed and used for the first time in 2000.

Criteria for Consideration for the Award

Eligibility for the award is limited to current members of NRC who have written or been one of several authors of a book. The book must have a copyright date within five years of the date when the award is made.

The book that receives the award will:

• Advance knowledge about literacy
• Display inquiry into literacy
• Show responsible intellectual risk taking

Application Guidelines

Letters of nomination and a copy of the nominated book must be sent to the committee chair before the specified deadline, May 15. Self-nominations are accepted. A book may be renominated if it has been previously nominated but did not win the award.

No committee member can nominate a book he or she has authored. If a book written by a committee member is nominated, that committee member will recuse herself from ranking the book.

Committee members may also recuse themselves if they have been involved in reviewing a book or if a book prominently features their work.

Review Process

Once nominations are received, the chair reviews them to make sure they are eligible in terms of authorship and copyright date.

Then, the chair contacts the publishers of the books to secure review copies for all committee members. Publishers may send books directly to committee members or send copies to the chair to distribute.

The chair sends review and ranking forms to committee members and information about the deadline for returning them.

Committee members may e-mail their reviews and ranking information but must also send the forms to the chair for the archives.

When review and ranking forms are received from all committee members, the chair tallies the ranking forms, averages the scores, and determines the award winner.

The chair then notifies the recipient of the award, committee members, and headquarters, emphasizing that the information is not to be revealed until the presentation at the conference.

The Edward B. Fry Book Award is presented at the annual conference and the author receives a plaque, a monetary award of about $1,000, and a hardcover copy of the award-winning book with the award seal affixed to it. The monetary award will be in the amount of 5 percent of the principal in the Fry fund. If there is more than one author, the amount will be distributed equally among co-authors.

Edward B. Fry Book Award Winners
Elizabeth Bernhardt (1995)
Sarah Warshauer Freedman (1996)
David Reinking (1999)
Michael McKenna (1999)
Linda Labbo (1999)
Ronald Kieffer (1999)
Sarah Warshauer Freedman (2000)
Elizabeth Radin Simons (2000)
Julie Shallhope Kalnin (2000)
Alex Casareno (2000)
The M-Class Team (2000)
Susan Florio-Ruane (2001)
Cynthia Lewis (2002)
Dennis J. Sumara (2003)
Rebecca Rogers (2003)
Michael L. Kamil (2004)
Peter B. Mosenthal (2004)
P. David Pearson (2004)
Rebecca Barr (2004)
Loukia Sarroub (2005)
Elaine Richardson (2005)
Guofang Li (2006)
Patricia E. Enciso (2007)
Cynthia J. Lewis (2007)
Elizabeth Birr Moje (2007)