Biblionix First Time Attendee/Public Librarian Scholarship

The MS Library Association is pleased to present the Biblionix First Time Attendee/Public Librarian Scholarship.  The Biblionix First Time Attendee/Public Librarian is given to one individual who has not previously attended an MLA Conference. The Scholarship award includes one year of MLA membership and a one-time reimbursable scholarship of $250.00. Applicant must be currently employed at a Mississippi public library. Deadline for submission of applications is 5:00 pm (Central Time) on Saturday, August 31, 2019. The scholarship is sponsored by Biblionix. A scholarship committee will determine who will win the scholarship.  The winner will be notified by September 13.  Please click here for the application.  Thank you and have a great day!

2019 MLA Author Awards

Tiffany Quay Tyson:  2019 MLA Winner for Fiction – The Past is Never

Tiffany Quay Tyson is the author of two novels, The Past is Never and Three Rivers. The Past is Never won the 2019 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Fiction and The Clarion-Ledger called it “mesmerizing Southern Gothic.” Tiffany was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. She is a graduate of Delta State University. After college she worked for a brief stint as a newspaper reporter at theGreenwood Commonwealth where she received the Frank Allen Award for Journalism from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association. She is the recipient of two Heartland Emmy Awards including one for writing for a children’s public television program. She lives in Denver, Colorado, where she serves as a faculty member at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and the Lighthouse Young Writers Program.

Tena Clark:  2019 MLA Winner for Non-Fiction – Southern Discomfort: A Memoir  

A musical compass has guided Clark from humble beginnings as a drummer and engineer in rural Waynesboro, Mississippi, to being discovered by Stevie Wonder. She has written and produced for some of music’s greatest legends including Aretha Franklin, won a Grammy for her work with Natalie Cole, nominated for a Grammy with Patti LaBelle and worked with artists such as Leann Rimes, Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan and Maya Angelou. Clark is the CEO/Chief Creative Officer for DMI Music & Media Solutions. Her work spans film, television, stage, records and brands.  Clark is also a civil rights activist and crusader for women’s rights. Her song, "Break the Chain," written for the organization One Billion Rising - a movement to end violence against women and girls - has become the most globally performed song in history.  Clark is one of the most influential female producers in the music industry and American media. Clark's first book is a memoir titled "Southern Discomfort" and was published by Touchstone in October 2018.

 

Linda Williams Jackson:  2019 MLA Winner for Juvenile – Midnight without a Moon

Born and raised in Rosedale, Mississippi, Linda Williams Jackson is an award-winning author. Her middle grade novel, Midnight Without a Moon was a 2018 American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, a Jane Addams Honor Book for Peace and Social Justice, and a Washington Post Summer Book Club Selection.  Midnight Without a Moon appears on four state reading lists and on numerous recommended reading lists at many middle schools and public libraries, including the New York Public Library and the San Francisco Public Library. Mrs. Jackson’s second book, A Sky Full of Stars, received a Malka Penn Honor for an outstanding children’s book addressing human rights issues and was cited as one of Bank Street College’s best books of the year for 2019. Mrs. Jackson lives in Southaven, Mississippi with her family.