The 2006 Contributions to Literacy in Alaska Awards (CLIA) were announced on Sunday, September 17, 2006 at Z.J. Loussac Library in Anchorage at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Anchorage Daily News/UAA Creative Writing Contest. The Alaska Center for the Book presents the awards annually to individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to literacy, literature, and oral tradition in Alaska.

The 2006 winners of the CLIA Awards are:

ICE-FLOE, an international poetry journal, that Sarah Kirk and Shannon Gramse produce out of their living room in their spare time. The magazine, which is published each solstice, features poetry from poets who live and work above 60 degrees north latitude. These poems of the circumpolar region are published in their original languages along with English translations. For more information about this unique journal and for samples of some of the poetry, see the ICE-FLOE web site at: www.icefloepress.org/ .

Lila Vogt, an Anchorage accountant, was chosen for her hours of volunteer time for the Alaska Center for the Book as its treasurer, photographer, and contributor to many Center activities and special events. Lila is being honored, in particular, for her coordination of "How the Ink Feels," a program which involved readings, exhibits, and special events, and for long-time support and promotion of the Alaska Poetry League. Lila will for the second time be representing Alaska at this year's National Book Fest in Washington, DC, an event sponsored by Laura Bush and the Institute of Museums and Library Services.

Corey Hall of the Kenai Public Library was recognized by the Alaska Center for the Book for her many literacy-related activities from storytimes for preschoolers to her dogged pursuit of grants to bring new and innovative literacy and literature programs to young people on the Kenai Peninsula. From a family book discussion group funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to her latest venture, funded by the American Library Association, which will allow her and area teachers to work with teen parents and their children, she has made the most of local and national resources. Corey has also been an active collaborator with Kenai area teachers in bringing unusual writing experiences to Peninsula youth and has also been a leader in her local and the state chapters of the Alaska Literacy Association.

Judy Ferri, retired Fairbanks educator, was cited for her long devotion to literacy in her career and her extracurricular activities. Judy has been a leader in the Alaska State Literacy Association and a real sparkplug for the Golden Heart Reading Council in Fairbanks. Whether she was working as a reading teacher for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, soliciting programs for the state literacy conference, serving on the board of the Literacy Association, or working with First Book Fairbanks, Judy has tirelessly promoted the cause of literacy in her part of Alaska and beyond.

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