Congratulations to Faculty of Arts Emeritus Professor John Stephens, the first Australian to receive The Anne Devereaux Jordan Award, the highest award given by the Children’s Literature Association, recognising significant contributions in scholarship and/or service to the field of children’s literature.

Thrilled by the honour, Emeritus Professor Stephens received the award on the basis of publications, service to the international community, extensive work with students, editing an international journal, and collaboration with scholars from both his own country and abroad.

“My interest in children’s literature began in the early eighties when the University first began to offer a postgraduate course as an area of study,” said Emeritus Professor Stephens. “While teaching in the program, I saw the field offered huge scope for innovative research, and made my first major contribution with the publication of Language and Ideology in Children’s Fiction (1992), which introduced several core concepts to the field.”

Other books, edited collections, and journal articles soon followed, but Language and Ideology is still widely cited and often described as the most influential book in the field in the 1990s, having been translated into Chinese and Farsi as well.

The Anne Devereaux Jordan Award is one of two international awards presented in the field of children’s literature, with Emeritus Professor Stephens receiving the other, The International Brothers Grimm Award, in 2007.

Read more about Emeritus Professor John Stephens.