Competition to Host Sendak May Turn Wild

Maurice Sendak, the author and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are (Harper, 1963), a Caldecott Medal winner, Pierre (Harper, 1962), In the Night Kitchen (HarperCollins, 1970), and many other children's book classics, will present the 2003 Arbuthnot Lecture. But the lecture's location is still up for grabs, and the competition to host Sendak, one of the most important figures in 20th- century children's literature, is expected to be fierce.

"We've already been getting lots of applications" to host the event, says Meredith Parets, program coordinator for the Association of Library Services to Children, the lecture's sponsor.

Applications (available at www.ala.org/alsc/arbuth03.pdf) are being accepted from library schools, college and university departments of education, and libraries that serve children; applications must be returned by May 1.

Named after May Hill Arbuthnot, who along with educator William Scott Gray created the "Dick and Jane" series for children, the Arbuthnot Lecture aims to provide insights into the field of children's literature. An author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children's literature from any nation may present the lecture. Philip Pullman, the author of The Amber Spyglass (Knopf, 2000), will deliver the 2002 Arbuthnot Lecture on April 6 at Queens College, New York; the lecture is sponsored by both the college and Queens Borough (NY) Public Library.

The Arbuthnot Committee, which chooses the host, also provides an honorarium for the guest lecturer, but the host institution must pay for all other expenses, including publicity. Because of the level of financial support required to host the event, the Arbuthnot Lecture typically takes place in large public libraries or library schools. But "there's no reason a smaller library or group of libraries couldn't apply," says Parets.