British Catholic author wins International Award

Corinna Turner

British Catholic author Corinna Turner is to receive the St Katherine Drexel Award from the international Catholic Library Association at their Spring Virtual Conference on 29th April. Previous recipients of the award include Matthew Kelly, Michael O'Brien, and Isaac Asimov. Established in 1966 under the title Certificate of Merit and renamed in 2002, the St Katharine Drexel Award recognises an outstanding contribution to the growth of high school librarianship.

Prolific author Corinna Turner has 26 published works, all but two for young adults, plus short stories and contributions to anthologies. Her oeuvre includes the Carnegie Medal Nominated I Am Margaret series, the Friends in High Places series (saints biographies through fiction), the unSPARKed series (Catholic dino-dystopian adventures), and the Last Things series (spiritual thriller novellas).

She also has numerous standalone titles, and her work has been translated into four languages. Her first novel, I Am Margaret, was adapted into a play by acclaimed Catholic novelist and playwright Fiorella de Maria. Her books have received praise from authors such as Eoin Colfer (author of Artemis Fowl and former Children's Laureate of Ireland) and well-known US author Regina Doman, a previous recipient of the St Katherine Drexel Award.

Corinna Turner has been writing since she was 14 and likes strong protagonists with plenty of integrity. Although she spends as much time as possible writing, she cannot keep up with the flow of ideas, for which she offers thanks-and occasional grumbles!-to the Holy Spirit. She is a Lay Dominican with an MA in English from Oxford University and lives in the Cotswolds. She is a member of a number of organisations, including the Society of Authors, Catholic Teen Books, Catholic Reads, the Angelic Warfare
Confraternity, and the Sodality of the Blessed Sacrament.

She used to have a Giant African Land Snail, Peter, with a six-and-a-half-inch long shell, but now makes do with a cactus and a campervan. She occasionally contributes articles to the Catholic Herald and other Catholic media.

Established in 1921, the Catholic Library Association is an international membership organisation, providing its members professional development through educational and networking experiences, publications, scholarships, and other services. The Catholic Library Association coordinates the exchange of ideas, provides a source of inspirational support and guidance in ethical issues related to librarianship, and offers fellowship for those who seek, serve, preserve, and share the word in all its forms.

The Catholic Library Association honours excellence in scholarship, literature and librarianship through the bestowal of nationally recognised Association and Section awards. These awards as well as service and chapter awards are presented at the annual convention.

For more information about Corinna Turner, visit: www.IAmMargaret.com
For more information about CLA and the St Katherine Drexel Award, see: www.cathla.org