Cokie & Steve Roberts Award

Cokie & Steve Roberts Award

Cokie & Steve Roberts

Award Description:

This award for literary excellence is given in memory and honor of Cokie & Steve Roberts, journalists who, over the past 20 years, participated actively in FOLMC in support of MCPL, speaking at library events, including our Literary Luncheon series, and gave generously of their time and resources. This award brings the library community together to recognize an author who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the literary community at large through education, advocacy, or philanthropic contributions.

FOLMC presents the award at the Annual Library After Dark Gala.

To be eligible for nomination for the award, nominees must meet the following criteria:

1. Nominee should demonstrate exceptional support and appreciation for libraries and/or the literary community. For example, advocating on behalf of literacy and library usage; participating in community-focused literary events; making financial or otherwise philanthropic contributions to libraries and their supporters; or other literacy and writing focused community endeavors.
2. Nominee must be a living author who resides, for at least part of the year, in the state of Maryland or within 50 miles of FOLMC Headquarters (in Rockville, MD; this includes the Washington metropolitan area and part of Northern Virginia).
3. Nominee’s work must be available for sale in print format; included in MCPL collections; and accessible beyond the author’s immediate surrounding region.  
4. Nominee must have been reviewed by a professional, reliable public source such as Publishers Weekly, Booklist, School Library Journal, Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, Essence.
5. Nominee’s work may represent any genre, for example, fiction, nonfiction, children or young adult, picture book, biography, mystery, romance, science fiction, poetry, cookbooks, coffee table books, humor, graphic novels. Textbooks are not eligible.
6. Writers whose work exists only in eBook (Nook, Kindle, iBooks) or print-on-demand format(s) is not eligible unless the nominee has other work that meets criteria #3 above.  

Nominations are now closed. 

Awards Committee

An Awards Committee is appointed to review the nominations and recommend a recipient to the FOLMC Board of Trustees. The Awards Committee consists of representatives from Montgomery County Public Libraries, the Montgomery County Library Board (MCLB), FOLMC Board, Library Advisory Committees (LACs), and past award recipients.

Questions? Call 240-776-6001 or email office@folmc.org.

Past Awardees

	2021 Recipient Hena Khan is the author of It’s Ramadan, Curious George and Amina’s Voice , the first book to be printed by a new publishing imprint, Salaam Reads, which aims to introduce readers of all faiths and backgrounds to a wide variety of Muslim families. Ms. Khan has been a featured author at our Contemporary Conversations Series and is a frequent library speaker and supporter.
	2020 Recipients Cokie & Steve Roberts are long-time Montgomery County residents who participated actively in FOLMC in support of MCPL. Cokie Roberts was an award winning broadcast journalist and bestselling author. She was a preeminent political reporter and commentator who was universally respected. Her husband, Steve is also a renowned journalist, author, and professor of communications. They spoke at library events, including our Literary Luncheon series, and gave generously of their time and resources.
	2016 Recipient Ellen Oh is the author of a young adult series and co-founder of the nonprofit organization We Need Diverse Books, working to bring diversity into the literary world.