The William Allen White Awards are presented to authors chosen by Kansas students in third through eighth grade. State educators and librarians determine a Master List, then students vote for their favorite book after reading several books from a Master List. From 1952 - 1999, students read the books on the current list and select one favorite book. Beginning in 2002, two master lists began being offered, one for students in grades 3rd-5th and one for students in grades 6th-8th. Therefore, two authors are now selected to receive the award. More than 52,000 Kansas students voted this past year, including students from HPC. Past and current master lists along with book summaries can be found at: https://wawchildrensbookaward.com
William Allen White was born in Emporia, KS on Feb. 10th, 1868. He attended college at Emporia and the University of Kansas. He worked for several newspapers in Kansas before purchasing his hometown paper, The Emporia Gazette, in 1895. He was owner and editor for the next forty-nine years of his life.
Throughout his life he become a nationally acclaimed journalist and author of biographies, novels, and short stories. But he was perhaps most famous for his keen and insightful commentaries on contemporary events in the national news. In spite of his national fame he remained first and foremost a small-town newspaper man from Kansas.
Being active in politics he knew and supported various presidents including: William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Taft.
William Allen White acquired a national fame with his popular editorial entitled "What's the Matter with Kansas". But it wasn’t until after his death that he received his most impressive award. He was awarded the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography simply titled: The Autobiography of William Allen White. At the time of his death, January 31st, 1944, William Allen White was a national celebrity, proclaimed one of the truly great Americans of his age. Life magazine called him "a living symbol of small-town simplicity and kindliness and common sense."
Based on the article online at www2.ku.edu/~jschool/school/waw/bio/waw/WAWhitebio.html
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