The Middle East book award

The Middle East Book Award
The following information is paraphrased from the official website for The Middle East Book Award:
http://socialscience.tyler.cc.tx.us/mkho/MEOC/middle_east_book_award.htm

The Purpose:
MEOC established the Middle East Book Award in 1999 to recognize books for children and young adults that contribute meaning-fully to an understanding of the Middle East.

Selection Criteria:
Books are judged on the authenticity of their portrayal of a Middle Eastern subject, as well as on their characterization, plot, and appeal for the intended audience. (Awards are announced in November for books published during the period from January of the previous year through September of the current year.)
Eligible books are books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of the Middle East. Award categories include picture books (for ages 3-8), literature for children or young adults, and reference books for children or young adults.Sponsor:
Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC) is the sponsor of the award. Established in 1981, it is a national nonprofit organization working to increase public knowledge about the peoples places, and cultures of the Middle East, including the Arab world, Israel, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan. MEOC is a national network of educators dedicated to disseminating apolitical and nonpartisan information, resources and activities furthering understanding about the Middle East.

While researching The Middle East Book Award, there were only four websites that had helpful information. The information on each website was similar both in information and word usage. Information on the selection committee qualifications could not be found on any website. An interesting fact is that the book winners have no recognition on the cover of the book or on the inside of the book. All the recognition for the Award Winning Books is on the website. Some of the books that won The Middle East Book Award also won other awards; those awards were mention as "An Award-Winning Book" or "An Award-Winning Author" inside of the book jackets.


Other websites that were used are:
http://socialscience.tyler.cc.tx.us/mkho/MEOC/
http://www.outreachworld.org/article.asp?articleid=45
http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/outreach/news/meoc_2006