Emory Global Health Institute launches contest for children’s book to explain COVID-19

Emory Global Health Institute launches contest for children’s book to explain COVID-19

Jeff Koplan, vice president for global health at Emory, was inspired to launch a children’s book contest by the questions his three grandchildren, ages 5-11, have been asking him about the pandemic.

While “social distancing,” “antibody tests,” “herd immunity” and “contact tracing” are common terms to public health and global health professionals, the general public has had a crash course in this new language thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the learning curve is steep for most adults, it is no doubt even more confusing for children.

Recognizing this, the Emory Global Health Institute (EGHI) has launched a COVID-19 children’s ebook competition to help address some of the questions that children may have about the pandemic and the behavior changes that have come with it.

“In keeping with EGHI’s track record of marrying global health with other disciplines, including the arts, we thought sponsoring a contest for a COVID-19 related children’s book would be a great way to engage writers of all ages and levels to produce a high-quality book about the disease and provide a resource to children, parents, and teachers as they navigate this challenging time,” says Jeff Koplan, vice president for global health at Emory. Koplan was inspired by the questions his three grandchildren, ages 5-11, have been asking him about the pandemic.

The competition launched April 14 and submissions are due April 29. The competition is open to established writers and illustrators and to aspiring writers and illustrators of every age. The winning writer/illustrator will win a $10,000 prize.

For more information on the competition and how to submit, please visit the competition website.