Georgia Writers Association awards Terry Kay with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 47th Georgia Author of the Year Awards along with 24 other winners and finalists.

Terry Kay Shares a Lifetime of Experiences with Georgia Writers at GAYA

Kennesaw, GA, June 11,2011: “My passion for many,many, many years has been to celebrate the writing done in this state. I have been dismayed that Georgia writers have not had the kind of acknowledgement that our neighboring states give their native writers. This occasion tonight does this – gives recognition to our native writers.” Terry Kay addressed those gathered for the 47^th Annual Georgia Author of the Year Awards onSaturday, June 11, 2011, where he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award fromthe awards sponsor, the Georgia Writers Association.

Kay is the author of several popular novels including Dance with the White Dog which became a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie starring Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn. His novel, The Book of Marie won the Georgia Author of the Year Award in 2008 for best fiction. His latest book, Bogmeadow’s Wish, published by Mercer University Press, was released in 2011. Kay, a prolific writer, says he is more concerned with the reader than the writing.

It’s Not about You – It is about the Reader

Kay spoke to a crowd of nearly 200 writers and guests, telling them: “There are times I think the writing is overstated. It is reallynot about us. It is about the person that reads you more than anything else.”

Twenty-four awards were given in 12 genres to Georgiaauthors who published in 2010. Winners included Philip Lee Williams for his work of poetry, The Flower Seeker,and Joseph A. Skibell, for A Curable Romantic, as best fiction in Georgia. The growing genre of Creative Nonfiction produced winners such as first-time writer Craig Rikard for his memoir about his family’s struggle with drug addiction in Hidden Epidemic

This year the Georgia Writers Association, presented a finalist in each category with an award in addition to the winner of the genre.The finalist for First Novel was Jeffrey Stepakoff for Fireworks over Toccoa. The Fiction Finalist Award went to Joshilyn Jackson for Backseat Saints. The complete list of winners and finalists can be found on the Georgia Writers Association Web site: www.georgiawriters.org.The official Web site of the Georgia Author of the Year Awards is at www.authoroftheyear.org

The Georgia Writers Association recognizes Georgia's authors of excellence by presenting the Georgia Author of the Year Awards. The GAYA has the distinction of being the oldest literary awards in the Southeastern United States. The GAYA honors both independently published authors, those whose books are published by traditional publishing houses, and self-published authors.

The Awards have grown in prestige and participation since its inception in 1964 by the Dixie Council of Authors and Journalists. The GAYA changed hands in 1990 under the Georgia Writers Association and in 2006 GWA began a strong affiliation with Kennesaw State University's Department of English in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

In 2011 over 80 books were nominated for Georgia Author ofthe Year. The GAYA covers the traditional categories of Poetry and Fiction, while accommodating the growing Creative Non-Fiction genre. The guidelines are revised each year to parallel the changing literary marketplace.

DUBLIN, Ohio, June 17, 2011—A production version of mobile-optimized WorldCat Local is now available to libraries following beta testing of the service that makes it possible for mobile users to discover items, see location, shelf status, call numbers, and more in their local library, and in libraries worldwide.

New mobile-optimized WorldCat Local sites include many additional features not available in the beta version, most notably support for a wide range of devices. Any smart phone or feature phone capable of running JavaScript or a Java-based Web browser such as Opera Mini or Bolt will be supported worldwide.

“We focused on mobile Web browser support as opposed to device-specific applications because it supports the broadest audience possible worldwide. It is also simplest from the user perspective,” said Jeff Penka, OCLC End-User Services Portfolio Director. “Most importantly, we were able to build the production mobile site on the new architecture that takes advantage of the latest commercial Web technologies and supports OCLC’s platform strategy moving forward.”

Libraries that maintain a full WorldCat Local subscription have the option to customize their mobile presence. In addition, the production version includes more item information than before, with easier navigation to previous and next items within a results set. Users can see location, shelf status, call number, levels of availability and can place a hold, request the item or email citations for any content that does not require authentication.

The move into production creates the possibility of a mobile presence for more than 20,000 libraries. Any library with WorldCat Local or visibility on WorldCat.org can claim their unique URL and use it to support their mobile users.

The new mobile-optimized WorldCat Local views are the result of more than two years of research, learning and usability testing. “We’re pleased with how well the production site supports the mobile user experience,” says Bob Robertson-Boyd, OCLC Product Manager.

Mobile-optimized WorldCat Local is available to WorldCat Local users at no additional charge. The enhancement represents an added value of OCLC membership, and is a benefit of members’ investment in library cooperation.

User feedback is encouraged for the new production mobile-optimized WorldCat Local sites.

Mobile-optimized views of WorldCat.org will remain in beta at http://www.worldcat.org/m. OCLC worked with partner Boopsie.com on the original WorldCat Mobile pilot app, which helped to inform progress in development. The app will no longer be available as of June 30, 2011. Any user who has downloaded the pilot app will be prompted to visit www.worldcat.org/m.

About OCLC
Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 170 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.