LONDON, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier this year the Author's Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) signed a three year deal with CILIP to support the dedicated awards website until 2010.

"We are delighted to be working with CILIP to support these highly respected awards," says Barbara Hayes, ALCS' Deputy CEO. "Through the awards 'shadowing' scheme we have a great opportunity to engage a wider audience of students on the subject of intellectual property and copyright. It is vital that young people understand the importance of their own rights, as well as respecting those of others and we have developed entertaining packs to enable them to explore these issues further. Guided by teachers and librarians, if we can help them understand and appreciate the concepts of intellectual property rights and copyright, it will help them avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism as they continue their studies and allow them to enjoy and respect the work of the nations writers in the years ahead."

ALCS is sponsoring specific pages on the dedicated medals website and 'shadowing' website. This year it has also promoted a copyright competition open to all 'shadowers'. Prizes included tickets to the Winners' Ceremony at the British Library today and school or library visits from former Carnegie Medal winning authors.

ALCS has worked with CILIP in the design of an easy to use education pack on copyright for teachers, librarians and students available to download from http://www.ckg.org.uk/shadowing. Developed by educational writer, Susan Elkin, the packs offer lesson plans and fun ideas to introduce young people from ages 5-18 years to copyright and intellectual property rights. It helps them understand why these rights are important, how they benefit from them and how, by respecting these rights, they help writers in all mediums to keep writing.

"We're delighted with the take up on the copyright pack and the number of entries for the copyright competition this year," says Mark Taylor, Marketing Manager, CILIP. "We are always looking for ways to expand the site and make it as relevant and interesting as possible. The sponsorship from ALCS has supported our aim by offering another dimension to all those working with young people, books and writing."

Following the announcement of the shortlists for both medals on 18 April, registrations for the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway shadowing scheme have rocketed to over 90,000. Between the shortlists' announcement and the winners' ceremony on 26 June, 3,500 reading groups will read all the short listed titles, discuss them and decide their own choice for the best books of 2008. There are animated discussions, strongly held opinions and friendly disagreements at home, at school, in the library and on the internet. The shadowing scheme not only involves reading; it sparks all kinds of creative activity around books including drama interpretations and video making, cookery, discussions about multiculturalism in literature and now copyright as well.

Notes for Editors

About ALCS: ALCS collects fees on behalf of the whole spectrum of UK writers: novelists, film & TV script writers, literary prize winners, poets and playwrights, freelance journalists, translators and adaptors, as well as thousands of professional and academic writers who include nurses, lawyers, teachers, scientists, and college lecturers. All writers are eligible to join ALCS: further details on membership can be found at http://www.alcs.co.uk

The Society collects fees that are difficult, time-consuming or legally impossible for writers and their representatives to claim on an individual basis: money that is nonetheless due to them. Fees collected are distributed to writers twice a year in March and September. Since its inception, ALCS has distributed over GBP170 million to the nation's writers.

Contact information: ALCS, The Writers' House, 13 Haydon Street, London EC3N 1DB Tel: +44(0)20-7264-5700; email alcs@alcs.co.uk. Website: http://www.alcs.co.uk

ALCS - Sources of Income: ALCS has developed highly specialised knowledge and sophisticated systems which track writers and their work (both print and audiovisual) against various secondary uses for which they are due payment. The main sources of fees due are secondary royalties from: photocopying (through the Copyright Licensing Agency which is jointly owned by the ALCS and the Publishers Licensing Society); international Public Lending Right; cable retransmission; fees from the Educational Recording (ERA) and sources such as blank tape and machine levies for private copying and small miscellaneous literary rights).

ALCS - The International Picture: the Society is recognised internationally as a leading authority on copyright matters and authors' interests. It maintains a close watching brief on all matters affecting copyright both in the UK and around the world and makes regular representations to the UK government and to the European Commission. ALCS pays royalties to member writers based in 137 countries around the globe. ALCS has reciprocal arrangements with over 50 collecting societies around the world.

CILIP CARNEGIE & KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

CILIP - The Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information professionals and knowledge managers. CILIP annually funds and administers the Carnegie Medal awarded for an outstanding work of fiction for young people and its sister award for an outstanding work of illustration, the Kate Greenway Medal.

For further information on the shortlists, the winners and the 'shadowing' scheme please see http://www.ckg.org.uk For further information on CILIP please see http://www.cilip.org.uk

Media Contact (please do not publish these numbers): Becca Wyatt: +44(0)1403-780-383; +44(0)7801-061-420, ALCS, Alison Baxter: +44(0)20-7264-5700.