Mark West, Ph.D., professor of English, received the 2026 Mentoring Award from the Children’s Literature Association (ChLA) on May 30. West previously received the 2016 Anne Devereaux Jordan Award from ChLA, the most prestigious honor in his field, making him one of a select few recipients of the organization’s top two awards.

“The ChLA Mentoring Award recognizes mentorship that goes beyond mentoring one’s students,” said West. “Over the course of my long career, I have benefitted from the mentorship of other scholars in my field, so for me, my mentoring work is a form of giving back to the field that I love.”

ChLA promotes high standards of criticism, scholarship, research and teaching in children’s literature. The Mentoring Award honors members who have significantly advanced the scholarship and professional careers of others within the field over a substantial period of time. 

This year’s Mentoring Award Committee emphasized the breadth of West’s mentorship across decades of work with generations of scholars. 

“Mark West’s longtime support of junior scholars has helped them publish, build community and establish careers so that they may in turn give back to the field and to future scholars,” the committee said in West’s award letter. “As book review editor for the ChLA Quarterly for a quarter of a century, he has given many junior scholars their first opportunity to publish.” 

The impact of West’s mentorship can be seen in the ripple effect that extends not only to his mentees’ careers but to how these now-established members of the ChLA community have taken his example to heart as a model for their own mentoring work.

The 2026 ChLA conference

West was honored at the ChLA annual conference hosted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the last weekend in May. More than 350 members were invited to this year’s conference, which centered on the theme “Imagined spaces, real divides: Neighbors and Neighborhoods in Children’s Literature, Media and Culture.”

In addition to receiving the award, West participated in the breakout session “The Original Neighborhood of Make-Believe: Reflections on a Hundred Years in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie-the-Pooh,” focused on the 100th anniversary of the publication of A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh,” which first came out in October 1926. He discussed his paper, “Reflections on Playing Poohsticks in the Ashdown Forest.”

“In my paper, I talked about the experience of playing Poohsticks at the original Poohsticks Bridge with our then young son. I focused on the importance of children’s experiential responses to stories,” said West. “For our son, playing Poohsticks at the real Poohsticks Bridge was like entering the book. I enjoyed sharing this memory with other people who love Winnie-the-Pooh as much as I do.”

West’s long history with ChLA

West joined ChLA in 1979 while pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He participated in his first ChLA Conference in 1981 while in the Ph.D. program in American Culture at Bowling Green State University.

“My history with the association goes back a long way. As a result, I have gotten to know many people in the field of children’s literature studies,” said West. “For me, one of the highlights of participating in this year’s conference was having the opportunity to visit with long-time friends and colleagues. I also enjoyed meeting some of the new members, and learning about their interests in the field.”

Honoring those who shaped him

The Mentoring Award was presented at an awards ceremony held on the final night of the conference. During his acceptance speech, West honored some of his own mentors, including Anita Moss, who taught children’s literature at UNC Charlotte for 46 years. 

“Although Anita died some years ago, by talking about her, I felt as if I were helping to keep her memory alive,” said West.

Special thanks to Carl Miller for providing photos from the ChLA awards ceremony.

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Learn more about Mark West

Since joining UNC Charlotte’s Department of English in 1984, West has won numerous awards and established himself as a leading expert in the field of children’s and young adult literature. He helped build the children’s literature program within the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences into an internationally recognized center for the field.

West is currently serving as the interim chair of the Department of Theatre at UNC Charlotte.

In addition to his teaching, West has published more than 20 books and authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and other essays during his career.

West’s expertise ranges from fairytales and early American classics to popular culture including Harry Potter, Godzilla and Disney characters. He has written on and taught works such as “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” “The Wind in the Willows” and “Winnie-the-Pooh,” and is a leading expert on L. Frank Baum, Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl and Beatrix Potter.

West regularly updates his Storied Charlotte blog, which Charlotte Lit praised in January 2024 as an “integral part of our community’s literary landscape,” uplifting local Charlotte authors and upcoming literary events. 

Read more about West’s awards and storied career at UNC Charlotte.

Written by: Emily Hamm