James Rumford, the Manoa children's book author and illustrator and a former Advertiser book critic, has been awarded the Norman A. Sugarman Award for distinguished children's biography for "Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing" (Houghton Mifflin, 2004). The award, named for a prominent attorney who wrote extensively on the laws related to nonprofit organizations and charitable giving, is given every two years, and Rumford is its fourth recipient.

"Sequoyah" already had won the Jane Addams Honor Award and the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor Award. The award is administered by the Cleveland Public Library and Rumford will travel there to receive the award in April.

COMPETITION SET

Entries are being accepted for the 2006 Lorin Tarr Gill Writing Competition, open to all writers of poetry, fiction and nonfiction.

Cash prizes are awarded for the best original work, published or unpublished; all entrants must submit work in all three divisions.

The competition, administered by The National League of American Pen Women, Honolulu chapter, honors the late writer Lorin Tarr Gill, set up as a trust by her children, Tom and Lorin Gill. Though the awards are small — $125 for first place, $25 honorable mentions — they are to encourage young and aspiring writers to keep at it, according to chairwoman E. Shan Correa.

Entries must be postmarked by March 10, and winners will be notified in advance of the March 31 awards presentation at the Honolulu Pen Women's Biennial Writers Conference. Information: www.nlapwhonolulu.org.

KINGSTON TO SPEAK

Best-selling writer Maxine Hong Kingston ("China Men," "The Woman Warrior," "Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book" and many shorter works) will give the keynote address at the biennial conference of Honolulu Pen Women, which takes place March 31 and April 1 at Tokai University.

Conference planners expect the 180-seat-maximum event to sell out.

The conference begins with an evening of readings and signings, the celebration of the Lorin Tarr Gill 2006 Awards and a reception on March 31, and follows on April 1 with an address by Kingston on "The Art of Creating Peace Through Writing" and workshops in a variety of writing disciplines and techniques.

Conference fee: $75 (plus $25 for master workshop with Kingston); includes March 31 events, April 1 lunch). Registration and information: www .nlapwhonolulu.org/2006writers conf.html

WRITER'S GROUP

The 2006 conference of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators will be March 4 at the Ala Moana Hotel.

Editor Susan Van Metre of Abrams Books and Amulet Books will talk about creating books for the middle-grader and writing to tempt children. Art director Susan Sherman of Charlesbridge Publishing will discuss how a picture book is made, the rules of book-making and when to break them.

A "first page" critique will illustrate what editors look for in manuscripts.

Also planned: "The ABCs of Writing for Children," with writer Elaine Masters, "Marketing Your Book in Hawaii (for published writers)," with Jane Gillespie, Tammy Yee and Sandi Takayama; "The Secrets of Words: an Illustrator's Perspective," with Scott Goto.

Conference fee: $90, registration deadline Friday. Information: www.geocities.com/scbwi hawaii/events.html.

To receive a registration form: write to lwikoff@lava.net or cow ing@aloha.net.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.