Honoring a Lifetime of Achievement in Children’s Genre

Laguna Beach author Theodore Taylor has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Southern California Children’s Booksellers’ Assn.’s Golden Dolphin Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award, which is given to the current Southern California children’s author or illustrator who is considered to have had the most impact on children’s literature, was presented to Taylor at the association’s author-illustrator dinner Saturday night in Long Beach.

“This means an awful lot to me; it’s the first bookseller award I’ve gotten,” said Taylor, 79, who has received more than 20 awards during a writing career that spans five decades and encompasses adult, young adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction.

Taylor’s best-known book, “The Cay,” won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and is ranked among the top 100 children’s books of the 20th century by the International Reading Assn.

Taylor has two new books coming out next year: “The Sailor Returns” (Blue Sky Press), a children’s book; and “The Siege at Las Coyotes” (Harcourt), a young adult novel.

Authors at Luncheon

Robert Crais (“Demolition Angel”), Georgia Durante (“The Company She Keeps”) and Dorothye G. Scott (“When the Senate Halls Were Hallowed”) will discuss their books at the Round Table West literary luncheon at noon Thursday at the Balboa Bay Club, 1221 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. $40. For reservations, call (323) 256-7977.

Also Coming Up

* Sidney Sheldon will sign “The Sky Is Falling” at Borders Books and Music in South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. 2 p.m. today. (714) 432-7854.

* Taylor Smith will read and sign “The Innocents Club” at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 11931 Valley View St., Garden Grove. 1 p.m. today. April Smith will also sign “Be the One” at 3 p.m. today. (714) 898-2583.

* Curt and Karen Yoder will sign “The Heart Behind the Hero” at Borders Books and Music, 1890 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa. 3 p.m. today. (949) 631-8661. The Yoders will also sign at Borders Books and Music, 429 S. Associated Road, Brea. 7 p.m. Saturday. (714) 672-0136.

* Barbara DeMarco Barrett will interview Beth Kephart (“Into the Triangle of Friendship”) on “Writers on Writing” on KUCI (88.9 FM) in Irvine. 5 p.m Thursday.

* Violet P. Woodhouse will discuss and sign “Divorce & Money: How to Make the Best Financial Decisions During Divorce” at Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, 953 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. 7 p.m. Friday. (949) 759-0982.

* Robert Rotstan will sign “The Benghazi Arrangement” at Barnes & Noble,, 26751 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo. Noon Saturday. (949) 362-8027.

* Rudy Yakzan will discuss and sign “105 Soccer Practice Drills” at Borders Books and Music in South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. 2 p.m. Saturday. (714) 432-7854.

* Jane Glenn Haas will sign “Time of Your Life: Why Almost Everything Gets Better After 50” at Barnes & Noble in the Market Place, 13712 Jamboree Road, Irvine. 2 p.m. Saturday. (714) 508-9707.

* Ivy Helstein will sign “Infinite Abilities: Living Your Life on Purpose” at Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, 953 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. 7 p.m. Saturday. (949) 759-0982.

* Authors David Ciambrone (“Laguna Treasure”) and Lori Lawson (“Green Flash”) will discuss new ways to get published at Borders Books and Music, 1980 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa. 3 p.m. Saturday. (949) 631-8662.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before the event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Or e-mail to dennis.mclellan@latimes.com.