Presidents who write well, lead well?

Rob Woodard poses this theory in the Guardian this week. He points out  that Barack Obama is not only an author but a good writer. Does this make him a good leader? Woodard looks at the history of U.S. presidents for examples of good writers and leaders. He concludes:

Still, the fact that Barack Obama's eloquence carries over to his
writing gives me hope. To write well demands not only ability, but also
intelligence, intellectual curiosity, and often the ability to view
life from more than one perspective at a time. These are qualities that
have seemingly been absent in the US presidency these last seven-plus
years - and it's comforting to know that if Barack Obama's literary
accomplishments are an accurate indication these traits may soon be
back in the Oval Office in abundance.

Commonwealth Prize looks for authors

Any authors out there?  The Bookseller reports:

The 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, the global fiction award for both
established and new writers, is calling for entries, with a deadline of
15th November.

The prize covers the Commonwealth regions of
Africa; the Caribbean and Canada; Europe and South Asia; and South East
Asia and the Pacific. A Best Book and Best First Book prize will be
awarded to two writers from each region, with each winner awarded
£1,000. The eight winners will go forward to be judged by a
pan-Commonwealth panel for the £10,000 Best Book prize and £5,000 Best
First Book prize

The shortlists will be announced in February
2009, and the eight regional winners will be judged in May, when the
overall winners will be announced.

Last year, Canadian Lawrence Hill won the overall Best Book prize for The Book of Negroes (Doubleday) and Tahmima Anam from Bangladesh took the overall Best First Book prize for A Golden Age (John Murray).

Age banding for books?

Recently the Bookseller alerted readers to the issue of age banding for books:

 CILIP, the professional body representing librarians, has given its
full backing to the "No to Age Banding" campaign, releasing an
uncompromising statement opposing age guidance on book covers. The
organisation has raised a number of points opposing age banding
including the likelihood of age guidance deterring young people from
reading books that are aged too high or
too low for their abilities.
 
The
statement goes on to suggests that parents who are unsure about their
child's reading material should ask at libraries and bookshops.
Librarians are also opposed to a system that, it says,  "will either
necessarily be too rigid or will have to be so encompassing to be too
vague to be of any
point".
 
CILIP's statement concludes, "We wish the campaign success and assure you of
the support of the library community".
 
The full statement reads as follows:
 
CILIP
supports the aims of the "No to Age Banding" campaign. It believes that
the age banding of books is unhelpful and potentially harmful to the
enjoyment of reading by children for the following reasons:
1.      
Children and young people develop at different ages. By banding books
with an age it could make reluctant readers think that a book that is
actually appropriate for their reading ability is too young for them,
thus putting them off reading altogether. Equally a strong confident
reader may
feel that a book that is appropriate for their reading ability is too old for them.
2.      
Personal reading experience shows that children take out of their
reading what they need, and many books can be read at different levels.
Parents and others who are uncertain about appropriate books can ask at
bookshops and libraries where staff are experienced and knowledgeable.
3.      
It is much more important that the needs and tastes of the individual
child be considered - in libraries, in bookshops and by teachers - in
line with the present educational commitment to a personalised
approach, than applying a banding system that will either necessarily
be too rigid or will have to be so encompassing to be too vague to be
of any point. We wish the campaign success and assure you of the
support of the library community.