Grady Health System, in partnership with the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy at the Atlanta Speech School and the Alliance Theater, today announced the winners of a recent open competition for an original story to be published as a book. The Grand Prize Winner of this competition, Andrea Ayanna Edwards, RN, is a Diabetes Educator in the Diabetes Center at Grady, will not only have her winning book published but will also receive a prize of $5000 for her entry.  

Upon publication, the book will be distributed, free of charge, to all women delivering babies at Grady to support the hospital’s Talk With Me Baby initiative, a program committed to ensuring that every baby leaving the hospital with a parent prepared to provide language nutrition to encourage them on their way to better language, learning and reading abilities. 

“Language nutrition is as important as the food a baby eats,” says Denise Mayhan, Ph.D., Director, Practice Operations/Talk With Me Baby. “The loving words a child hears in their first years of life build the language and pre-literacy foundations that allow them to arrive at school fully prepared for learning.Helping parents to understand their unique and vital role in their children’s future is some of the most important work we do.”  

“The science is clear: rich language exposure sets the foundation for success in school and life, including health,” said Dr. Ryan Lee-James, Chief Academic Officer of the Atlanta Speech School and Director of the Rollins Center. “Through this book competition, we celebrate the power of storytelling and its profound impact on early childhood development. We are proud of our work to implement Talk With Me Baby at Grady Hospital to redefine the standard of care for newborns and look forward to the program’s expansion.”  

Andrea’s entry, “Beauty All Around Us,” captured the hearts of the review panel with its heartwarming portrayal of family relationships, celebration of diversity, Atlanta culture and Grady pride. Andrea will work alongside a project team from Grady, Rollins Center for Language & Literacy and Woodruff Center for the Arts to prepare her book for publication this fall.  

Since its inception in 2017, Talk With Me Baby has redefined the standard of care for babies, placing emphasis on the concept of "language nutrition" and expanding on what it means to have a healthy delivery. To date, more than 9,000 families have benefited from the Talk With Me Baby initiative.   

“We will share the book with families after delivery, and provide them with their own copy, so they can extend the experience of talking with their new addition to their family,” says Mayhan. "What sets this winning book apart is its depiction of Atlanta, and how every family can see themselves and their surroundings within the story."  

The exceptional creativity and quality of the remaining four finalists' books impressed the review panel to such an extent that they have decided to publish all of them within the next 18 months. Among the runners-up, we have two additional Grady team members. Rashida Avery, MD, author of "Grady Baby/Talk with Me," is a pediatrician practicing in Grady's Neighborhood Health Centers and a graduate of Morehouse School of Medicine. Denise Williams King, RN, author of "Grady Baby Atlanta," serves as an Educational Nurse Specialist in Ambulatory Care Services. The remaining finalists are Joy Daughtery Dickinson, author of "Grady Baby," and Kiamani Robey, author of "I Am Me." Each runner-up will receive a prize of $2500. 

The Rollins Center’s free online learning community, Cox Campus, has developed the framework, tools and resources needed to embed Talk With Me Baby practices and principles into healthcare ecosystems nationwide. To access the free implementation guide or for more information, visit https://coxcampus.org/talk-with-me-baby-birthing-centers/