Illustration from "Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night," by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Minnesota authors and publishers were honored this morning in San Diego at the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards ceremony.
"Bink and Gollie," a charming picture book written by Minneapolis writers Alison McGhee and Kate DiCamillo, won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for beginning readers. "Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night," by Wayzata poet Joyce Sidman, and "Heart of a Samurai," by Duluth writer Margi Preus, were both Newbery Honor books. Sidman's book--a beautifully illustrated picture book, with prints by Duluth artist Rick Allen--was a rare poetry book to be so honored.
And "The Freak Observer," by Blythe Woolston and published by Minneapolis publisher Carolrhoda Lab, won the William C. Morris Award for a debut novel for teens. Carolrhoda Lab is a division of Lerner Publications.
"Love Drugged," by James Klise, was a Stonewall honor book, which recognizes young adult books of exceptional merit which relate to a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience. "Love Drugged" was published by Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide.
And, finally, Peter Bognanni's novel, "The House of Tomorrow," was one of ten books to win an Alex Award as an adult novel that appeals to teens. Bognanni lives in St. Paul.
You can read an interview with McGhee and DiCamillo here, and a story about how "Dark Emperor" came together here. Our review of Bognanni's book is here.
A review of "Heart of a Samurai" runs this Sunday on the books pages in the A&E section.
