The time has finally come to announce this year’s winners of our very own New Voices Award! As you may know, the annual New Voices Award is given out each year by Lee & Low to an unpublished author of color for a picture book manuscript. You can see more about the whys of the award at my post here, so without further ado:
New Voices Award Winner: Jane Bahk of Alameda, California, for her story Juna’s Jar.
Juna’s Jar was inspired by her and her husband’s shared childhood experiences of collecting and playing with large empty kimchi jars. Juna, a young Korean American girl, misses her best friend—with whom she used to play with empty kimchi jars—after he moves away. But with the help of her caring older brother, Juna continues to find creative uses for the jars, which lead to new adventures and even a new friend.
New Voices Award Honor: Muon Van of San Francisco, California, for her manuscript, Village by the Sea.
Village by the Sea is based on the fishing village in Vietnam where Van’s family lived for generations. After the Vietnamese-American War, many people from the village moved to the United States, where they recreated their fishing village on the Gulf Coast. Van grew up in that community of Vietnamese immigrants. Written for her father, Village by the Sea captures his memories of home in spare language and evocative images.
Congratulations to both authors, and thanks to everyone who submitted. Check back on the website this spring for next year’s submissions guidelines, and spread the word to any eligible authors you know to start getting those manuscripts ready for 2011!
