Powder Box Secrets Wins the Benjamin Franklin in LA

It was an exciting evening for me last week in Los Angeles, California. I was there for the Book Expo and two award ceremonies. I was just thrilled to be a finalist and was speechless when The Powder Box Secrets won the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Award™ for the Best First Book Juvenile Non-Fiction category. The Benjamin Franklin Awards™ are sponsored by PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, and celebrate excellence in editorial and design for titles published in 2007. Judges for the Benjamin Franklin Awards come from all areas of the industry: major newspaper and trade media reviewers, bookstore and library buyers and reviewers, non-competing publishers, artists and writers.

The excitement continued the next evening when The Powder Box Secrets also won an award at the Independent Publisher ceremony for the non-fiction young adult category.

This truly is an honor and I am so grateful to everyone who helped achieve this, from the teen contributors and editors, to my mentors, to my friends and family, to the rest of my supporters!