We are proud to announce that a Winner and Honor have been chosen for the Seventh Annual New Voices Award. The winner is Glenda Armand Sheppard of West Covina, California. The Honor goes to Janet Costa Bates of Canton, Massachusetts.
Glenda Armand Sheppard's story, Love Twelve Miles Long, features a young Frederick Douglass trying to understand why he can't live with his mother, a slave who lives twelve miles away. His mother's answer is a poetic testament to the human spirit, showing Frederick that the road of life is paved not only with troubles, but also with hope, dreams, and joy. Glenda Armand Sheppard met LEE & LOW Editor-in-Chief Louise May in 2006 at an SCBWI conference. "I told Louise about the manuscript I was writing, and she encouraged me to submit it to New Voices," says Sheppard. "I've never had my work published before!" Sheppard will receive a prize of $1,000 and a standard publication contract. Love Twelve Miles Long will be published in 2008. Sheppard teaches History and English.
Janet Costa Bates's Seaside Dream focuses on a young girl named Cora who finds a way to give her grandmother not only the perfect birthday gift, but also a dose of courage that prompts her to travel overseas and visit family she hasn't seen in decades. Bates was chosen as "Author of the Month" in September 2005 by Highlights magazine and works as the Associate Director of the Boston College Career Center.