We’re excited to announce the shortlist for the 2020 Indiana Authors Awards in the children’s category! Congratulations to the following Hoosier authors and their books:
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Crystal Allen, who grew up on a farm near New Albany and now lives in Texas, for The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Mya in the Middle, which chronicles the hilarious hijinks of a Black 4th grader trying to stand out from the crowd.
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John David Anderson, Indianapolis, for Granted, the tale of a fairy on her first wish-granting day.
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Gabrielle Balkan, who grew up in Indianapolis and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, for her Book of Flight, a beautifully illustrated book that highlights birds, animals and insects and explains how they fly.
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Skila Brown, Bloomington, for Clackety Track: Poems About Trains, a charming book of poems about trains.
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Troy Cummings, Greencastle, for Can I Be Your Dog?, a sweet tale of a dog trying to find a forever home.
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Helen Frost, Fort Wayne, for Hello, I’m Here!, the story of a newborn sandhill crane starting out in the world.
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Michael Homoya, Shane Gibson and Gillian Harris, of central and southern Indiana, for Wake Up, Woods, a gorgeously illustrated book of Indiana wildflowers and native plants.
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Phillip Hoose, who was born in South Bend and spent his childhood in Angola and Speedway, for Attucks! Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team that Awakened a City, which tells the true story of the all-Black Crispus Attucks High School basketball team that broke the color barrier in segregated 1950s Indiana.
Keep up with the other shortlist announcements here, and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.