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Awards for “Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist”!

24 Jun

My latest picture book, Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, recently won several awards.

The Eric Hoffer Award

Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist won the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize; click here to read more.

Reading the West

The Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association’s READING THE WEST competition is a people’s choice award. Thanks to everyone who voted. Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist won Best Picture Book! Click here to watch the award ceremony.

Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Finalist, Children’s Picture Book, Non-Fiction. Click here to see the awards catalog.

IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award

Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist won Independent Book Publishers Association’s Benjamin Franklin Silver Medal for the design of the book’s interior. Special thanks to Danny of Brown Books who finessed my suggested design. Click here to see the full list of winners.

Children’s Book Council Favorite(s)

Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist was selected as a Children’s Book Council K-2nd Grade FAVORITE by children, teachers, and librarians! Click here to see the complete list.

The BookFest

Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist won a Gold Medal in the Children’s Historical category, and a Silver Medal in the Picture Book category of The BookFest’s spring competition. Click here to see!

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Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, a joyous celebration of art and life, is a picturebook biography of Uvalde victim Alithia Ramirez. Alithia’s artwork is included in the book (with her parents’ permission, of course). Click here to order your copy today—or, shop local! Order a copy from your local bookstore.

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Eric Hoffer Grand Prize

19 May

I am honored and completely flabbergasted to have been awarded the Hoffer Grand Prize for Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, a picture book biography of Uvalde victim Alithia Ramirez that I wrote and illustrated in 2022. Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist was released by Michael Sampson Books in association with Brown Books in October 2023. All thanks to the Eric Hoffer Award committee, the publisher, my agent, and especially to Alithia and her family.

In addition to the honor of winning and a lovely cash prize which I will share with Alithia’s family, the Hoffer committee also provided the following commentary:

Hoffer Grand Prize

The Eric Hoffer grand prize is the highest distinction awarded each year.

Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, Violet Lemay, Michael Sampson Books – A life itself can be a lasting image. Alithia Ramirez loved to express herself through art and share that passion with others. In fact, “her art voice was love.” She dreamt of studying in Paris and worked hard to become a better at her craft. This vibrant picture book combines the author’s illustrations with young Alithia’s original drawings, while honoring this gifted child and the love, color, and creativity she brought into the world. It was written with the support of Alithia’s parents, who lost her in the Uvalde school tragedy. The book does not however focus on the tragedy, but instead tastefully mentions Althia’s death only in the postscript. This could simply be avoided for the youngest audience or at least presented in the way of the parents’ choosing where death is part of life itself. It’s not easy for a children’s picture book to outscore expert works of fiction or heavily researched nonfiction. This book was wonderfully arranged, poignantly delivered, and brilliantly executed.

Order Signed Copies of “Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist”

Or of course, you can always order an UNSIGNED copy from amazon.

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