Archive | Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist RSS feed for this section

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!

____________________

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.

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.

Thank You, Brown Books!

11 Sep
Violet meeting everyone at Brown Books in Dallas.

Texas Publisher Extraordinaire

Shortly after I wrote and created a sketched book dummy for “Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist” in the summer of 2022, my wonderful agent Mela Bolinao of MB Artists sent it out to all of the big publishers.

A snippet of the storyboard I created for “Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist.”

This real response was a typical reaction:

“I’m so sorry to say this won’t be going forward. We had quite a discussion about it, and while everyone found the book to be incredibly moving, we were struggling with how to position the book, since so much of the story’s power depends on knowing who Alitihia was… it’s a quiet book, but with this additional messaging, and we worry that retailers won’t quite get what it is or how to shelve it. But I hope Violet finds a publisher who has a vision for making this work—maybe more school library market?   

I’m sad the news isn’t better, but I appreciate getting the chance to see this!”

~A Much Loved Big 5 Acquisitions Editor

Focus: Texas

Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist wasn’t just any book project. Alithia’s family was involved! I knew I had to find a publisher. Mela and I researched independent Texas book publishers and I discovered Brown Books, a Dallas-based hybrid press. I queried them to get an estimate in case it came to self-publishing. I figured if all else failed, I could work with Alithia’s family to crowd-source the expense.

Brown required a physical submission, so I sent my book file to Landmark Printing in North Carolina, my go-to print shop in the US, and they shipped a bound dummy to Brown in Texas.

President and COO if Brown Books, Thomas Reale, sent me this photo of the “Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist” book dummy on his desk.

On Nov 15, 2022, I received this email from Brown Books:

We are in receipt of Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist and would like to talk to you regarding publication.

Please call the number below and ask for me personally.

Sincerely,

Milli

On Thursday, Nov 17, I spoke to Milli. She explained that Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist might be the perfect inaugural release for Brown’s brand-new TRADITIONAL imprint, Michael Sampson Books! No crowd-funding needed!

I Zoomed with Brown’s President and COO Tom Reale on Wednesday, Nov 22; a contract from Michael Sampson Books was sent to to MB Artists on Wednesday, Nov 23, the day before Thanksgiving. Needless to say, it all worked out. My advance and any future royalties fund the Alithia Haven Ramirez Summer Seminar Memorial Scholarship.

—————

It’s now late October 2023, less than a year later. Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist was released on Oct 10, and we celebrated with a launch party at the El Progreso Library in Uvalde on Oct 12.

Violet with Ryan Ramirez and Jess Hernandez at El Progreso Library in Uvalde, judging last-minute entries from Alithia’s Art Angels 2023 art contest.

After countless emails, Alithia’s parents Jess Hernandez and Ryan Ramirez and I finally met. Which was nothing short of AMAZING.

Jess and Violet at Alithia’s mural in Uvalde, Texas.

I just finished an extensive tour to promote and celebrate the release of Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist. While I was in Dallas I got to meet Milli Brown, Thomas Reale, and their amazing team. Before that, and before Uvalde, the tour took me to NYC where I met—drumroll—Michael Sampson!

Michael Sampson in NYC after breakfast at Ellen’s Stardust Diner.

It’s been an amazing whirlwind. I am exhausted but happy and am so, so blessed. THANK YOU Milli Brown, Tom Reale, and everyone at Brown Books (especially Amy, Kennedy, Sophia, Brittany and Danny); Michael Sampson of Michael Sampson Books; and of course, Alithia’s parents Ryan Ramirez and Jess Hernandez. Thank you! Thank you, Mela Bolinao! And thank you Lauren Przybyl and Fox 4 Dallas for the on-air interview .

On the set of the Dallas morning show with Lauren Przybyl.

Thanks to everyone who hosted me on my US tour, which has been the experience of a lifetime. Every librarian, teacher, and bookseller; all of my kidlit-creating colleagues; and every flight attendant, hotelier and Uber driver who has helped me along the way… THANK YOU!

Tom and me at the St. Louis Zoo. :o)

And thank you to my friends and family who hosted me along the way. My cousin Tom has been especially helpful. Thank you, Tom! 🩷💜🩷