And now for some shameless self-aggrandizement…

In January I was shocked to find out that I was the winner of the Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship for Young Readers Literature, judged by Printz-winning author An Na. Today I was shocked to find a story about me in the Oregon Literary Arts Quarterly! For those of you related to me, the entire story can be found here, but for the sake of brevity I’ll post the good bits below:

In July applications traveled from our office in Portland to judges around the country. Christy’s application went to author An Na’s home in Vermont. After reading through all the young adult submissions, An Na selected Christy for the Edna L. Holmes Fellowship in Young Readers Literature.

Judge An Na commented on Christy’s promising writing:

“Raedeke’s portrayal of a teen protagonist grappling with secrets, her family’s as well as her own, shines with details that amuse, enlighten, and startle as we recognize ourselves and others in the everyday revealing moments of truth and pain. As only the best writing can accomplish, the story compels us to take a leap of faith and believe in the unusual, to lose ourselves in a character’s life and voice as her struggles and questions become our own.”

Best blurb on a nonpublished, desk-drawer work ev-ar! Despite the fact that An Na loves the book, my agent has sent it back to me for revision twice. Hopefully I’ll get it right this time…