Tuesday, May 26, 2009

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… 

18 comments:

Lisa Schroeder said...

Christy - wow, congratulations!!! So happy for you! That sucker is going to sell when you send it out! GOOOOOOOOO!!!

Steve Brezenoff said...

Wow! Awesome! I must have missed when you won that, so double congrats to you.

Jody said...

Way to go, Christy! That's fantastic.

Jennie Englund said...

"As only the best writing can accomplish, the story compels us to take a leap of faith and believe in the unusual..."

That's HUGE, Christy!

Really huge!

Christy Raedeke said...

Thanks, peeps! So nice of you to say...

jberk said...

I am impressed! But not surprised. You are awesome!

Kimberly Derting said...

Congrats, Christy, that's awesome! Hopefully you and LR will see eye-to-eye soon enough so you can get it out for the editors to snatch up!!! :)

Anonymous said...

We are SO proud of you all over again! You never cease to amaze us.
Love, Mom and Blair

Cuppa Jolie said...

That is REALLY cool, Christy. Congrats. I'm so glad you shared.

Anonymous said...

As we knew anyway, you ROCK ! What a role model for your kiddies :)

diane

Katie Anderson said...

WHOA! I can't wait to read your book. Can. Not. Wait!

Robin Mellom said...

Awesome!!! Keep on aggrandizing!

Anonymous said...

Can they give you some sort of trophy you can wave at your agent? LOL! Congrats on the well-deserved win and here's hoping your agent loves it this time!

Teri Hall

Christy Raedeke said...

Aw, you're all just so incredibly nice. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

brick by brick, we build our house. You are the consummate professional. Be proud.

Marcita

Irene Latham said...

How cool are you???! Congratulations, and yes, polish that baby so we can all enjoy!

Barbara Slaton DRE#01855977 said...

I'm so happy that someone (other than me) toots your horn!

Anne Spollen said...

Very, very cool.