My writer friend Dori Hillestad Butler has had quite a year. First, she was nominated for the Edgar for her book, THE CASE OF THE LOST BOY, which is part of her BUDDY FILES series. Then she found herself in the middle of a censorship brouhaha when a woman from Texas complained about the specificity of Dori’s book, MY MOM’S HAVING A BABY. (Um, hello! When a book like that is shelved in the non-fiction section, one should expect clear and accurate information.) This resulted in an interview on FOX AND FRIENDS in which Dori did a might fine job of defending libraries. And last night, Dori’s book won the Edgar for Best Juvenile Fiction. While many people who write for kids dream of winning the Newbery, Dori has always yearned for an Edgar nomination. And now she holds the award in her hands. In those day dreams, I ‘m pretty sure she never envisaged it being a broken statuette. But they’ve promised to get her a whole one.
So hurray for Dori! To see some of her journey, you can go check out her blog here. I’m sure pictures from the Edgar Awards will pop up soon.
Kristin Wolden Nitz 