'Beautiful Music for Ugly Children' and 'Fat Angie' win 2014 Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award

PHILADELPHIA — “Beautiful Music for Ugly Children” by Kirstin Cronn-Mills and published by Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. and “Fat Angie” by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and published by Candlewick Press are the 2014 recipients of the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award. The award was announced today by the American Library Association’s (ALA) Stonewall Book Awards Committee of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table, during the ALA Midwinter Meeting held Jan. 24 - 28 in Philadelphia.

The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. The award will be presented to the winning authors or editors at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas in June.

“These books directly address the complex life issues facing GLBT young people in a serious and powerful way.,” said Stonewall Book Awards Committee Chair Peter D. Coyl.

Gabe has a local community radio program and is worried his listeners will discover he is transgender. Turning to music and an unlikely friend for support, he must reconcile himself and the world around him in “Beautiful Music for Ugly Children,” Kirsten Cronn-Mills' second novel.

In “Fat Angie,” e.E. Charlton-Trujillo tells the powerful story of Angie, who is seen by everyone as only her weight. Struggling with her image and her relationship with her first girlfriend K.C., “Fat Angie” shocks everyone by trying out for the school basketball team in this poignant novel.

Three Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Award Honor Books were named: “Better Nate than ever,” written by Tim Federle and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

Nate runs away from his small town to fulfill his dream of seeing his name in lights. Alone in the Big City to audition for “E.T.: The Musical,” Nate’s self-confidence, charm and knowledge of theater, carries him through this debut novel by Tim Federle.

“Branded by the pink triangle,” written by Ken Setterington and published by Second Story Press.

In this age appropriate history of homosexuals under Nazi rule, Ken Setterington tells the story of holocaust survivors persecuted, imprisoned and tortured for their sexual orientation. Using first person accounts and superb historic visuals this generally unknown chapter of those “branded by the pink triangle” comes to life.

“Two boys kissing,” written by David Levithan and published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

A young couple seeks to break the world record for longest kiss, drawing attention from the media, community and their families in David Levithan's "Two boys kissing." This story weaves together past and present voices of gay men navigating the complexities of love and relationships.

The members of the 2014 Stonewall Book Awards Committee are: Chair Peter D. Coyl, Dallas Public Library; Amanda Clay, Greenville S.C.; Ellen M. Bosman, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, N.M.; Gina Hernandez, Santa Clarita (Calif.) Public Library; Rebecca D. Hunt, Northern Illinois University, College of Education, DeKalb, IL; Joel A. Nichols, Free Library of Philadelphia; Holly Okuhara, Weber County Library System, Ogden, Utah; David Suarez, Spartanburg County Public Libraries, Spartanburg, S.C.; Sarah Barbara Watstein, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, N.C.; Zeke White, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, MD.; and Donald L. Yarman, Delaware (Ohio) County District Library.

For information on the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/yma.

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