Connecticut's Tassy Walden Award Winners For 2016

The winners of this year's Tassy Walden Awards have been announced. The award is for unpublished Connecticut children's writers and illustrators.

Picture Book Text

• Winner: Linda Zajac for Ice Is Speaking: Exploring Ice in Alaska
• Honorable Mention: Patricia Nozell for Jacky and the Magic Seeds
• Finalists: Karen Adams for Davie & Duck, Kira Sexton for A Tale of Brave Ulysses, Michael Weiner for Egbert's Firehouse, and Linda Zajac for Sliders and Gliders: Tracking Penguins with Robots

Illustrator Portfolio

• Honorable Mention: Barbara Mansilla

Illustrated Picture Book

• Winner: Tim Perra for The Dog Who Lost His Rhyme
• Honorable Mention: Abi Cushman for Aardvark & Zebra Star in Yet Another Alphabet Book
• Finalists: Charlice Culvert for Dae's Night, Yvonne Page for Stinky Poo, Catherine Ransom for Fantastical Animals A to Z, and Veronica Voorhies for A Year of Full Moon Parties

Middle Grade Novel

• Winner: Melanie Meehan for The Giving Key
• Honorable Mention: Pamela Kelley for Finding Home
• Finalists: Linda Anderson for Mom and John Wilkes Booth, Dory Berstche for Enough Light to See By, Heather Sherlock DiLorenzo for Sheltered, and Shana Moore for The Wicked Christie Sisters: The Mystery at Northnoor Abbey

Young Adult Novel

• Winner: Holly Howley for Mad River
• Finalists: Brianna Agnew-Weber for A Noble Lie, Mark Fitzpatrick for The Blaze Arising from Sugar Street, Miriam Giskin for Which Lies to Tell, Nancy Pfeiffer for My Checkerboard Life, and Rudy Vener for Upgrades.

The Tassy Awards are significant here in Connecticut because of the number of former winners who went on to publication.

FTC Transparency Info: I am acquainted with Linda Zajac through the NESCBWI, and Holly Howley and Heather Sherlock DiLorenzo are members of my writers' group.