The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators held their virtual Golden Kite Gala on February 24, 2023. THE REAL RILEY MAYES was selected as an Honor Book for the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. SCBWI will be making donations to the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and Oklahomans for Equality. FREDDIE VS THE FAMILY CURSE by Tracy Badua was selected as the Sid Fleischman Humor Award Winner. You can see her fantastic speech, and all the other winners, here: https://www.scbwi.org/golden-kite-gala-2023/

It’s a gigantic joy to have RILEY recognized for her humor. In the book, Riley ‘s own jokes usually fall flat, but she loves a comedian with all her spirit. In reviews, folks mention bullying & difficult conversations around LGBTQ issues- these aren’t the focus of the book, they’re more like an inevitable bug in Riley’s life. When readers imagine books with those events in the pages, they may imagine serious books. I wanted to make this a funny book. Why? Because against the straightness of this world, the experience of discovering you’re queer (and embracing and conveying that queerness throughout your life) has its hilarious moments.