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New Visions Awards
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About the Award

TU BOOKS, the fantasy, science fiction, and mystery imprint of LEE & LOW BOOKS, award-winning publisher of children’s books, is pleased to announce the first annual NEW VISIONS AWARD. The NEW VISIONS AWARD will be given for a middle grade or young adult fantasy, science fiction, or mystery novel by a writer of color. The Award winner receives a cash grant of $1000 and our standard publication contract, including our basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash grant of $500.

TU BOOKS was launched in 2010, dedicated to diversity in the beloved genre fiction market for young people. Titles include Wolf Mark, Tankborn, and Cat Girl’s Day Off.

2012 New Visions Award

TU BOOKS, the science fiction, fantasy, and mystery imprint of respected multicultural children’s publisher LEE & LOW BOOKS, is thrilled to announce that author Valynne Maetani has won its first annual New Visions Award for her young adult mystery novel, Remnants of the Rising Sun. The New Visions writing contest was established to encourage new talent and to offer authors of color a chance to break into a tough and predominantly white market. The award honors a fantasy, science fiction, or mystery novel for young readers by an author of color who has not previously published a novel for that age group.

Remnants of the Rising Sun is about a Japanese American teenage girl, Claire Takata, whose life is turned upside down when she discovers her father was a member of the Japanese mafia, Yakuza. “As kids, my brothers and I loved to watch Yakuza movies with our grandpa,” Maetani says. “I knew that I wanted to write a mystery, and I knew that I wanted my book to reflect my Japanese roots. The intrigue of the mafia made the Yakuza a perfect fit.” Maetani will receive a cash grant of $1,000 and a publication contract with Tu Books.

Rahul Kanakia’s novel This Beautiful Fever has been chosen as a New Visions Award Honor. The novel, an alternative history, asks the question: what if a disease like AIDS made people beautiful and powerful for a few years before it ruined them? On writing This Beautiful Fever, Kanakia says, “I just was not at all sure that it was possible to sell a YA novel with a protagonist who was both [queer and a person of color]. . . . Because of this contest, my novel exists in a form that it wouldn’t have otherwise had: I was able to overcome that mental block and write that book about a queer Indian kid that I always should have been writing.” Kanakia will receive a cash grant of $500.

Support for the Award

New York Times Bestselling Author Nikki Grimes chimes in: “When was the last time you read a fantasy or science fiction novel written by an author of color? For most, the answer would be never. That simply ought not to be. There's little point in discussing diversity in literature if whole genres are left out of the mix. With the launch of the New Visions Award, Lee & Low Publishers are taking a significant step to address that oversight..."
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2013 New Visions Award

Please subscribe to our E-News or check our Web site for details in June 2013.





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