And the winner is. . . ?

 

Entertainment Tonight:  "Cynthia Lord, who are you wearing?"
Me:  "L.L. Bean."

Tonight is the first time I've ever had a book nominated for an award where I had to go to the announcement ceremony not knowing if it had won.  There is a certain torture having to write acceptance remarks without knowing if you'll give them. 

Touch Blue is a finalist in the Maine Literary Awards, given by the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. To qualify, the writer must be a Maine resident (at least part of the year) or be published by a Maine publisher.  Rules won this award back in 2007, but I knew ahead of time.

There are awards in many categories (including awards for student writing--which is one of my favorite categories). Here are the children's book nominees. 

Children’s Book Nominees: Robert F. Baldwin, Dahlov Ipcar, Reza Jalali
Young Adult: Charlotte Agell, Sandra Dutton, Cynthia Lord

Charlotte, Sandy, and I have done lots of events together, so I will be delighted no matter whose name is called tonight.  And I hope Dahlov Ipcar can come. I've loved her artwork for years and it would be very special to meet her. 

My critique partner, Terry Farish, suggested I put a piece of blue seaglass in my pocket for luck tonight.  :-)  I think I'll do that.

And in the meantime, "I'd like to thank the committee. . . maybe!"