And the OSCAR goes to . . .

This past April I had the pleasure of speaking at Algood School in Cookeville, Tennessee. Apparently my visit made quite an impact, because this year Samurai Shortstop and I were nominated for three awards in their annual 7th grade OSCAR (Our Students Care About Reading) Awards ceremony last week. Says Carol Teeters, the Algood librarian,

All through the year they nominate books they are reading in categories such as Best Villain, Best Sci-Fi Character etc. At the end of the year after they have voted on the nominees they have a program with a red carpet, guest presenters such as Little Red Riding Hood, etc.

This year I received three nominations:

Most Outrageous Character: Futoshi

Best Historical Fiction Character: Toyo

Best Male Author: Me!

And the winner in each category - ME!

I'd just like to thank the Academy, my beautiful wife Wendi, my daughter Jo, my parents - oops, they're playing the "get-off-the-stage" music already.

Seriously, thanks to all the students at Algood School who read Samurai Shortstop and voted for it! You guys rock.