You may have heard that SMASH: TRIAL BY FIRE won the 2013 Oregon Spirit Book Award for Graphic Novel.

On Saturday, October 4, SMASH writer Chris A. Bolton attended the awards ceremony at Wilsonville High School. Sponsored by the Oregon Council of Teachers of English, it was a wonderful day that kicked off with a rousing keynote speech by author Brian Doyle.

Then the winners were each presented a beautiful plaque onstage and given a few minutes to speak.

Afterward, they had a chance to sign books and mingle with teachers and other nominees. Chris heard from several teachers who were phenomenally excited to introduce SMASH to their classroom.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank the OCTE for this honor. Their award highlights a variety of children's books from Oregon writers and helps introduce the value of stories to young minds that crave them. We are deeply grateful for this award and a wonderful ceremony!

And, if you'd like to watch Chris's acceptance speech: