Lake Charles native Erin Entrada Kelly wins coveted literary award
Published 7:05 pm Sunday, February 25, 2018
On Feb. 12, author Erin Entrada Kelly, a former American Press reporter, made history, becoming the first Filipina-American to be awarded the coveted John Newbery Medal for her 2017 children’s book “Hello, Universe.”
She is also only the fourth Asian American to receive the award since its inception in 1922.
To put it simply, Kelly, 40, has won the Super Bowl of children’s literature. The Newbery Medal, an award bestowed on the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, is awarded annually by the American Library Association.
The award is named for John Newbery, an 18th-century British book publisher.
The Newbery, and its counterpart for children’s book illustrators, the Randolph Caldecott Medal, are chosen by committees of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.
Suffice it to say it’s a really big deal, and winning the medal is something no Louisiana native has ever done — until now.
Kelly was driving down Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania, her new home state, on Feb. 12 when she received a call with the news she had won.
“It’s tradition for the selection committee members to call each of the winners personally on the morning of the announcement. The chair of the committee (Cecilia McGowan) was the one who shared the news. I was in shock so I was silent for several seconds,” said Kelly in an email to the American Press.
“Once I realized what happened, I turned around on I-95 and immediately drove back home to watch the press conference.”
In “Hello, Universe,” Kelly’s third book, the lives of four middle-schoolers collide. There’s shy Virgil, whose family calls him “Turtle” because he stays in his shell; a smart, deaf girl named Valencia; a self-proclaimed psychic named Kaori and her little sister Gen; and the neighborhood bully, Chet. With a pet guinea pig thrown into the mix, Kelly apparently had all the makings of an award-winning saga.
“Masterfully told through shifting points of view, this modern quest tale shimmers with humor and authentic emotion,” is some of what the Newbery judges said of “Hello, Universe.”
Kelly, the daughter of an American father and a Filipino mother, grew up in Lake Charles. She’s a 1995 graduate of LaGrange High School and a 2006 graduate of McNeese State University, having earned a bachelor’s degree there in liberal arts and women’s studies. After relocating to Haverford, Penn., she received an MFA in creative writing from Rosemont College.
It was in the fall of 1995, though, shortly after graduating from high school, that Kelly began her 10-year association with the
American Press.
During her newspaper years, Kelly welcomed a baby daughter, Carolanne, and, as a single mother, she wore lots of hats -— student, reporter, mother-—as she continued working at the paper while earning her college degree.
Even then, it could be said that Kelly’s writing showed a spark of being extraordinary. In fact, it was said. Once, after proofing one of Kelly’s stories, former American Press executive editor Brett Downer described Kelly’s work as being “like butter.”
Which to anyone who has read her work will likely make perfect sense. Kelly’s writing comes across as smooth and seamless. Her stories are often infused with delightful conversation and bits of humor. Reading it feels effortless. And fun.
Not that all of her topics are fun. Bullying, otherness, acceptance, kindness, and empathy are common themes in her books, she said, and her stories are often laced with tidbits of Filipina culture.
Kelly is also the author of “Blackbird Fly” (2015) and “The Land of Forgotten Girls” (2016).
“It takes me about six months, give or take, to write a book,” said Kelly.
Working from what she calls “a fluid outline,” she always has a loose plan for the way a story will go, but things can change if she decides they should.
These days, about 80 percent of her time is spent writing and 20 percent traveling to talk about her books with young people -— a part of being a writer that she thoroughly enjoys.
“I look forward to doing more school visits. Having a platform to speak to and interact with young people is one of the best parts about being a writer,” she said.
Kelly also teaches contemporary issues in children’s literature in the graduate publishing program at Rosemont College.
Kelly’s fans don’t have long to wait for her next book. “You Go First” will be released April 10, and the book has already been selected as a 2018 Kids Indie Next Pick by the American Independent Booksellers Association.
The Newbery medal will be presented to Kelly back here in her home state. The 2018 ALA Annual Conference is taking place June 21 – 26 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, and that’s when and where she’ll get the medal.
While she’s here, Kelly is likely to get a fix of the two things she misses most about Louisiana, which are: “My sister. And the food,” she said.
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“Hello, Universe” by Erin Entrada Kelly is published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Erin Entrada Kelly’s third novel, “Hello, Universe,” was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2018 and will now be made into a movie.
Former American Press reporter and now published author Erin Entrada Kelly’s third novel, “Hello, Universe,” will be adapted into a movie for Netflix.
