Molly Beth Griffin Wins Children’s Lit Prize

Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature was awarded to Molly Beth Griffin for her novel Silhouette of a Sparrow. Molly Beth Griffin is the recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Grant, a graduate of Hamline University’s MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and a writing teacher at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

“Silhouette of a Sparrow is a coming-of-age story about the search for wildness in a confining time—a tale of a young woman discovering both the art of rebellion and the power of unexpected love. Sent to spend the summer with distant relatives at a resort hotel in Excelsior, Minnesota, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson—budding ornithologist; reluctant troublemaker; adventurous spirit—quickly compiles a list of all the things she wants to do: sneak into the new amusement park, wander the countryside looking for new birds, and somehow convince her mother to let her attend college. It’s 1926 and Garnet is well aware of the world’s expectations for her: after this summer with her relatives, she is to marry, settle down, and become a housewife. But what no one expects—least of all Garnet—is that she’ll fall in love with the beautiful and daring Isabella, a flapper at the local dance hall. It is she who will give Garnet the courage to take control of her own life and pursue her dreams.”

The title will be released next month by Milkweed Editions.