WICHITA, Kan. -- Author Grant Overstake's novel, The Real Education of TJ Crowley captured two of the most coveted award categories at the Kansas Authors Convention held here this past weekend, including Best Book Design and Book of the Year for 2019.

Since 1904, the Kansas Authors Club has offered the opportunity to writers to share experiences and problems unique to their profession, not only to novices but also to authors of national reputation. This year's convention featured workshop and speeches presented by best-selling authors Paul Bishop and Clare Vanderpool.

For Overstake, winning not one but two awards was another milestone achievement for his latest young adult historical novel, and for Grain Valley Publishing Company, owned and operated by the author and his wife, Claire.

According to Grant, Credit for the "Looks Like a Million design award goes to our graphic designer, Tiani Kennedy. Credit for the J. Donald and Bertha Coffin Memorial Book Award goes to all of the historical consultants, beta readers, and editors who comprise The Real Education Project Team.

"The best part of winning these awards was sharing the moment with people who helped make it happen, including my wife and publishing partner and my mother-in-law, Betty Brewer, who was a constant support and beta reader. Thanks to everyone on the Real Education Project team for your great contributions, including Nancy Julien Kopp who stepped in and did a great job editing the manuscript.

There's also been tremendous support for the book from my fellow authors, which makes it all the more worthwhile."

ABOUT THE AWARDS

"Looks Like a Million" Book Design Award

The “Looks Like a Million” Book Award will focus on the aesthetics of a book published by a Kansas Authors Club member. The book will be judged on cover design, interior formatting and design, and over-all look and feel of the book. Starting in 2018, an award of $100.00 will be given to a KAC member according to the rules printed below. Sponsor for the “It Looks Like a Million” Book Award is Mr. Mark Wolfson.

Judging the "Looks Like a Million" award was Linda Knupp, Director of the Manhattan Public Library and the North Central Kansas Libraries System. She has worked in libraries large and small in the north central and south central areas of Kansas for more than 30 years and has a Masters in Library and Information Management from Emporia State University and a BA in Art History from Wichita State University.

Judge's Knupp's Comments: The winner for the 2019 “Looks Like a Million” book design award is The Real Education of TJ Crowley, by Grant Overstake. The book has a professional and sturdy binding with a gray cloth cover, and the title and author are embossed in gold lettering on the spine of this professionally bound, 350-page hardback book. The purple jacket is eye-catching and attractive, with creative and legible lettering in contrasting colors on the front cover as well as the spine. An endorsement on the front cover immediately captures the reader’s attention, as do the additional comments on the back cover. The subtle darker shade of purple reveals an outline of a picket fence. That design element is repeated on the title page and at the beginning page of each chapter of the book, underscoring an important part of the story.The inside of the jacket provides a summary of the book to lead the reader into the story with additional information about the author. The typography is attractive and easy to read with wide kerning. Each chapter is well demarcated, and I liked the extra artistic touch of the first letter of each chapter that echoed the artwork on the cover. This is a beautifully done professional design with high-quality binding. Congratulations to the designer, author and publisher.

The J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award

The J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award was established by Mrs. Bertha Coffin to honor the memory of her husband, a long-time member and officer of KAC, after his death on September 6, 1978. An award of $100.00 will be given each year to a KAC member according to the rules printed below. The J. Donald Coffin Award is intended to honor the best published book (excluding history and poetry, which have their own contests) written by a member of Kansas Authors Club.

Judging the award was a library consultant and book reviewer for Library Journal, Kim Uden Rutter, who grew healthy libraries in hospitals, colleges, and public libraries in Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. She also taught English Composition and Literature in community colleges in Illinois and Wisconsin. Rutter holds a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Illinois and a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Northern Illinois University. She recently retired from her role as Library Consultant for Southeast Kansas Library System, in which she consulted with 54 public libraries and seven academic libraries. She also advised libraries on how to evaluate books to be purchased, replaced, and discarded from their collections. Kim conducts workshops for librarians on how to recommend books to all types of library patrons, how to choose books for book clubs, as well as how to talk about books with all ages of library users.​

Judge Rutter's Comments: The historical moment portrayed in this YA novel makes it a compelling book for our time. This read takes us back to 1968 and the divisions of the country around the Vietnam war, racial conflict, and civil rights. Wichita becomes a character in its own right as the segregated city begins busing of black students to white schools, riots and a tense police force result in curfews, and the Fair Housing Law forces integration. Against this background, TJ Crowley begins 7th grade. When his father abandons the family and his older brother enlists in the army, his alcoholic mother spins out of control.

The short chapters and quick pace of the story involve the reader effortlessly in TJ’s life. Descriptions of his best friend’s experiments with growing his hair, tie-dyed clothing, and drugs are a realistic backdrop. The upheaval of TJ’s home when a black family moves in next door and his mother invites friends from her past to handle the problem make junior high that much more complicated.

TJ’s point of view is perfectly reflected in his drive to make it onto sports teams, his crush on the new girl next door, and his adolescent concern with finding his locker. As TJ learns to question things he’s never questioned before, the reader sees a piece of Kansas history that shows not just how things have changed but how many things haven’t changed. Grant Overstake has given us a book that reads easily while not being easy to forget at all.

See a complete list of Coffin Award winning books.

Hot summer for TJ Crowley

The Real Education of TJ Crowley has enjoyed several honors in recent months, including the Wichita Public Library selecting the book for its citywide Candid Conversations on Race book club study; and being selected Book of the Month for September by Bookclubz.com, the online book club platform. Also, we're delighted to present the new  Educator Guide for the book; the resource-rich booklet is available for free online.The Real Education of TJ Crowley can be purchased at all major online sales outlets but readers can take an additional 10 percent off the list price by ordering directly from the publisher's sales portal, here. At checkout, enter code word: readtjcrowley