Stuart H. Brody, 2024 winner of the Grateful American Book Prize, on the Importance of the Prize.

Stuart Brody: I want to thank the Grateful American Book Prize Foundation, David Bruce Smith. No interview about books for young people should be completed without an understanding of what he’s doing. Making this award out of thin air, giving prize money for it, bringing authors to Washington to encourage them. This is one of the most powerful movements I’ve seen, and I just want to thank him on the air and tell Washingtonians that this is a resource. David Bruce Smith and his publications. And one of the prizes I got, which I would like to show. You can see the writer’s hands and the pen. And this was designed by his mother, Clarice Smith, a renowned artist, beautiful painter. This family has done a lot for Washington, and the book prize, I think is central to that …to encourage young people,

Narrator: This author interview was produced through a partnership of the Grateful American Foundation and WETA. For more author interviews, please visit AdLit.org.