Kate DiCamillo Recipient of Voice of the Heartland

The Voice of the Heartland recognizes those who uphold the value of independent bookselling and have made a significant contribution to bookselling in the Midwest. The Midwest Booksellers Association and the Great Lakes Booksellers Association have unanimously agreed to grant the Voice of the Heartland to Kate DiCamillo, who will accept the award on September 30 at the book awards reception at the Heartland Fall Forum. The reception will showcase a number of award-winning authors and guests will be given a complimentary copy of DiCamillo’s August 2014 release Leroy Ninker Saddles Up. 2014 marks the first year the award will be granted jointly by MIBA and GLIBA.

DiCamillo has demonstrated a passion for writing and a commitment to literature since she moved to Minneapolis in the 1990s. Thirty years old, she worked at the book distributor the Bookmen picking children’s books. When a Candlewick rep visited the warehouse, DiCamillo and the rep talked about her writing, the rep sent her manuscript to an editor, and the rest is history. Read DiCamillo’s evocative description of working at the Bookmen.

This sense of striving and hope is a common thread in much of DiCamillo’s writing. In her #1 New York Timesbestseller The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, a haughty china rabbit undergoes a profound transformation after finding himself facedown on the ocean floor. The Tale of Despereaux--the Newbery Medal-winning novel that later inspired an animated adventure–stars a tiny mouse with exceptionally large ears driven by love to become an unlikely hero. The Magician’s Elephant, an acclaimed and exquisitely paced fable, dares to ask the question, What if?

DiCamillo’s latest novel, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, won the 2014 Newbery Medal, among many other fine distinctions. For inspiring young readers, DiCamillo has been named the named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2014-2015. Born in Philadelphia, she lives in Minneapolis, where she faithfully writes two pages a day, five days a week.