The 2015 Martin Luther King Living the Dream Book Award Goes to….Our Very Own Pamela Tuck!

We would like to extend a big congratulations and hug to Pam Tuck, author of As Fast As Words Could Fly!

100 NYC 5th graders voted on May 6 to decide which book (out of the top 10 finalists) would win the award, and they made a great choice!

I asked Pam if she would share a little bit about her journey, and she agreed in hopes that she would inspire and encourage YOU. So be sure to check out Pam’s web site,  read this special book, and congratulate her in the comments!

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I attended my very first SCBWI meeting in June 2007. I felt enlightened and overwhelmed by the experience, but I left the conference discouraged. I had 8 children at that time, and didn’t think I could devote myself to my writing, as outlined by several presenters. My husband, Joel, told me, “You are a writer. You don’t have to write on someone else’s schedule. Write on your own schedule.” He found out about the New Voices Award offered by Lee & Low Books, and encouraged me to write my dad’s story of desegregating the public school system in 1960s Greenville, NC. I was very reluctant, but I did it. I submitted my story to Lee & Low in September 2007, and in December 2007, I received a call from one of the editors announcing me as their New Voices Award Winner!! What a jumpstart to a career I almost gave up on. Since that time, my book, As Fast As Words Could Fly, has received 3 other awards: The 2014 Skipping Stones Honor Book Award, The 2015 Storytelling World Resource Award, and just recently, the 2015 Martin Luther King “Living the Dream” Book Award. My dear husband, Joel, passed away in November 2014, but his belief in me continues to empower me as a writer.