The Christophers - It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness
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Contact:  David Reich
                     Reich Communications
                     (212) 573-6000
                     david@reichcommunications.com

  Jeanne Byington
 (212) 840-5834
jeanne@jmbyington.com

 Judith Trojan
  The Christopher Awards
(212) 759-4050, ext. 229
  j.trojan@christophers.org

CHRISTOPHERS HONOR 13 AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATORS FOR BOOKS
ABOUT LOVE, COURAGE & COMMUNICATION ACROSS CULTURES

 Nine books for adults and young people will be
celebrated at the 61st Christopher Awards event 

NEW YORK, April 7, 2010 — The Christophers are set to honor nine winning books for adults and young people on April 15 at the 61st annual Christopher Awards celebration here. The Christopher Awards salute the creators of books, feature films and TV/cable programs that remind audiences of their power as individuals to make a difference. The winning books were selected from 695 titles published in 2009—317 for Adults, 378 for Young People—that were submitted and reviewed.  

Books for Young People

Young readers learn about courage, exploration, history and life-changing interaction between friends from different cultures in the five winning Books for Young People.  

• For preschoolers, Yumi Heo’s Ten Days and Nine Nights: An Adoption Story (Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House) captures, from an older sibling’s vantage point, the anticipated arrival of a new family member—an adopted child from a foreign land. 
• In Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group, Inc.), Major Brian Dennis, Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery recall for six to eight year olds the harrowing life of an Iraqi dog of war and the unbreakable bond that develops between the dog and an American Marine.  
• The Underground Railroad, bravery and a mother’s love propel the story Most Loved in All the World (Houghton Mifflin Company) by Tonya Cherie Hegamin, illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera for readers 8-10.  
• Pen pals in Illinois and Afghanistan forge an unusual friendship that spawns discomfort in both communities in Andrew Clement’s Extra Credit (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing), illustrated by Mark Elliott, for readers 10-12.  
• Tori Murden McClure’s explorer’s memoir, A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean (Collins/HarperCollins Publishers), shows young adult readers that being a superhuman adventurer isn’t what life’s about…it’s about embracing one’s own humanity.

Books for Adults

Readers get to travel through time and history to explore cultural clashes and at times rapprochements in New York, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Illinois and East Africa in the four compelling Books for Adults that The Christophers tapped to take this year’s honors. The books trace the impact of people who ignore all odds and achieve extraordinary results.  

• Ronald C. White, Jr., in A. Lincoln: A Biography (Random House), documents our 16th President as a man of integrity, whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life.  
• Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Viking/Penguin Group USA Inc.), begins where Greg Mortenson’s first book, Three Cups of Tea, left off. Discomfort and danger mean nothing to Mortenson, whose Central Asia Institute takes him to a Pakistan torn by natural disaster. There he rebuilds earthquake-proof schools, after which he returns to the heart of Taliban territory in Afghanistan to continue his courageous efforts to build schools—mostly for girls.  
• Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Kidder writes about Deo’s heroism in Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness (Random House). A refugee from Barundi, Deo arrives in New York with $200, ends up living in Central Park and, thanks to strangers’ help, attends Columbia University and medical school. Devoting his life to healing, Deo learns to transform anger into forgiveness. 
• Anthony Flint writes a David and Goliath story in Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took on New York’s Master Builder and Transformed the American City (Random House). The story goes far beyond the Big Apple, touting the power of individuals who successfully defy those who threaten to destroy the fabric of their communities.

In addition to the books, Christopher Awards will also be presented to the creators of three feature films and five TV and cable programs.

The Christophers, a nonprofit organization founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb—“It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”— guides its publishing, radio, leadership and awards programs.

The Christopher Awards, first presented in 1949, annually honor writers, producers, directors and illustrators in the publishing, film, TV and cable industries whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.”  More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org

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