On Monday, April 24 at 4 pm, the Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project (STBF) will recognize and honor the winner and two runners-up of its annual self/indie-published novel competition in a live media event hosted by the Niles-Maine Library District. Illinois State Senator Ram Villavalam of the 8th district will attend and present a special proclamation honoring the winner.
Alina Rubin, patron of the Niles-Maine Library District, who was recently named winner of the 2022 competition will accept the award (which includes a $2,000 prize) for her novel, A Girl with a Knife. Set in 19th century England, the novel tells the story of a young woman who manages to escape the very limited life choices available to her, and become a surgeon. Rubin is an IT professional and a mom, who, during the pandemic, used the time and energy saved on the commute to write this award-winning book. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Business and Information Technology from DePaul University, and lives near Chicago with her husband and daughter.
Finalist Rebecca Taniguchi’s career took her from English teacher to writer/editor for major corporations, but she always wanted to try her hand at a novel. Her family’s history inspired her to write Hiro’s War, a work of historical fiction that follows one man’s journey from his childhood spent in a Japanese internment camp in the U.S. during World War II through his life-long search for justice and peace. Taniguchi lives in St. Charles
Skokie Library patron Len Joy claims the titles of CPA, MBA, triathlete, and author of several books including American Past Time, the other finalist in the STBF competition. American Past Time follows the story of an American family as they navigate the challenges of the 1950s through the 1970s as issues of race simmer in the background.
Rubin, Joy, and Taniguchi are the newest members of a group of 27 self or indie-published fiction writers who have been recognized by the STBF Project. Now entering its tenth year, the Project is the brainchild of a group of library marketing professionals who challenged themselves to demonstrate the power of libraries to create a market for authors and find more great reads for their patrons. Entirely run by library professionals from across the state, STBF invites all Illinois authors of self- or indie-published adult fiction to submit their books to be evaluated by a panel of librarian judges. In 2015, the Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project won the prestigious John Cotton Dana Award for excellence in library public relations by the American Library Association.
Find information about the live event by clicking this link.
