PJ Our Way Awards First Author Incentive Award to Miriam Halahmy

We are thrilled to announce that well-known UK author Miriam Halahmy has been awarded the first PJ Our Way author incentive award for her newest middle-grade manuscript, Saving Hanno. On the eve of World War II, Rudi’s parents have managed to arrange safe passage via a Kindertransport to London for Rudi and his older sister, Lotte. Aside from his anxiety over being separated from his parents and his home, Rudi is desperate that his beloved dog, Hanno, will find safety as well. Hanno and Rudi are reunited in London, where Rudi continues to learn English, make new friends, and await the arrival of his parents.

Our PJ Our Way kid reviewers loved Saving Hanno and recommended it for the PJ Our Way lineup. 9-year-old Asher wrote in his review:

This book shows a realistic story which tells a lot about world history and what it’s like to be a German Jew in the 30s. The book has a great story that 8- to 11-year-old kids would love. I love this book because I am very interested in world history. I like how the story was told from Rudi's perspective and I liked how they used German language a lot because now I know how to say "yes" in German!

Miriam has published novels, short stories and poetry for children, teens and adults. Her debut Y.A. novel, Hidden, (Meadowside, 2011) was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and chosen as a Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week. Her first middle-grade novel, The Emergency Zoo (Alma Books, 2016), inspired Saving Hanno. Miriam writes on social and political issues for children and teens and finds that young people enjoy the challenges presented by her novels. They identify with the characters in her stories and imagine themselves tackling the problems in the texts.

When she is not writing Miriam loves reading, theater, travel, being with her family and visiting her favorite seaside place.

Congratulations, Miriam!