Fil-Am author Erin Entrada Kelly bags second Newbery honor

Filipino-American author Erin Entrada Kelly has won her second Newbery Award for her middle-grade novel “We Dream of Space.”

According to her Instagram post, Kelly got the news from the American Library Association last January 25, initially thinking it was a spam message.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Erin Entrada Kelly (@erinentrada)

“I got the call last night that WE DREAM OF SPACE won a Newbery Honor,” the author wrote.

“I cried and called my agent @saraagent and then I poured a glass of whisky and drank it,” she added.

“We Dream Of Space,” published in May 2020, is a middle-grade coming-of-age novel that follows the captivating story of three siblings as they anticipate the launch of the space shuttle Challenger.

The BIGGEST congrats to @erinentrada and WE DREAM OF SPACE for winning a NEWBERY HONOR! ???????????? #ALAyma pic.twitter.com/MLizzcRTrX

— HarperKids (@HarperChildrens) January 25, 2021

Kelly also won the 2018 Newbery Award for her other novel “Hello Universe,” which is expected to get a movie adaptation for Netflix.

The Louisiana-raised author, whose mother hails from Cebu, has inculcated Cebuano culture and folklore into her novels. —Margaret Claire Layug/JCB, GMA News