Washington Author Wins 2014 Sasquatch Award

SEATTLE - April 12, 2014 - PRLog -- (SEATTLE, WA) – After being nominated for several book awards across the country, Royce Buckingham’s novel The Dead Boys has received top honors in his home state of Washington. Receiving the 2014 Sasquatch Book Award is particularly sweet, because The Dead Boys is set in Royce’s home town of Richland, Washington. Librarians in Washington State nominated the book, and kids in grades 4 – 6 across the state voted it their top pick from a list of 12 titles. This is Royce’s first book award.

“It is extremely gratifying that the children selected this book, which is set in Washington, includes local history, and calls upon memories from my own childhood," said Buckingham. "When I visit classrooms, I am able to describe exactly what it was like to grow up in a nuclear town in the 70’s, and I believe kids can feel that authenticity in the writing.”

The Sasquatch Award is presented by the Washington Media Library Association. Titles are selected by a committee of school and public librarians and presented to students in grades four through six.  Students who read at least two of the books on the list throughout the school year are eligible to vote. 12 books by authors from all over the country were considered this year.

Since its release, The Dead Boys has been recognized by librarians and other book lovers across the country for its literary and creative content. The book was named a 2010 Junior Library Guild Fall Selection and has been nominated for the following awards: 2014 Sunshine State Young Readers Choice Award (Florida), 2013 Louisiana Young Reader’s Choice Selection, 2013 Sequoya Book Award (Oklahoma), 2012 Isinglass Teen Book Award (New Hampshire), 2010 Cybils Award (national book blogger award), and the Sasquatch.

ABOUT THE BOOK
When Teddy Mathews moves to quirky Richland, WA, his main concern is making new friends. But something is not right about the quiet desert town. All the boys he meets disappear in creepy ways, and an imposing Sycamore tree outside his house seems to be trying to get him in its clutches. Teddy’s life quickly becomes a waking nightmare, and no one else believes him. Can Teddy escape the tree’s terrifying grasp and solve the mystery of the missing boys before he becomes the next one to disappear?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Royce Buckingham is an American fantasy writer with an English degree from Whitman College and a Law degree from the University of Oregon. He was born in Richland, Washington and grew up in the 70’s downriver from the Hanford nuclear plant, which might explain his mutated view of the world. He moved to Bellingham after law school and landing a job as a prosecuting attorney.

The Dead Boys is his third middle grade novel, following Demonkeeper and Goblins. His first YA thriller, The Terminals, is due out this fall with Saint Martin’s Press. In Germany, Royce is has two bestsellers Demonkeeper (Damliche Damonen) and Mapper (Die Karte Der Welt), an epic medieval fantasy for which fans are eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Royce lives in Bellingham with his wonderful wife, whom he met in the courtroom when she came to cover one of his criminal cases as a reporter. They have two fabulous boys who help with his books. Thankfully none have been eaten by demons…or goblins…or mutated trees.