Acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson has been awarded the 2025 Grateful American Book Prize for her middle-grade historical novel, Rebellion 1776 (Simon & Schuster / A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book). It was presented at a ceremony held at The St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 2025.

Rebellion 1776 tells the story of a young girl facing the dual challenges of a smallpox epidemic and the upheaval of the Revolutionary War.

“Winning the Grateful American Book Prize for Rebellion 1776 is a joyful honor,” Anderson said. “I write about American history to spark curiosity in young readers. The Grateful American Foundation shares this mission by supporting youth, families, and educators with quality resources about our nation’s history.”

Honorable Mentions were also given to:

• Rebecca Brenner Graham, for Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins’s Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany (Kensington).
• Debbie Levy, for A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight over Science in Schools (Bloomsbury).

“Receiving an honorable mention from the Grateful American Book Prize is especially meaningful to me because I believe more young Americans should know about Frances Perkins’s career, including her fight against American bigotry to support refugees from Nazism,” said Graham. “I was a full-time high school teacher throughout the process of writing Dear Miss Perkins, so I’m especially glad if the book resonates with younger audiences.”

“My purpose in writing about history for young people is to tell irresistible stories and to get kids to share my enthusiasm for my subjects,” Levy noted. “The Scopes trial is one of those irresistible historical events, and I am so pleased that the Grateful American Book Prize, which shares my dedication to creating enthusiasm among kids for history, has chosen to recognize it.”

Each year the Grateful American Book Prize honors outstanding works of historical fiction, nonfiction, and biography written for readers in grades 7–9 that illuminate important personalities and events in American history.

The winner receives $13,000—symbolizing the original 13 Colonies—along with a silver medallion and a lifetime membership at The New York Historical. Each Honorable Mention recipient receives $500 and a medallion.

Founded in 2015 by David Bruce Smith and the late Dr. Bruce Cole, the Grateful American Book Prize encourages authors to engage young readers with America’s past. Submissions for the 2026 Prize open January 1, 2026.

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