Local author earns two book awards

Sachem resident and author Patty Blount was awarded two distinctions at last week's RWA Conference in New York City.

RWA, or Romance Writers of America, held their annual conference last week at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan. Patty Blount, who writes both young adult fiction and contemporary romance, took home two Athena Awards for her feminist novel, SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW (Sourcebooks Fire, 2018).

SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW, a novel inspired by the Brock Turner sentence, explores the aftermath of sexual assault and its impact on siblings Ashley and Derek Lawrence. The novel earned distinctions for Best YA Contemporary and Best of the Best in this year's Athena Award competition, organized by the Young Adult Romance Writers of America chapter. The novel had previously been named a 2019 Best Children's Book of the Year by Bank Street College of Education, and made the 2019 Amelia Bloomer List of Feminist Novels.

"This book provides a nuanced look at the toxicity of rape culture and the long-lasting and harming aftermath of sexual assault. VERDICT: Recommended for all YA shelves." ~ says Danielle Jacobs, in a review for School Library Journal.

The novel is available in paperback, audio, and electronic versions and interested readers can view an excerpt at pattyblount.com.