Holly G Sloan wins Christopher Award for "The Elephant in the Room"

Santa Monica Canyon, Calif- based author Holly Goldberg Sloan was honored with a Christopher Award for The Elephant in the Room, (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House), for children aged 10 and up. It is one of 12 books for adults and young people recognized as the #ChristopherAwards mark their 73rd year. The authors join writers, producers and directors of 10 winning TV/cable and feature films.

The book presents an endearing, humorous story about family separation and the relationship between humans and animals as seen through the eyes of a lonely girl, an autistic boy, an elderly lottery winner, and a former circus elephant. It’s been almost a year since Sila’s mother traveled halfway around the world to Turkey, hoping to secure the immigration paperwork that would allow her to return to her family in the United States. The long separation is almost impossible for Sila to withstand. But things change when she accompanies her father --a mechanic--outside their Oregon town to fix a truck. There, behind an enormous stone wall, she meets a grandfatherly man who only months before won the state lottery. Their new alliance leads to the rescue of a circus elephant named Veda, and then to a friendship with an unusual boy named Mateo, proving that comfort and hope come in the most unlikely of places.

Holly Goldberg Sloan was born in Ann Arbor, Mich., and spent her childhood living in Holland; Istanbul, Turkey; Washington, D.C.; Berkeley, Calif.; and Eugene, Ore. After graduating from Wellesley College and spending some time as an advertising copywriter, she began writing family feature films, including Angels in the Outfield and Made in America. She is the author of the New York Times best sellers Counting by 7s and Short, among other novels and a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The celebrated authors, illustrators, writers, producers, and directors, whose works exemplify this Chinese proverb “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness,” also “affirm the highest values of the human spirit,” said Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications. “After the hardships and suffering we’ve witnessed and endured in the last two years, we need stories of hope, light, and unity to lift our spirits and guide us toward a brighter path,” he said.

The Christophers, a nonprofit founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb—“It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”— guides its publishing, radio, and awards programs. More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org.