Foster, R.I. author, Kimberly Newton Fusco, Wins a 2026 Christopher Award

Foster, R.I.-based author Kimberly Newton Fusco has been honored with a Christopher Award forThe Secret of Honeycake,(Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books, Ages 10 and up). It is one of 10 winning books for adults and young people as the Christopher Awards program marks its 77^th year.

The Awards celebrate authors, illustrators, writers, producers and directors, whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit” and reflect the Christopher motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness” which also guides the organization’s publishing and radio programs. Christopher Awards were also given to creators of nine TV/Cable shows and feature films.

According to the website, “Hurricane is quiet while her Aunt Claire is a force of nature with very particular ideas–and a host of Latin sayings to back them up. When Hurricane gets stuck living with her, she retreats into herself…until a series of unexpected friends, including a mangy cat, help her find her voice in a whole new way. The book shares a recipe for The World’s Most Comforting, Twelve-Layer Honeycake starting with 1 quiet girl named Hurricane, who runs like the wind along the Mighty Atlantic with her old dog Brody-Bear, 1 imperious aunt, who steps up when Hurricane’s world turns upside down, 1 kind-hearted boy, who helps wounded animals (and may smell a little of fish), 1 lonely and flea-bitten cat with a ragged ear and a crooked tail and 1 gentle chauffeur, who knows exactly what to say…and when not to say a thing. Mix them all together in big, fancy house in the city.What you get might surprise you.”

Kimberly Newton Fusco is the acclaimed author of four other novels for young readers: “Chasing Augustus,” “Beholding Bee,” “The Wonder of Charlie Anne,” and “Tending to Grace,” all of which received starred reviews and many accolades, including the American Library Association’s Schneider Family Book Award and the Parent’s Choice Silver Medal. In a starred review, Kirkus wrote that “The Secret of Honeycake” was “powerful, emotional, and wondrous,” and the novel was placed on the New York Public Library’s Best Books of the Year list. Fusco was an award-winning education writer for the Worcester Telegram (Mass) before becoming a novelist, and is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications, said, “Mother Teresa once observed, ‘If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.’ That sense of ‘belonging to each other’ is reflected in our award-winning stories of selflessness, sacrifice, faith, and kindness that can lead us to a better, more peaceful tomorrow.”

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. More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org. Social media: #ChristopherAwards, Facebook: The Christophers / X: @ChristophersInc