FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Award-winning author/illustrator, Sally O. Lee wins in the Photography/Art category at the New England Book Festival. Sally also received an honorable mention for “The Dog Show” for the children’s book category.

DANVERS, Mass. (www.sallyleebooks.com) “What a joy to win this award! I feel very honored. You try and try for years to get a nod and you finally get one. All my awards have been an honor but this is a big one for me!

I keep trying, and I enter many submissions for various contests, publications, and festivals but I don’t wait around to find out anymore. I just submit and let it go. Someone told me a while ago that it isn’t that important. What is important is doing to work. But it does feel good! And a nod is nice every once in a while. It makes you feel like the hard work is worth it!

I made the “Book of Cats” book because I had many, many illustrations of cats from rejected entries, (I call it my Salon du Refusee), submissions, and self-promotional pieces. So many people have commented on how much they like my cats, so I decided it would be a nice coffee table book. I was very happy with the result. And now my cat, Dominic, is a star!!

I tend to root for the underdog. So many of my books are about overcoming obstacles and making your dreams come true. After adopting my cat, I started to write books about pets. My book, “The Dog Show” came out of this new theme. What a joy to have this book get a nod too.

I look forward to a fun awards night. It will be my first one!! It teaches you to never give up.

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For more information, members of the press can contact the author at info@leepublishing.net or sally@csail.mit.edu. Also, you can visit Sally Lee’s web site, www.sallyleebooks.com and purchase the books on Amazon.com.

For more information about the festival, go to http://www.newenglandbookfestival.com/winners2015.html

About the Author Sally O. Lee earned her BA in Studio Art and Art History (with Distinction) from Colby College and then went on to study graphic design and painting in Boston (Art Institute of Boston) and in New York City (New York Studio School). She has had several shows of her work and received an art grant from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology to conceive and create a series of paintings, and from this came her 2002 exhibition- A Journey Into Abstraction. Some of Ms. Lee’s paintings are in various private collections in the US.

In recent years, Ms. Lee has begun to write and illustrate children’s books. Some of them deal with the struggles of living with some form of handicap…or, as the author prefers to call it, imperfection. Many of her illustrations have been published and she has earned both academic and public recognition for her important work in children’s books. She has had illustrations published in Worldlink Magazine, IEEE Magazine, and several other publications.

Sally has won several awards including the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, the Reviewer’s Choice Award, and Family Choice Award. Sally lives and works in Massachusetts with her mob cats, Dominic and Vinney.

Sally Lee writes “I think of myself as a macabre children’s book writer and illustrator. I am not really about cookies and cream and everything nice. Some kids have to deal with bullies, cruelty, violence, neglect, poverty, and hatred. Other kids may experience love, tenderness, trust, affection, affluence, and support. (And then there are kids with disabilities which adds another layer of complication).

Growing up can be challenging and difficult, and it can also be filled with joy and wonder. I like to write and illustrate books that can speak to all kids. I don’t appreciate kid’s books that treat kids like they are idiots (two-dimensional) or that they don’t know anything. Most kids can see right through that anyway.

I think my books are the ones that parents and kids alike quietly smile at with their flashlights under the blanket thinking about the mischief and wonder of the characters. I don’t think life unfolds in any cookie cutter type fashion, so I don’t think kid’s books should either.

Also, my children’s books are an extension of my work as a painter. Writing is a new addition for me, and I am enjoying it very much. And creating the illustrations is a perfect way to continue my painting in a new direction and a nice way to complement my writing. I hope to write and illustrate many more. I am surprised that my creativity took off in this direction. It is totally unexpected.”

For more information about her books, visit her web site at www.sallyleebooks.com. Some of the books can be downloaded for free (except for the covers) from her website (click on the “books” link).