March 17, 2015 – A new award, the first of its kind, aims to honor children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction that feature “events and people that shaped the history of the U.S.,” the founders said in a release. Author and publisher David Bruce Smith, co-founder and a judge of the Prize, added, “Of the more than five dozen literary awards for children’s books in the U.S., the Grateful American™ Book Prize is the only one awarded for excellence in writing, storytelling and illustration in the category of historically accurate works for children. Our aim is to restore the role of history in the education of America’s children at a time when the focus in the classroom is on math and science.”

Recipients will receive a $13,000 cash award, to commemorate the 13 original colonies. In addition, the winner will receive a not-yet-revealed work to be created by Smith’s mother, artist Clarice Smith.

The prize will be overseen by the following judges: co-founder of the award and former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Dr. Bruce Cole; Rod Paige, former U.S. Secretary of Education; Louise Mirrer, president and CEO, New-York Historical Society; Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and author Nick Kotz; Douglas Bradburn, author, historian and founding director of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon; and John Danielson, founder of the Chartwell Education Group and former chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Education.

The panel is ready to begin reviewing submissions for the prize from authors and publishers. The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2015.