Debut Novel by Halli Gomez Wins NC AAUW Award

DEBUT NOVEL BY HALLI GOMEZ WINS NC AAUW AWARD

Halli Gomez received the 2021 American Association of University Women of North Carolina Young People’s Literature Award for her novel List of Ten (Sterling Teen, 2021). This Award was founded with the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association in 1953 to recognize “the most significant work of original literature for young readers published over the course of the last year by a North Carolina author.” Published by Sterling Teen, Gomez’s debut Young Adult novel follows the story of a sixteen-yearold living with Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In this heart-wrenching yet hopeful novel, Troy Hayes suffers daily under the influence of the number ten, which controls his life.

In her award acceptance remarks, Gomez explains two wishes for her novel’s influence upon readers: first, she “wanted people to be able to have an outlet to see themselves where they may not normally see themselves. . . . Just knowing they’re not alone can help make a big difference.” Second, she says, “Not everybody has the same upbringing, . . . the same family life, or the same mental or physical health issues. But, if we’re able to look at another person and understand and accept them for who they are, that is the beginning of change for everybody’s lives.”

Born in New York and a longtime Florida resident, Gomez now lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. She writes for both children and young adults and is a contributor to The Winged Pen. A teacher of another sort than the rest of the writers in this section: according to her website, Gomez, with her fourth-degree black belt in Taekwondo, taught martial arts for almost a decade. n

ABOVE Halli Gomez giving her acceptance remarks, Dec. 2021 (Listen to the author’s full acceptance remarks here.)

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