Chilliwack/Traverse City, MI – Back in October 2021, FVN’s Don Lehn was in conversation with Stacey Chomiak, an Chiliwack LGBTQ children’s book illustrator and author.
Her queer illustrated novel (similar to a graphic novel) entitled Still Stace: My Gay Christian Coming-Of-Age Story, has just been published and garnered rave reviews.
Still Stace: My Gay Christian Coming-Of-Age Story was a breath of fresh air for young people, struggling with their sexuality vs beliefs. Wither their own, from family or from peer pressure.
STILL STACE is a finalist for a 2021 Forward Indie Award (Juvenile Nonfiction) Ages 6–12 — Books intended to teach young readers about real things, places, or people. They are presented in such a way as to be easily understood by young readers aged six to twelve.
From her Facebook posting:
I was just told that STILL STACE is a finalist for a 2021 Forward Indie Award (Juvenile Nonfiction)! I don’t know if we will win, but SHEESH it feels great to be a finalist 
“As part of its mission to discover, review, and share the best books from university and independent publishers, Foreword Magazine, Inc. hosts an annual awards program each year. Finalists represent the best books published in 2021. After more than 2,500 individual titles spread across 55 genres were submitted for consideration, the Finalists were determined by Foreword’s editorial team. Winners will be decided by an expert team of booksellers and librarians—representing Foreword’s trade readership—from across the country.”
Winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s Independent Publisher of the Year—will be announced June 16, 2022.
NOTE: About Foreword Magazine: Since 1998, Foreword Reviews has provided trade book reviews of the best titles from independent presses. In print, and online, its FOLIO award-winning design and editorial content makes the magazine a favorite among librarians, booksellers, and readers—an excellent resource when it comes to purchasing books. Foreword INDIES and the fee-for-review Clarion service complement our online content and print magazine, helping to showcase independent presses and their authors.
