What a dream for any writer to be recognized by the NCTA!
Malaysian author Hanna Alkaf has been awarded with the Freeman Book Awards 2019 for her popular novel, ‘The Weight of Our Sky’.
Photo: Penang Monthly
The book was declared the 2019 Winner in the Young Adult/High School Literature category.
The awards were organized by the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) of the Association for Asian Studies and Asia for Educators at Columbia University. It recognizes quality books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia.
The novel centers around a 16-year-old girl, Melati Ahmad with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), who tries to find her way back to her mother during the 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur.
Hanna’s novel was earlier chosen to be featured on Webtoon, a digital comic platform founded in South Korea in 2004 and launched in the US in 2014.
Hanna is currently writing two novels that will be published by a well-known publishing company, Harper Collins – Once Upon an Eid in May and The Girl and The Ghost, which is set to be released in August.
Malaysian-born novelist, Shamimi Flint (who resides in Singapore) was the first local novelist to be awarded with the prestigious award.
Congratulations, Hanna!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
