Katie Pickard Fawcett won this year’s Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Book Award for her book To Come and Go like Magic. The book is set in the 1970s, when twelve-year-old Chili Sue Mahoney longed to escape her tiny Kentucky hometown and see the world. In doing so, she comes to recognize beauty in the people and places around her.
On November 18, 2011, Interim Dean of Libraries Connie Foster gave the award to Ms. Fawcett at a luncheon in the Kentucky Room. At the luncheon were Evelyn’s relatives, friends, and colleagues. Organizing the event was the Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Award Committee consisting of WKU faculty and staff Sean Kinder (Chair), Deana Groves, Roxanne Spencer, Jennifer Wilson, Kristie Lowry, and Donna Vincent.
Set up by WKU Libraries, this award is given to honor the memory of former WKU librarian Evelyn Thurman, who made significant contributions to children’s librarianship and literacy during her 25 years of service.
Katie Pickard Fawcett grew up in the hills of eastern Kentucky and spent two years as a social worker in Appalachia. She has counseled and tutored students in the Washington D.C. area, written ads for the Peace Corps and VISTA, and worked for the World Bank, writing about development projects in Third World countries. Her personal essays have been published in several magazines, and her favorite diversion is travel and the different cultural experiences it brings. Ms. Fawcett lives with her husband and son in McLean, Virginia. To Come and Go Like Magic is her first novel.