Elizabethtown College Fellow in the Writing Wing Richard Fellinger recently received the inaugural Thomas E. Kennedy Novel Award at Serving House Books for his novel manuscript “An American Girl.”
The Thomas E. Kennedy Novel Award is a tribute to the late cofounder of Serving House Books and recognizes work that explores the human experience and is committed to the art of fiction.
Fellinger’s novel is the story of a single mom, a book ban, and a town in turmoil, and will be published this summer by Serving House Books. The story is set in a fictional town in Central Pennsylvania, partially inspired by a book ban several years ago in the Central York School District.
“I think this is a very important book because of the issues and themes it tackles, like belonging,” Fellinger said. “It’s a human story about the people who feel most affected by book bans, and that’s the story I wanted to tell.”
Fellinger’s novel manuscript continues to receive national recognition after also being shortlisted for the Letter Review Prize in August 2024.
Fellinger’s most recent novel, “Summer of ’85,” was a finalist for the American Fiction Award, a distinguished favorite for the NYC Big Book Award, and winner of the Seven Hills Review Novel Excerpt contest. His other fiction work included “They Hover Over Us,” and “Made To Break Your Heart.”
