Bare now multiple winner of NC Young People’s Literature Award

ASHEBORO — For the second straight year, Micki Bare of Asheboro has won the AAUW NC Young People’s Literature Award. 

She won the award in 2022 for her debut middle-grade novel “Society of the Sentinelia”, which is the first book in 
the “Zahra of the Uwharries series.” 

Bare was among the winners of AAUW awards honored at the annual meeting of the NC Literary and Historical Associa-tion held at the Archives and History/State Library Building in Raleigh. 

On Dec. 8, she was awarded the 2023 award for her book “Blind Fairy”, the second of five middle-grade magical realism novels in the “Zahra of the Uwharries series.”

Bare was among the winners of AAUW awards honored at the annual meeting of the NC Literary and Historical Association held at the Archives and History/State Library Building in Raleigh. 

Bare was contracted to write the series under the Level Elevate im-print of Level Best Books.

“This is an incredible honor,” Bare said. “Writing strong female characters is one of my priorities as an author. I strive to reflect diverse characters in relatable stories that provide hope and inspiration to young readers. This award calls attention to and validates those efforts.”

Bare joins the ranks of North Carolina authors with multiple wins, which includes John Claude Bemis (2010, 2012), Mebane Holoman Burgwyn (1954, 1970), Ruth and Latrobe Carroll (1953, 1955), Joanne Compton (1994, 1995), Lila Hopkins (1988, 1990), Gloria Houston (1997, 1999, 2011), Belinda Hurmence (1984, 1989), Alexander Key (1965, 1975), Kelly Starling Lyons (2013, 2019), Suzanne Newton (1971, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1991), Glen Rounds (1961, 1967, 1976, 1983), Julia Montgomery Street (1956, 1963), and Carole Boston Weatherford (2002, 2005, 2018).

Blind Fairy is the second of five middle-grade magical realism novels in the Zahra of the Uwharries series Bare was contracted to write under the Level Elevate imprint of Level Best Books. The novel continues the story of Zahra, a scraebin about as tall as a wild dandelion, who discovered in Society of the Sentinelia that she is a fairy. In Blind Fairy, she is summoned by her mentor fairy after cicadas emerge to lull her colony into a deep sleep. Zahra soon learns she is The Convener. After accepting her destiny, a turtle with amethyst eyes leads her to a lone, blind scraebin born with the markings of a fairy. Together, Zahra and the blind fairy must save the local scraebin colonies in the Birkhead Wilderness of the Uwharrie Mountains in central North Carolina.

Book three, OMEGA CRAG, is due out in May 2024.

Bare is also the author of three early reader children’s books, has short stories in two anthologies, and wrote a human interest column for 18 years. She is an active member of the Carolinas Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the North Carolina Writers’ Network (NCWN). She teaches eighth-grade social studies. She and her husband reside in Asheboro, NC. www.MickiBareAuthor.com.