Local author receives state award for new book series

ASHEBORO — Local Author Micki Bare has received the Annual American Association of University Women (AAUW) North Carolina Young People’s Literature Award in recognition of the most significant work of original literature for young readers published over the course of the last year by a North Carolina author.

Bare will receive the honor in a celebration event on Friday, Dec. 2, in Raleigh.

Her award is one of four awards to be given out to authors, the others in Poetry, Fiction and Nonfiction.

The Asheboro author’s accomplishment comes after the release this year of “Society of the Sentinel,” the first of a middle school-aged series based in the Birkhead Wilderness of the Uwharrie Mountains.

The story follows the tale of Zahra, a sprite-like tween no bigger than a loblolly pinecone, and an 11-year-old human trying to find her parents and sister. During the quest, the series chronicles Zahra’s unique and critical role in saving her own family and species.

Bare was a long-time columnist for The Courier-Tribune and is also author of the Thurston T. Turtle children’s series.