Julie Mathison’s book BELIEVE won the 2022 Best Book Award for Children’s Fiction from American Book Fest. BELIEVE had also won the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Best Middle Reader and First Horizon Award for Debut Books in 2020. Mathison’s third novel, ELENA THE BRAVE, a YA fantasy based on Russian folklore, has also been announced as a semifinalist for the 2022 BookLife Prize from Publishers Weekly.