Writer Dana Walrath’s young-adult novel, Like Water on Stone, which takes place during the Armenian Genocide, is one of six finalists for the 2015 Vermont Book Award, hosted by the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Blending magical realism and lyrical free verse, Like Water on Stone is an intense survival story of three siblings caught up in the horrific events of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Beyond Anatolia, in the Armenian Highlands, Shahen Donabedian dreams of going to New York. Sosi, his twin sister, never wants to leave her home, especially now that she is in love. At first, only Papa, who counts Turks and Kurds among his closest friends, stands in Shahen’s way. But when the Ottoman pashas set their plans to eliminate all Armenians in motion, neither twin has a choice.
After a horrifying attack leaves them orphaned, Shahen and Sosi flee into the mountains, carrying their little sister, Mariam. Shahen keeps their parents’ fate a secret from his sisters. But the children are not alone. An eagle named Ardziv watches over them as they run at night and hide each day, making their way across mountain ridges and rivers red with blood.
The Vermont Book Award was created to honor artists with deep connections to the state of Vermont, and to draw attention to a state so uniquely suited for creative enterprise. To be considered for the prize, a book has to be penned by a Vermont author, or take place in Vermont, or be published by a Vermont press. While there will only be one winner, books from the following categories are considered for the award: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and children’s literature.
Judges looked at nearly 50 books before narrowing down to the six finalists below. The winner will be announced in September, and will be awarded a prize of $5,000.
A writer, artist, and anthropologist, Dana Walrath likes to cross borders and disciplines with her work. After years of using stories to teach medical students at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine, she spent 2012-13 as a Fulbright Scholar in Armenia, where she drew and wrote stories about aging in that ancient culture. Her graphic memoir, Aliceheimer’s, blends the story of life with her mother Alice, before and during dementia, with stories from Armenia. Walrath has shown her artwork and spoken extensively about the role of comics in healing throughout North America and Eurasia, including in two TEDx talks. Her recent essays have appeared in Slate and Foreign Policy. She earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA (her favorite degree) from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Like Water on Stone is her first novel.
With starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal, Like Water on Stone is a Notable Book for a Global Society Award Winner, a Bank Street Best Book of 2015 with Outstanding Merit, a YALSA Best Fiction Nominee, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, and one of Bustle.com’s picks to diversify your bookshelves.
Vermont Book Award Finalists
Poetry: Kerrin McCadden of Plainfield, Landscape with Plywood Silhouettes
Poetry: Leland Kinsey of Barton, Winter Ready
Young Adult Literature: Dana Walrath of Underhill, Like Water on Stone
Young Adult Literature: Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar
Creative Non-fiction: Jessica Hendry Nelson of Winooski, If Only You People Could Follow Directions
Fiction: Gary Lee Miller from Montpelier, Museum of the Americas, a collection of short stories.
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Congratulations Dana ,Miss you in Armenia and wish you success with the novel.
Thank you, Dana. This is beautifully written. I am reading it now, and I love the pace of the verse and the vision it provides. Well done!