An American Girl, Winner of Thomas E. Kennedy Novel Award tackles banned books

Serving House Books announces the publication of An American Girl by Richard Fellinger, a heartfelt story of a single mom who fights a book ban.

RALEIGH, NC, UNITED STATES, July 7, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Winner of Thomas E. Kennedy Novel Award tackles banned books

Out now from Serving House Books, An American Girl tells the timely story
of a single mom, a book ban, and a town in turmoil…

Richard Fellinger has won the inaugural Thomas E. Kennedy Novel Award for An American Girl, a heartfelt and hard-hitting story of a single mom who joins the fight against a book ban in a small Pennsylvania town. The novel is out now and available at all major booksellers.

Fellinger, 58, of Harrisburg, Pa., is a former journalist and longtime college writing instructor. An American Girl is his fourth book of adult literary fiction.
“I wrote this book because I felt like it was an important story to tell,” Fellinger said. “It’s a human story, and that was my goal. I wanted to tell the story of the people who are really affected by a book ban—affected at a deep emotional level.”

Through unanimous decision, Serving House Books selected An American Girl out of more than one hundred eligible novel submissions. Publisher William K. Lawrence explained, "With a strong woman protagonist, social issues like discrimination and the recent book bans, we knew this was the one. Richard Fellinger tells a meaningful story so many can relate to right now."

Emma, who is used to defending her biracial son from daily discrimination in their small town in Pennsylvania, is asked to help create a list of diverse books for their school district. But an oppressive school board zeroes in on her selections and implements a book ban. Emma and her allies find themselves at the center of a national news story as they are determined to fight for their rights.

Serving House Books is an international literary book press founded in Copenhagen and New Jersey. The Thomas E. Kennedy Award is a tribute to the late author and co-founder of Serving House Books who died in 2021. Serving House Books is proud to have published award-winning international writers with a catalogue of over 145 books. Read more about Serving House at https://servinghousebooks.com and about the author at www.richardfellinger.com.

Fellinger’s other novels include Summer of ’85 (TouchPoint Press, 2021), which was a finalist for an American Fiction Award, and Made To Break Your Heart (Open Books, 2017). His story collection They Hover Over Us (Snake Nation Press, 2012) won the Serena McDonald Kennedy Fiction Award. His short fiction has earned a Pushcart Prize nomination and won the Flash Fiction Contest at Red Cedar Review.

Contacts: William K. Lawrence, publisher, editors@servinghousebooks.com, https://servinghousebooks.com; or Richard Fellinger, https://www.richardfellinger.com. Events are planned. Reviews and interviews are welcome.

William K. Lawrence
Serving House Books
editors@servinghousebooks.com
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