2022 CLCSC Awards - Acceptance Speech by Winner Meeg Pincus

Dec 18

Written By Children's Literature Council

Winners Meeg Pincus, Carol Cujec, Peyton Goddard, and Paula Yoo have graciously provided copies of their speeches from the CLCSC Awards Ceremony held on November 12, 2022 at Throop Church in Pasadena, CA.

Distinguished Work of Juvenile Non-Fiction
Cougar Crossing by Meeg Pincus, Illustrated by Alexander Vidal

Meeg Pincus: Thank you so much to the Children’s Literature Council of Southern California for this award for Cougar Crossing, and for honoring me and the book’s fabulous illustrator and co-creator Alexander Vidal, who couldn’t join us today.

Cougar Crossing is a love letter…

To the urban wildlife of Southern California who live among us, especially one exceptional mountain lion named P-22 who resides in Griffith Park…
To the wildlife scientists who dedicate their lives to preserving the natural world for all of us and future generations…
And to the power of everyday people coming together to create something positive for others.

As in all my books, at the heart of Cougar Crossing is a message about compassion, and what can happen when we allow ourselves to be led by it. In this true story, it’s compassion for one wild animal—a lonely cougar stuck in the city where he doesn’t belong—which touched human hearts and moved many people to do something… to help create what will soon be the world’s largest wildlife crossing, over LA’s 101 freeway.

“In these times, I can’t think of anything more meaningful to write about than compassion—compassion for others who may be different from us… different people, different species—and what happens when we allow ourselves to open our hearts and be moved to act on this feeling.”

— Meeg Pincus

In these times, I can’t think of anything more meaningful to write about than compassion—compassion for others who may be different from us… different people, different species—and what happens when we allow ourselves to open our hearts and be moved to act on this feeling.

I’m so grateful to all the wonderful people who helped bring this story to life in a picture book—from my family who cheered me on the whole way, to the wildlife experts who generously shared their knowledge with us, and to the team of children’s literature pros I’m honored to work with.

(By the way, our editor, art director, and acquiring publisher at Simon and Schuster’s Beach Lane Books—as well as the agency that represents my work, Red Fox Literary, and Alexander’s agent at Full Circle Literary—are all also based in Southern California…so this is truly a SoCal created book!)

In closing, thank you again for recognizing Cougar Crossing—I hope it can spark compassion and action in kids everywhere, as they carry the torch for our planet’s future.