The William C. Morris YA Debut Award celebrates the achievement of a previously unpublished author, or authors, who have made a strong literary debut in writing for young adult readers. The work cited illuminates the teen experience and enriches the lives of its readers through its excellence, demonstrated by compelling, high quality writing and/or illustration, the integrity of the work as a whole, and its proven or potential appeal to a wide range of teen readers. The award's namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults.

2009

A CURSE DARK AS GOLD
Elizabeth C. Bunce
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic
ISBN: 9780439895767
Ages 12-up
400 pages
March 2008

• Read a Review

Charlotte Miller has always scoffed at talk of a curse on her family's woolen mill, which holds her beloved small town together. But after her father's death, the bad luck piles up: departing workers, impossible debts, an overbearing uncle. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner offers a tempting proposition: He can turn straw into gold thread, for the small price of her mother's ring.

As Charlotte is drawn deeper into her bargains with Spinner --- and a romance with the local banker --- she must unravel the truth of the curse on the mill and save the community she's always called home.

In addition to A CURSE DARK AS GOLD, the Morris Award finalists include GRACELING by Kristin Cashore, ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS by James Lecesne, MADAPPLE by Christina Meldrum and ME, THE MISSING, AND THE DEAD by Jenny Valentine.