Brandi Wins National Book Prize

Hollis Center, ME, May 21, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Margaret Powers Milardo was awarded the annual Grassic Short Fiction prize for her first novel, Brandi. The Grassic prize is a new award emphasizing "the power, skill and enduring value of the short novel form."

Published by Evening Street Press in Dublin, Ohio, Brandi is based on Milardo's experiences teaching troubled adolescents at schools in Portland, Maine, and around the country.

Brandi is a tough, teen orphan who triumphs over tragedy and neglect. It is a realistic and unsparing tale told by her brave and caring public school teacher.

"Guns, drugs, and homelessness are not pleasant topics, but I wanted to explore in my book the idea that children from this background are redeemable and not disposable goods," Milardo said.

The book is available from Amazon.com as both a printed book and an e-book for Kindle. A sample chapter is available at the www.BrandiNovel.com website.

Milardo teaches writing at St. Joseph's College in Standish, Maine. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Marietta College in Ohio, and a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

She lives in Hollis Center, Maine with her husband, Sebastian Milardo, Sr.