From the Nominator

"Edward Wortis is a world-renowned author with a neurological disorder that impairs the ability to write. Ever since childhood, Wortis has struggled with dysgraphia, which makes it difficult for him to spell correctly, write legibly, and construct grammatical sentences. Indeed, when Wortis entered a writing contest as a University of Wisconsin–Madison student, the judge mistook him for a non-native English speaker. 

“A Rocky Road to Literary Success” chronicles Wortis’s incredible journey to literary fame under the pen name Avi, including publishing more than 80 bestselling children’s books and winning several Newbery awards. It describes his passion for storytelling and his almost accidental turn to children’s literature, inspired by making up bedtime stories for his son. The article also delves into the former history major’s gift for finding raw material in the past to craft his historical novels. Given his dysgraphia, the process involves revising manuscripts 70 to 80 times—a habit that harks back to his school days, when he labored to correct his error-ridden papers. 

“A Rocky Road to Literary Success” touched a nerve among On Wisconsin readers who knew of Avi’s work. but not his behind-the-scenes challenges. It generated a robust discussion on social media and received extraordinary traffic online."

From the Judges

An excellent tale of the featured alumnus' perseverance. The article balanced his personal effort, as well as the support and inspiration given to him by faculty at the institution during his formative days as an author. Most exceptional was the choice of subject--not the standard tycoon, magnate, or aspiring tech billionaire, but rather, a children's story writer with an excellent gift for creating art.