Two LGBTQ+ Young Adult titles published by Three Rooms Press in 2021 were winner of Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year Awards for Young Adult Fiction. The awards recognize the best books published in 2021 from small, independent, and university presses, including university and author publishers.

TINK AND WENDY, Kelly Ann Jacobson’s acclaimed Peter Pan-themed novel, in which Tink is in love with both Peter AND Wendy, earned the Gold Medal for best Young Adult fiction of 2021.

In its review of TINK AND WENDY, Foreword raved, “Tink and Wendy is a masterful reinvention of the classic. Full of teenage angst and yearning, it is poignant, relatable, and full of contemporary appeal.”

The book, published in October 2021 has also be heralded by Bustle as one of its Most-Anticipated Books, and by Autostraddle as a recommended Queer and Feminist book for 2021.

NEEDLEWORK, Julia Watt’s most recent LGBTQ+ YA novel featured characters in Appalachia, earned Honorable Mention for Young Adult fiction of 2021.

School Library Journal raved, “Watts’s engaging book addresses timely topics like addiction, homophobia, and racism, but her gentle, heartwarming prose makes this book a comfort read. Kody’s sweetly honest narration makes it impossible not to cheer for him. . . . Highly recommended.”

And Lambda Literary included Needlework on its recommended list for Fall 2021 Queer Young Adult Books.

The Foreword INDIES award is increasingly more competitive. For this year’s competition, over 2,700 entries were submitted in 55 categories, with Foreword’s editors choosing approximately 10 finalists per genre. Those finalists were then delivered to individual librarians and booksellers tasked with picking the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention winners.

“This annual exercise in Indie excellence continues to surprise us both qualitatively and quantitatively—which makes the judging process for our editors that much more difficult because there’s so many books deserving recognition,” says Matt Sutherland, Foreword’s Executive Editor.

Congratulations to both Kelly Ann and Julia on this well-deserved honor.