#bookawards

Freeing Teresa wins BIG at the NYC Big Book Awards!

October 2, 2024 by Franke James

Vancouver, BC, Canada—The NYC Big Book Award selected Freeing Teresa as a winner in two categories in the 2024 competition: Audiobook Nonfiction (for the full-cast audiobook) and Social/Political Change (for the print edition).

“We’re thrilled to receive these two awards from NYC Big Book Award. Writing this memoir has taken over ten years of familial blood, sweat, and tears,” said Franke James. “What happened to Teresa, is happening in many families. People are choosing “care” for people with intellectual disabilities, that they would never tolerate for themselves. “Care” that limits their opportunities in life. “Care” that restricts their freedom. Give people with intellectually disabilities a chance to lead full lives in the community—and they may astonish you.”

Franke James writes true stories that spark change
and inspire resilience (and resistance!)

Franke James, the author, and co-authors Teresa Heartchild and Billiam James, will accept the awards in person in New York City in May 2025. Freeing Teresa has received twelve international awards and prizes in 2024 from the Human Relations Indie Book Awards, the Firebird Book Awards, the NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award—and now the NYC Big Book Award.

Would you stand up to your family to protect your sister? Freeing Teresa audiobook ad with the NYC Big Book Awards Medal

This is an award-winning true story about disability rights colliding with ableism. It revolves around a key civil rights issue for all people with disabilities—the right to decide where you live.

“The result is more than a memoir: it’s a testimony to how ‘tickets to freedom’ are gained through fighting and love, displaying how Teresa’s own wishes add fuel to the fire of empowerment.”
D. DONOVAN, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

About the NYC Big Book Award®

“We were delighted to see so many quality publishers and authors from around the world participate this year. I can’t wait to share these books with a global readership,” said awards sponsor, Gabrielle Olczak.

NYC Big Book Award received book submissions worldwide. Journalists, well established authors, small and large press, and first time indie authors participated in record numbers from the United States as well as countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, designers, booksellers, librarians and professional copywriters. Winners and distinguished favourites are based on overall excellence.

Publishers included Blackstone Publishing, Hachette Go, HarperCollins Leadership, Simon & Schuster, and many more.

See the 2024 list of winners and distinguished favourites at the NYC Big Book Awards.

Freeing Teresa orange audiobook cover with the NYC Big Book Award seal

Assume That I Can

August 18, 2024 by Freeing Teresa

On March 21, 2024, World Down Syndrome Day, Coor Down, launched their worldwide campaign, Assume That I Can, with the support of six international Down Syndrome associations, including the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. The breakthrough video starring actor Madison Tevlin went viral.

“Our negative assumptions about people with Down syndrome can lead us to treat them in such a way that these assumptions become reality. In sociology, this is called a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. Why not reverse our perspectives? If we have positive assumptions about people with Down syndrome, we’ll give them more opportunities in their schools, workplaces, relationships and activities. And maybe these positive assumptions will become reality.” YouTube Link

Teresa Heartchild, Assume That I Can video, March 21, 2024

Madison Tevlin inspired Teresa’s true life video!

Madison’s video inspired us to create a video for Teresa Heartchild for World Down Syndrome Day that told Teresa’s story and how she upended assumptions in her own life!

“Ten years ago, people assumed my sister’s life at 49 was over. Teresa Heartchild fought back. 25,000 people signed her petition. Her supporters sent a public letter to the Ontario Minister of Health. Finally, the government apologized,” says Franke James. “Now Teresa is free. But thousands of others are getting put into nursing homes showing that what happened to Teresa is not a rare event. She represents the tip of an iceberg.”

Although, the old institutions have closed, the sad reality is that today there are thousands of young people with disabilities who are forced to live in nursing homes. This is a key civil rights issue for all people with disabilities—the right to decide where you live. As the UN Special Rapporteur Catalina Devandas-Aguilar said, “The deprivation of liberty on the basis of disability is a human rights violation on a massive global scale.”

Read the award-winning book Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me by Franke James, with Billiam James and Teresa Heartchild. It tells how low expectations almost closed the door on Teresa’s future.

Freeing Teresa audiobook cover in orange

Freeing Teresa is also available as an audiobook narrated by Jackie Blackmore. The full-cast includes Lauren Potter, Dayleigh Nelson, Cynthia Potvin, Bill Mackie, Paula Hoffmann, Rob Cottingham, Sidika Larbes, Geoff Sugiyama, Laurel Bailey, Divina Soriano-Leacock, Justin Smallbridge, and Roshni Kashyap.

2024 Awards for Freeing Teresa

WINNER of 4 HUMAN RELATIONS INDIE BOOK AWARDS, 2024
Gold Award: Family Challenges
Gold Award: Special Needs (Disability Rights)
Silver Award: Leadership
Silver Award: Inspirational

WINNER of 5 INTERNATIONAL FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS 2024 (2nd quarter): Winner, Judge’s Pick
1st place, Social/Political Change
1st place, Special Needs (Disability Rights)
2nd place, Leadership

2nd place, Inspiration

#WDSD2024 #WorldDownSyndromeDay #EndTheStereotypes #assumethatican #FreeingTeresa

Winner of Four Firebird Book Awards (and Judges’ Pick) on Speak Up Talk Radio!

July 27, 2024 by Franke James

“Freeing Teresa is all about the need to speak up, so I’m thrilled to have my true story win four Firebird Book Awards plus the Judge’s Pick,” said Franke James. Patricia Rullo is the brains behind the Firebird Awards. The awards programme has recognized many ground-breaking literary works and also benefits a charitable cause, homeless shelters in the USA.”

Firebird Award Certificate given to FREEING TERESA for the Judges Pick, 2nd quarter 2024; 1st place, Social/Political Change; 1st place, Special Needs; 2nd place, Leadership; 2nd place, Inspiration

“Teresa’s story is important because, as an adult with Down syndrome, she represents just one of many people with disabilities,” said Franke James, “While the old institutions have been closed, today there are thousands of young people with disabilities who are forced to live in nursing homes. Why is that? This is a key civil rights issue for all people with disabilities—the right to decide where you live.”

FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS HONOURED ‘FREEING TERESA:
Judges Pick, 2nd quarter 2024
1st place, Social/Political Change,
1st place, Special Needs (Disability Rights)
2nd place, Leadership
2nd place, Inspiration

Congrats Teresa Heartchild and Billiam James!

Update, August 29, 2024

Pat,

Thanks for your Firebird Awards! As the winning author of the Judges’ Pick Award (in Q2), the sponsor interviewed me today! Hooray! I had a great conversation with Dr. Audrey Tang [@draudreyt]. She covered a lot of territory, and we had such a warm chat about my book Freeing Teresa, the need for social change and fighting discrimination. Such a great opportunity! Thank you! (The show will air at the end of September.)

Franke

From the press release: Authors and publishers worldwide submitted their work to the International Firebird Book Awards. The panel of judges includes 27 individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Two judges from a select panel read and scored each entry. All judges commit to a set of standardized criteria that evaluate the quality of the writing and the production aspects. The judges only award the coveted Firebird to entries with the highest scores.

#bookawardwinner #awardwinningbooks #firebirdbookawards #firebirdbookaward #speakuptalkradio #downsyndrome #DisabilityRights #leadership #inclusion #memoir #siblings #caregiver

Winner of the 2024 Human Relations Indie Book Awards!

July 11, 2024 by Franke James

“Freeing Teresa describes a beautiful bond between sisters impacted by the challenges of understanding disability rights through adulthood.”
Susan Peterson, Founder, Human Relations Indie Book Awards

Gold Award: Disability Rights (Special Needs)
Gold Award: Family Challenges
Silver Award: Inspirational
Silver Award: Leadership

DISABILITY RIGHTS (SPECIAL NEEDS): GOLD WINNER

Human Relations Indie Book Awards

Franke James, the author of Freeing Teresa stands beside her sister Teresa Heartchild who has Down syndrome and is a contributor to Franke's book. Teresa is wearing pink glasses, a tie-dye shirt, a backwards ball cap and smiling. Franke is smiling and holding up the framed 2024 Gold award for Special Needs from the Human Relations Indie Book Awards. Franke is wearing a painterly pastel dress, matching scarf and straw hat. Photo by Billiam James.

GOLD, Disability Rights (Special Needs): Freeing Teresa : A True Story about My Sister and Me

Teresa Heartchild said, “I won GOLD in 2024! Freeing Teresa is all about me!”

Teresa Heartchild has shown remarkable resilience and courage in the face of adversity. She wanted to make her own decisions about where to live but lost that right with the tick of a box. Sadly, due to other people’s low expectations for her future, Teresa was put in a nursing home. Teresa had to fight to get her rights back.

Freeing Teresa and its sequel, Escape to Lotusland, tell Teresa’s remarkable journey. In 2016, the Ontario government apologized to Teresa. She published two art and poetry books in 2016 and 2018 and was named a Champion for Change for all people with disabilities in 2019.

FAMILY CHALLENGES: GOLD WINNER

Human Relations Indie Book Awards

GOLD, Family Challenges: Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me

“Winning the GOLD Award in Family Challenges is deeply meaningful to me. When the Freeing Teresa events started a decade ago, they ripped our family apart. My late parents had given me an unshakeable belief in Teresa’s right to be included, and that fueled my passion to help her. All my other siblings, except Teresa herself, wanted her in a long-term care institution. Despite my offers to have her live with me, Teresa was put in a nursing home a few days later. My Dad (then 91), my husband and me helped Teresa to get discharged. And she won her freedom back. She has brought love and joy into our lives and has become a BC Champion for Change for all people with disabilities. These awards recognize our roller coaster journey of heartbreak and triumph.”

INSPIRATIONAL: SILVER WINNER

Human Relations Indie Book Awards

SILVER, Inspirational: Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me

“Teresa inspired us to fight for her right to a full life,” said Billiam James. “And remarkably, Teresa transformed our lives and opened many new doors.”

LEADERSHIP: SILVER WINNER

Human Relations Indie Book Awards

SILVER, Leadership: Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me

“We have many laws which should protect the vulnerable, yet don’t. We need everyone to speak up about these injustices.

“Freeing Teresa has been the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” said Franke James, “I was lucky to have my partner, Bill, who believed as strongly as I did that helping Teresa was the right thing to do and would ultimately prove true.”

‘Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me’ by Franke James, Billiam James and Contributor Teresa Heartchild.

Available on Amazon, from bookstores, and in public libraries.