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May 14, 2007

"Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute; What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A 13-Year Old's Novel Achievement

Nancy Yi Fan, now an eighth-grader, was too young to know she was breaking every rule in the book when she e-mailed her first manuscript directly to the president and CEO of HarperCollins. "I was being quite bold thinking I had nothing to lose," says Nancy. "I thought, maybe she will give me some advice." Instead, CEO Jane Friedman, gave her a contract, passing Fan's allegorical story about warring avian factions and their quest for peace to her children's division, which published 'Swordbird' this spring. Her story would be amazing for any teen but has another remarkable twist: Fan came to the United States from China just six years ago, knowing only a few words of English. She says "Miss Goodwin," her first English-as-a-Second-Language teacher, "lit the spark of literature in my heart."