This genre-bending picture book by Michelle J. Choi earns one of the top honors in the Annual Reader Views Literary Awards program.
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, March 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Reader Views announces “Gone to Where” by Michelle J. Choi as one of the overall grand prize winners in fiction. Choi’s striking picture book takes home the bronze award, an award honored with a cash prize and special marketing promotions.
In “Gone to Where” a young girl gets hold of her father’s experimental eraser and starts wiping the world into blankness, leaving millions of children missing and parents plunging into an abyss to find them. As the girl hides in the sky, her father searches for her, wishing he had never created the tool that erased everything.
Susan Violante, managing editor of Reader Views, says of the story, “This picture book triggered emotions that stayed with me long after I finished reading. The expressions on the children’s faces linger, and the illustrations are so captivating you find yourself staring, thinking, and absorbing every line and tone. The words and graphics create an experience that is hard to forget.”
Michelle J. Choi, author and illustrator of “Gone to Where,” shares the intention behind the book: When I wrote Gone to Where, I intentionally made the story abstract to create moments that felt lived-in, like memories. In doing so, part of the story belongs to the reader. At its heart, it is a story about acceptance and the quiet way pain ripples from our lives into our communities. I thank everyone who steps into this world and makes it their own.
“Gone to Where” (ISBN: 978-1952322174, Lumiere Picturebook LLC (2025)) is available at the Lumiere Picture Book online store.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Choi is a Korean American storyteller and artist based in Los Angeles whose work stems from observations within her community. Creating picture books since the age of 10, she began writing Gone to Where when she was 15 years old. It was through this process that she found a question she still carries with her today: “What kind of world do I want to exist in?” Choi continues to create stories where people, art, and language meet. She hopes to one day bring these ideas into education to help build a more understanding and interconnected world.
Michelle is the author and illustrator of Gone to Where, published by Lumiere Picturebook LLC. Her artwork for the book was created using watercolor paint, colored pencils, and graphite pencil, giving the story its distinctive, dreamlike look.
Lumiere Picturebook, LLC is based in La Crescenta, California.
Learn more and connect with Michelle J. Choi at www.lumierepicturebook.com/
ABOUT THE AWARDS PROGRAM
Founded in 2005, the Reader Views Literary Awards honor excellence in independent publishing. Our program recognizes authors who self-publish or publish through small presses, hybrids, or university presses. Today, the awards operate in two seasonal tracks for Fiction and Non-Fiction, spotlighting impactful indie books across all genres and topics, and celebrating both new and established voices within the literary community. Top honors include cash prizes totaling $3,000. Learn more at http://www.readerviews.com/.
Sheri Hoyte
Reader Views
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