Mattie and the Machine, the debut novel by Lynn Ng Quezon, has been selected to receive the 2023 Grateful American Book Prize.

The Prize is awarded each year to high quality, 7th to 9th grade-level, historical fiction, and non-fiction, about the events and personalities that have shaped the United States since its founding.

Mattie and the Machine is a fictionalized yet historically accurate account of Margaret E. Knight’s fight to obtain recognition as a 19th century female inventor (she would eventually be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006). This entertaining tale is filled with romance, competition, and treachery, and features a feisty and brilliant female heroine who excels in STEM-related tasks.