Lori Degman Wins Cheerios New Author Contest

Posted on March 22, 2010

Lori Degman has won the second Cheerios new author contest. Lori Degman, a 52-year-old teacher for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, will have 2.2 million copies of her book, 1 Zany Zoo, featured in boxes of Cheerios cereal starting this month. A hardcover version of her book will be published this summer by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Degman also received a $5,000 cash prize and a publishing contract from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Now edited by Simon & Schuster and illustrated by Colin Jack, the book tells the story of a boy who sneaks into a zoo ahead of zoo hours, and the animal antics he sees inside.

"Even though I've seen the book every step of the way, I still got choked up when I saw the actual book," said Degman. "I got the call from Cheerios the day before Thanksgiving, and just over a year later - which I understand is very fast for publishing - it was real! And now, I'm going to be a published author! It's unbelievable, and I'm very grateful to the judges, to Cheerios and to Simon & Schuster."