UPDATE, Feb. 10, 2013: Singer-songwriter Janis Ian wins
First Lady Michelle Obama has been nominated for a Grammy award in the Best Spoken Word Album category for the audio edition of her book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America. Published last May, the lavishly photographed book is Mrs. Obama's debut as an author, part White House memoir and part national call to action for the Let's Move! campaign. It includes recipes from the White House chefs and gardening tips, and spotlights food access projects around the nation.
"This nomination is such an honor not just for me, but for everybody who contributed to the garden and the audio book, from the National Park Service employees to our White House chefs to our beekeeper," Mrs. Obama told People about her nod.
Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass, Executive Chef Cris Comerford, Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses, beekeeper Charlie Brandts, and Supervisory Horticulturalist Jim Adams have all devoted themselves to the Kitchen Garden, and wrote sections of American Grown. The 1,500-square-foot garden is maintained by National Park Service staff.
The First Lady said she hopes the Grammy nod will continue to spotlight Let's Move!, and keep "the conversation going about how we can all work together to ensure a healthy future for all our nation's children." She will be in the midst of celebrating the third anniversary of her childhood obesity campaign when the 55th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony takes place on Feb. 10th in Los Angeles.
No word yet on whether Mrs. Obama will attend the star-studded event--last year's Let's Move! anniversary was marked with a three-day, multi-state tour--but Grammy wins run in the family. President Obama won one each in the same category for his books Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope. UPDATE, Feb. 7, 2013: The First Lady will not attend the ceremony
Mrs. Obama will be competing against one of her husband's most high-profile fundraisers for the music industry's biggest prize: Former President Bill Clinton also got nominated for his fourth book, Back To Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy.
Mrs. Obama is also pitted against Ellen DeGeneres, whom she famously demolished in a push-up contest earlier this year. DeGeneres was tapped for Seriously...I'm Kidding. Other nominees are singer Janis Ian for Society's Child: My Autobiography and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow for Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power.
The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS on Feb. 10th, 2013.
*Book jacket photo courtesy of Crown publishing, Inc., a division of Random House.
