PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – A Portland, Maine, author has won a National Book Award for his book about a civil rights pioneer whose refusal to give up her seat on an Alabama bus to a white woman helped set the stage for desegregation of public transportation in the South.

Phillip Hoose won the young people’s literature award for “Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.” The 60th annual National Book Awards were held Wednesday night in New York.

Hoose’s book is based on the true story of Claudette Colvin, who as a 15-year-old schoolgirl was dragged off a bus in Montgomery, Ala., for refusing to give up her bus seat months before a similar incident made Rosa Parks a symbol of defiance.

Colvin joined Hoose on stage as he accepted the award.