Lella Menged is proud to announce that The Battle of Adwa by Alem Aweke Embiale has received the Bronze Medal in the 2026 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards) in the Multicultural Non-Fiction – Juvenile/Young Adult category.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the IPPY Awards recognize excellence in independent publishing and this year featured entries from 50+ countries, honoring outstanding books from around the world.

This award helps bring the inspiring story of the Battle of Adwa to a global audience and supports our mission of making underrepresented stories from history accessible to young readers. We hope this recognition encourages more schools, libraries, and families to include The Battle of Adwa in their collections.

View the official list of 2026 IPPY Award winners:

https://ippyawards.com/blog/2026-medalists

July 16, 2026

The Adwa 130 U.S. Tour came to a successful close in Seattle with a memorable event featuring a movie screening, book signing, and author interview. Families and children gathered to celebrate the final stop of a powerful journey of history and storytelling.

A Seattle young interviewer, Dia, led a thoughtful conversation with the author, asking what inspired him to write children’s books and what advice he had for kids and parents. The engaging discussion, combined with the film and book signing, made for a truly special experience.

The Seattle finale marked a meaningful end to the tour, leaving attendees inspired and uplifted.

March 20, 2026

The Adwa 130 U.S. Tour made its third stop in Detroit, Michigan, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, drawing an engaged audience of families and community members. The event continued its mission of bringing the powerful story of the historic victory at Adwa to life for younger generations.

Alem, one of the featured speakers, delivered a compelling speech highlighting that Adwa is not only a significant global symbol of the fight for freedom, but also a source of timeless values for children. He emphasized lessons such as the role of women in leadership, the importance of humanity and kindness, and the value of every discipline and skill in achieving a shared goal.

The Detroit stop further reinforced the tour’s impact, blending history with meaningful life lessons that resonated with both children and adults alike.

March 7, 2026

The Adwa 130 U.S. Tour continued its journey with a powerful stop in Virginia, where hundreds of attendees gathered to celebrate and learn. Families and children filled the venue, engaging with the inspiring story of the historic victory at Adwa.

The event sparked pride and excitement among young audiences, while parents praised its ability to bring history to life in a meaningful way. The strong turnout in Virginia highlighted the growing impact of the tour across communities.

February 28, 2026

The Adwa 130 U.S. Tour kicked off in Atlanta with an inspiring and well-attended opening event. Families and children gathered to experience the story of the historic victory at Adwa, brought to life in an engaging way.

Young audiences left feeling inspired by the courage and unity behind the victory, while parents appreciated the meaningful and educational experience. Atlanta set a strong tone for the rest of the tour.

February 20, 2026

We’re excited to celebrate a major milestone! The Battle of Adwa children’s book has climbed to #2 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases and #7 on Amazon’s Best Sellers list in the Children’s African History category. This recognition reflects the growing enthusiasm for stories that celebrate African pride, history, and resilience. We’re grateful to all the readers, parents, educators, and supporters who are helping bring the story of Adwa—and its message of courage and unity—to children everywhere.

November 4, 2025

We’re thrilled to share that our Adwa book launch was recently featured by a leading diaspora media outlet, Zehabesha, highlighting the powerful story behind The Battle of Adwa children’s book and its accompanying animated film. The coverage captured the excitement of the launch event, the community’s pride, and the mission to inspire young readers with Ethiopia’s historic victory and legacy of unity. We’re deeply grateful for the thoughtful reporting and for helping share this story with audiences around the world.

November 1, 2025

The Battle of Adwa children’s book and its accompanying animated film were officially launched on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at B&B Theatres Wylie 12. The event drew an impressive turnout of nearly 200 attendees, with some guests even turned away due to the venue reaching full capacity. The celebration brought together community leaders, local businesses, and members of the wider Ethiopian community for an inspiring and memorable occasion. Click the link for a short video.

October 25, 2025

We’re thrilled to announce the upcoming release of The Battle of Adwa, a beautifully illustrated children’s book that brings one of Africa’s most inspiring true stories to life. Young readers will journey through history with Emperor Menelik II, Empress Taytu, and the brave people of Ethiopia as they unite to protect their homeland. The Battle of Adwa will be officially released in October 2025 and will be available on our website, Amazon.com, and other major online bookstores. Don’t miss the chance to share this powerful story of courage, unity, and victory with the young readers in your life!

June 16, 2025

The Bikila Award was given to outstanding Ethiopians who made significant contributions to both the Ethiopian community and the global community, at a ceremony in Toronto Canada. Some of the notable recipients of this award included Hon. Ketema Yifru, Ato Girma Wake, Eng. Fesseha Atlaw, Rebecca Haile, Dr. Birhanu Bulcha, Ato Liben Mekonnen, and the comedian Eshetu Melese.

During the event, we had the opportunity to present our project and our books.

September 23, 2023

We had an opportunity to be part of a two days event at the 18th Ethiopian Day in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The kids learned about Abebe Bikila’s life and his success story against all odds. We gave out Prof. Aklilu Lemma’s children’s picture books to the kids, which was terrific!

September 5, 2023

An Amharic video book of Professor Aklilu Lemma’s story was launched on May 2, 2023. Making our books available in Ethiopia has become very challenging given the rise in print and distribution costs. One way to reach kids around the country is through video books that are available freely online. We hope that schools would find these videos helpful to supplement their curriculums. This video is our second work following Abebe Bikila’s video book on our YouTube Channel.

May 2, 2023

Village Oaks Elementary School at Novi, MI held an event showing a video book of Abebe Bikila. All students across the school watched the video and learned about setting and achieving goals.

February 15, 2023

Alem had an interview with the Amharic Service of the Voice of America, where he shared his vision and upcoming projects. You can follow the link below to listen to the interview.

January 10, 2023

The first-of-its-kind video book was launched on YouTube to reach more children, as book distribution in Ethiopia is challenging. The video book narrates the story of Abebe Bikila in a way that engages children with colorful illustrations from the book.

January 1, 2023

The books we donated to Abrehot Library Amharic and English Hardback books about Abebe Bikila, are now available in the library.

December 2022

Our second children’s picture book is scheduled to be released by December. The book is about Professor Aklilu Lemma, a pathobiologist who found a cure for schistosomiasis. Professor Akliku Lemma had three patents, five books and sixty scientific papers to his name.

November 2022

Zehabesha News Media covered the book launch on their news. Henok Degefu, CEO of Zehabesha News Media interviewed Alem about Abebe Bikila’s book release and the other books that would be published soon.

September 17, 2022

Abebe Bikila’s children’s picture book was officially launched on September 10, 2022 - the day Abebe won the Rome Olympics in 1960, running barefoot. We had a chance to read Abebe’s story to kids that gathered at an Ethiopian community event in Michigan, USA.

September 12, 2022

Abrehot Library is a public library in Addis Ababa. It was officially opened in January 2022 in a ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Built at a cost of over 1.1 billon Birr, and at a size of 200,000 square feet, it is the largest library in Ethiopia that could accommodate more than 2,000 users at a time.

Lella Menged LLC is donating six hardcover Amharic and English books to the library in September 2022.

August 28, 2022

The children’s book titled ‘Abebe Bikila, The Barefoot Runner,’ will be available in August 2022 on Amazon and book stores worldwide in paperback and hardback. It will also be available in audio on Amazon Audible following the release.

MAY 15, 2022