WESTPORT – The Crate: A Story of War, a Murder, and Justice, a book by Trumbull resident Deborah Levison that weaves together a Holocaust narrative with a present-day true crime story, has won acclaim from the Connecticut Press Club.

The debut book took first place in the adult non-fiction category in the annual literary contest. Contest winners were announced at the Club’s recent awards night. Presided over by bestselling author Jane Green, the gala evening honored the state’s most accomplished journalists, writers, editors and other communications professionals.

“I’m honored by this recognition from the Connecticut Press Club,” said Levison. “This story is very near to my heart, and to have it resonate with this group of professional communicators is hugely meaningful to me.”

With its first-place award in Connecticut, The Crate went on to compete in the national competition of the National Federation of Press Women – of which the Connecticut Press Club is an affiliate and which includes male and female members from across the country. The Crate won second place in the non-fiction category in the national competition, bringing to seven the number of awards the book has earned to date.

Published by WildBlue Press (2018), The Crate tells the true story of a grisly murder and its aftermath. In 2010, Levison’s family found a wooden crate, nailed tightly shut and hidden underneath their cherished lake house in Canada. They weren’t prepared for its contents; it contained a woman’s butchered body. The discovery devastated Levison’s fragile parents: it dredged up their memories of past violence they experienced as Holocaust. The two timelines, past and present, converge in the story.