enlarge The Associated Press

Phillip Hoose addresses the National Book Awards Wednesday with Claudette Colvin, the subject of his book. He felt “a wallop in my heart” when his name was called.

When Phillip Hoose of Portland won a National Book Award on Wednesday night, he chose to share the spotlight with the subject of his work.

Hoose won the prestigious award for his book "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice."

It's the true story of Colvin, an African-American who was 15 when she was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white woman in Alabama in 1955, nine months before a more celebrated but similar incident involving Rosa Parks.

Hoose invited Colvin to join him in New York City on Wednesday night for the awards dinner.

Before the announcement in his category – young people's literature – Hoose said he asked Colvin if she would share the stage with him if he happened to win. She said she would.

"I was holding on to Claudette's hand, and holding on to (his wife's) hand, and when I heard my name called there was a wallop in my heart," said Hoose, 62, speaking from New York City on Thursday.

"I turned to Claudette and said, 'Let's go, but let's take our time, we have all the time in the world.' "

Hoose said he was thrilled to win the award, which comes with a $10,000 prize and is certain to draw more attention to future books.

He said the thrill was enhanced by the fact that Colvin, 70, got to stand up on stage and be recognized for a courageous and historic act that had gone largely unnoticed until Hoose wrote about it.

"The place was rocking with applause, especially when they realized that here was this person who did the things in the book. Here was living history," said Hoose.

Hoose tried for four years to get Colvin to talk to him for a possible book, he said, but he was turned down several times.

He said he had read about her case in bits and pieces over the years, mostly about how civil rights leaders at the time felt she wasn't the "right" person to be used as the impetus for a large bus boycott, as Rosa Parks would later be.

But all the accounts that Hoose read were from others' points of views. He wanted Colvin's.

Going into Wednesday night, Hoose was one of 20 finalists for awards in the four National Book Award categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and young people's literature.

He was nominated in the same category in 2001 for "We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History," but did not win.

More than 1,100 books were submitted by publishers for consideration for this year's awards. The awards were created in 1950.

Hoose has written nine books, for children and adults, about sports, history and wildlife. His others include "The Race to Save the Lord God Bird," "It’s Our World Too!"