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Shannon Hale reflects on her novel "Princess Academy" 20 years after its release.

Initially insecure about the book's reception, Hale was surprised by its Newbery Honor.

"Princess Academy" has sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 25 languages.

SALT LAKE CITY — When author Shannon Hale's third novel, "Princess Academy," was first published 20 years ago, she says she was "so insecure" about it.

She remembers attending a signing for the middle-grade novel at The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City not long after it was published, where she actively tried to dissuade would-be readers from buying the book.

"I said, '"The Goose Girl" is in paperback!'" Hale recently told the Deseret News, referring to her first published novel, which had been released onl

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