Within just a few days, U.S. children's author Lauren Myracle has been a nominee, a non-nominee, a nominee again and, finally, a non-nominee for the National Book Award.

Myracle's Shine was on the original list of five finalists announced last Wednesday for the young people's literature category. But the National Book Foundation, which sponsors the prizes, asked her to withdraw over a "miscommunication" with the judges because her book had been confused with Franny Billingsley's Chime.

So Myracle was out. But within a couple of hours, the foundation changed its mind again and welcomed Shine back to make six nominees.

By Friday, two days later, the foundation had decided five nominees were best.

"I was over the moon last week after receiving the call telling me that Shine was a finalist for the award," Myracle said Monday in a statement issued through her publisher, Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams. "I was later informed that Shine had been included in error, but would remain on the list based on its merits. However, on Friday I was asked to withdraw by the National Book Foundation to preserve the integrity of the award and the judges' work, and I have agreed to do so."

The National Book Awards, among the U.S. most prestigious literary honours, also include categories for fiction, nonfiction and poetry, judged by separate panels of fellow authors. Winners will be announced Nov. 16.

In a statement released early Monday afternoon, the foundation said that it "regrets that an error was made in the original announcement of the finalists for the 2011 National Book Award in Young People's Literature and apologizes for any confusion and hurt it may have caused Lauren Myracle."