contract and a small four-figure book deal. Looking for Alaska was assigned to editor Julie Strauss-Gabel, which began their collaboration that has persisted through all of Green's books. In a 2015 interview with The New York Times, Green reflected, "In a publishing world that maybe doesn't have as many long-term relationships as it used to, she invested a lot of time in me before I ever earned a profit. I've never written a book without Julie. I wouldn't know how to do it." Looking for Alaska was published in March 2005. The novel is a coming-of-age school story and teen romance about a boarding school student who gets bullied, partially inspired by Green's experiences at Indian Springs, Alabama, fictionalized as Culver Creek Preparatory High School. The novel was well-received critically, but saw only modest sales at first. The novel was awarded the annual Michael L. Printz Award by the American Library Association (ALA), recognizing the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit." Receiving the award caused book sales to rapidly rise, with Green describing his reaction upon hearing he had won the award as, "probably the purest moment of joy I've experienced. Even when my children were born it wasn't as raw and surprising." It also appeared on the ALA's annual "Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults" and appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list seven years later during a surge in Green's popularity after the release of The Fault in Our Stars. Green left his job at Booklist after receiving the Printz Award. An Abundance of Katherines Green moved to the Upper West Side in New York City in 2005 while his then-fiancée Sarah Urist Green attended graduate school at Columbia University. He worked at Mental Floss magazine while he continued his second novel, having already finished a first draft while living in Chicago. He co-authored several Mental Floss gift books while there, including Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets, What's the Difference? and Scatterbrained. He also critiqued books for The New York Times Book Review. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was released in September 2006. Set in Chicago, the novel is about an extremely intelligent but depressed 17-year-old boy who is constantly dating (and being dumped by) girls named Katherine. Reviewers noted that the books tone was significantly more comedic and light than Looking for Alaska. It was runner-up for