2009 LOS ANGELES BOOK FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED
2/7/2010
LOS ANGELES (February 7, 2010) _ The debut novel of two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Liz Balmaseda, "Sweet Mary," is the grand prize winner of the 2009 Los Angeles Book Festival, which honors the best of world publishing.
In the novel, Dulca Maria “Mary” Guevara is a woman with nothing left to lose. Wrongly accused of being a cocaine queen, she as lost her job, her reputation and custody of her son. Desperate to get it all back, she turns to her ex-fiance, a man whose drug connections once ended their relationship.
The novel’s rich voice and surprising twists mark a fine debut from a writer to watch, winning her the festival’s grand prize.
The competition’s independent publisher of the year award goes to Sirius Entertainment, whose fine marketing of its “Deathreats: The Life and Times of a Comic Book Rock Star/Drew Hayes” is an evocative tribute to an undiscovered artist.
The competition will honor its competitors in a ceremony at the Roosevelt Hotel on February 25.
Other winners in the competition:
HOW-TO:
WINNER: The Leadership Integrity Challenge – Ed Morler
HONORABLE MENTION:
Slob Proof! - Debbie Wiener
Renting With Rex – Jackie Phillips
SPIRITUAL:
WINNER: Brain Drain – Dr. Charles Glassman
HONORABLE MENTION:
How Big Is Your But? – James Robinson
The Passion of Maryam – Loren Woodson
Who Stole My Soul? - Vishwa Prakash
What is Love? - James Robinson
BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
WINNER: Deathreats: The Life and Times of a Comic Book Rock Star/Drew Hayes – edited by Mark C. Bellis
HONORABLE MENTION:
The Nat Turner Insurrection Trials - Walter Gordon
If You Fall Down, Pick Yourself Up LIke A Lady - Donalie Scherer
Beyond the Cold – Michael Kleiner
POETRY:
WINNER: Voyeur - Rich Murphy
HONORABLE MENTION:
Wonders – Kevin Hollingsworth
CHILDREN’S
WINNER: Perry the Playful Polar Bear – Olive O’Brien
HONORABLE MENTION:
The Legend of Barknight – The McConnell Family
Curio a Shetland Sheepdog Meets The Cat – Jeanette A Griver/Phyllis L. Milway
I Choose – Suzin Carr
Herman the Jester and the ABC’s of Art – Rafael Filion
FICTION:
WINNER: Sweet Mary: A Novel – Liz Balmaseda
HONORABLE MENTION:
Criminal – Stan Lerner
The Channel – Stories From LA – Susan A. Jardine
Our Hart – Lloyd Lofthouse
Along the Fortune Trail – Harvey Goodman
An Unfinished House – K. Patrick Malone
Deadly Exchange – Geoffrey Gluckman
NON-FICTION:
WINNER: Silhouette – Bold Lines and Voices from WriteGirl – edited by Keren Taylor
HONORABLE MENTION:
The Difference Between A Boy and a Man – Amy Modica Myers
The Wisdom of Leadership – Per Winblad
Working With Angels – Carol May
COOKBOOKS:
WINNER: 400 Sensational Cookies – Linda Amendt
HONORABLE MENTION:
Down Home Delicious – Robert Sholly
Marshes to Mansions – The Junior League
SCIENCE FICTION
WINNER: Daywalker – Rebecca Rock
TEENAGE:
WINNER: 187 iz an Art – Richard L. Brown/Mikal El-Amin
HONORABLE MENTION:
Lessons from the Gypsy Camp – Elizabeth Appell
The Attitude Girl – Mila Bernadkin
MYSTERY:
WINNER: Kwatee – R. Allen Downey
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