2018 Hollywood Book Festival Honors “Amsterdam Exposed” As Top Book

HOLLYWOOD_The true story of an innocent exchange student and his experiences in Amsterdam is the grand prize winner of the 2018 Hollywood Book Festival, which celebrates books that deserve greater recognition from the film, television, game and multimedia communities.

Author David Wienir’s Amsterdam Exposed: An American’s Journey Into The Red Light District (De Wallen Press) is an American abroad story, and also a love story; it's an uplifting tragedy, full of humor from beginning to end; it's an Amsterdam survival guide; a sympathetic look at a societal problem; a little piece of policy; a sweet farewell to a world just about gone; and, ultimately, as close as you can come to a free trip to Amsterdam without leaving your couch.

If you've ever spent time in Amsterdam, or dreamed of doing so, Amsterdam Exposed will peel back the city’s layers.

Wienir and other winners, runner-ups and honorable mentions will be honored at a private dinner in Hollywood in August.

Other winners in the competition:

GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: Children of a Northern Kingdom – Elaine Stienon

RUNNER-UP: Tasman-An Innocent Convict's Struggle for Freedom – Paddy Eger

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures Volume 1 – Louis L’Amour & Beau L’Amour
• High Desert High – Steve Schindler
• Wake Not The Hangman – Deborah Leigh
• Three Shoeboxes – Steven Manchester
• A Lover’s Triage – “If wishes were fishes…- John August
• Shari’s Secret – Patricia Striar Rohner
• The Endless Mile – Andrew C. F. Horlick
• Remember Me – M. A. Florence
• Tiny Tim and The Ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge- The Sequel to A Christmas Carol – Norman Whaler
• The Anderson Girls – Penelope Dyan
• American Pathfinder – Frank B. Mitchell Jr.
• The Anderson Girls – Penelope Dyan
• Baldr and Beatrice – Mark Seinfelt
• 3 Women, 4 Towns, 5 Bodies – Townsend Walker
• Clouded Judgement – T. Benal Smith
• VanOps: The Lost Power – Avanit Centrae
• His Name Was John – Cissy Hassell
• Her Viking Heart – Heidi Herman
• Beyond The Cabin - Dana Ridenour
• A Line Intersected – David Grant Urban
• Kumpel – Bob Guess
• Clutch – Lisa Becker
• The Silence of Motherhood – Victoria Jones M.D.
• Billy Gogan - American – Roger Higgins
• Black Hearts White Minds – Mitch Margo
• The Winter Spider – Doc Krinberg
• Burn Up: The Secrets of Mylin – Book II – Joe Klinger
• Angel City Singles – Ralph Cissne
• The Fourteenth of September – Rita Dragonette
• Runway Dreams: A Black & White Affair – T. K. Ambers
• Minor Key Dub – Emcee Kinley
• Voiceless Whispers – Jane Frances Ruby
• The Incomplete – Vaibhav Kolhe
• La Ronde – Townsend Walker

GENERAL NON-FICTION:

WINNER: You Can’t Buy Love Like That: Growing Up Gay in the Sixties – Carol E. Anderson

RUNNER-UP: Proud to be a Marine: Stories of Strength and Courage From the Few and the Proud - C. Brian Kelly with Ingrid Smyer

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The End of a Great Flea Market - The History of the San Jose Flea Market - Audry L. Lynch
• Role Reversal: How To Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents – Iris Waichler
• Lewy, Mom, and Me. – Peggy Bushy
• The Hidden Affair – Dorothy Denise Hayes
• Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life – Diana Raab
• Paralyzed: Finding Love and Happiness After My spinal Cord Injury – Kevin C. Smith & M. A.
• Bridge To Joy Is Reachable - Hasnaa Elnagdy
• Bettering the World – Gregg K. Jann

HOW-TO:

WINNER: Gracie’s Guide to Prevention of Suicide – Angie Wilson, Illustrated by Ashley Teets

YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: The Deception – Lauren Hudson

RUNNER-UP: The Whizbang Machine, Tunney’s Curse – Danielle Vann

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Parauauts – Logan Stark
• The Stronghold – Sebastian Bendix
• The Shoeshine of Kabul – Zahra Omar Shansab
• Scooter Girl – Darielle Mac
• Death by the River – Alexandrea Weis & Lucas Astor
• Gaia’s Prophecy – Isabel de Navasqüés
• Alfred the Boy Who Would be King- Ron Smorynski

SEQUELS:

WINNER: Impending Fate – William Messenger

WILD CARD:

WINNER: Vulture Bend – Don Stansberry

RUNNER-UP: Taste of Texas – Corbin Blackford

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Blackwell: Prequel to the Magnus Blackwell Series – Alexandrea Weis & Lucas Astor
• The Order of the Red Dragon – Djanth-Thoth
• Theories of Decay – Jane Frances Ruby
• Testimony of A Trophy Model-the Ugly Truth behind the Beauty – Angela Bowie
• The King Slayer - Robert K. Hatch

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

WINNER: 1 Lions and Tigers and Terrorists, Oh My!....- Carole Lieberman MD

RUNNER-UP: 2 Dilby R. Dixon’s The Dilbonary – Tony J. Perri

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Buckets, Dippers & Lids: Secrets To Your Happiness - Carol McCloud
• 7th Grade Revolution – Linda Gardner
• Bara Seal and Emily Too – Tom Beal
• The Twin Dolphin’s Adventure – V.A. Boeholt
• Not Me, It’s a Trap! – Charles Forest Burton
• One Chance – Sarah Frank
• Hurricane: Jamar’s Story - Lynn Salsi and Joe Campbell, Illustrated by Ashley Teets
• Hopping to America: A Rabbit’s Tale of La Befana – Diana Pishner Walker
• Figley’s Little White Lie – Suzanne Cotsakos & Ryan McCulloch
• What the Frog Saw – Tom Santoro
• Colors of the World: Adventures – Heather Wenonah Ellis
• The Journal of Angela Ashby - Liana Gardner
• Birth of an Angel - Petra Malinova

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR:

WINNER: Amsterdam Exposed: An American’s Journey Into The Red Light District – David Wienir

RUNNER-UP: Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds, Princess Leia and Unsinkable Tammy in Hell – Darwin Porter & Danforth Prince

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Lucky From Virgin, An Unlikely Story – Lucky Severson
• Grandma's Secret Blessings, A Memoir with a Twist - JohnEgreek
• Lost in the Reflecting Pool: a Memoir – Diane Pomerantz
• The Girl Behind the German Wall – Antje Arnold
• The Girl Behind The Wall - Antje Arnold

SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS

WINNER: 1 Holy Rover: Journeys in Search of Mystery, Miracles, and God- Lori Erickson

RUNNER-UP: Questions-Directions to Who You Are – Tim W. Turner

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Transitioning from Zero Sum to Win Win Thinking – Scott Friedman
• Tiny Tim and The Ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge- The sequel to A Christmas Carol – Norman Whaler
• The Hidden Affair – Dorothy Denise Hayes
• The First Darkness - Mitchell Gibson

UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS:

WINNER: Prometheus – Norman Brown

RUNNER-UP: Jaclyn and the Beanstalk – Mary Ting

BUSINESS:

WINNER: Entrepreneurship at the Bottom of the Barrel – Marcello Tonelli

RUNNER-UP: How I Bought 3 London Properties For A Football Ticket – Laurence Lameche

SCIENCE FICTION:

WINNER: Children of the Fifth Sun: Echelon – Gareth Worthington

RUNNER-UP: ISAN (International Sensory Assassin Network) – Mary Ting

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Middle Man - Gregory A. Kompes
• Pollen and the Ring of Harmony – Francis T. Perry Williams

GENRE-BASED:

WINNER: Looking Glass Friends - E.L. Neve

RUNNER-UP: 2 Two Days at the Asylum – Frederick S. Walborn

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Something About the House – Jane Harvey Meade
• Next Therapist Please – Laurie Finkelstein

COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES

WINNER: Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures Volume 1 – Louis L’Amour & Beau L’Amour

RUNNER-UP: Sound Generation: The Resonant Voices of Teen Girls - edited by Keren Taylor