PARIS BOOK FESTIVAL NAMES “ALCHEMY’S DAUGHTER” FOR TOP HONORS

PARIS_The story of a 14th century teenager’s coming of age in Italy is the grand prize winner of the 2014 Paris Book Festival.

Santina Pietra is a 17-year-old in medieval San Gimignano, a time when daughters of merchants are expected to marry. But Santina cares only for Calandrino, a brilliant young scholar who is preoccupied with his ancient alchemical texts.

Soon Santina meets Trotula, the village midwife, who might or might not be a witch. Trotula challenges Santina to forget Calandrino and become the woman she is meant to be. The vivid tale and its colorful attention to the period stood out for its crisp writing.

Osborne and other authors and publishers that placed in the festival will be honored at private ceremonies on May 17 in San Francisco and May 27 in Paris.

Other winners of the competition:


GENERAL NON-FICTION

WINNER: Managing Overseas Operations – Gregory W. Engle/Tibor Nagy

RUNNER-UP: Life With My Father: Glen Campbell – Debby Campbell/Mark Bego

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Homeless Hero: Understanding the Soul of Home – Michael Tapscott
• The Ancient Chinese Super State of Primary Societies – You-Sheng Li
• That’s War – William Arthur Sirmon
• Four Quadrant Living – Dina Colman
• Cry the Darkness – Donna L. Friess
• Fibromyalgia and Other Painful Chronic Conditions – Dr. Jeffrey Loomer
• My Father’s Keep – Ed Abell
• There Are No Goodbyes – Gloria Mary Rodriguez
• Indo com o Fluxo – Elena Stowell
• Learning to Live with Fritz – Emily Rawlins
• That Summer in Normandy – Rosemary Rudland
• Justify Thin – Renae Da Grava
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job – Thomas B. Dowd

GENERAL FICTION

WINNER: The Oracle – Michael Sedge

RUNNER-UP: Dark Days for White Knights – Dick Jackson

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Recovery Room – Ann Ormsby
• The Iranian Scorpion – William Peace
• Hevia – Olga Barabola
• I Was a Pilot for the MOB – David Samuels
• Singing to the Lions – Robert A. Gisclair
• The Willow Tree – Elan Carson
• The Hour of Parade – Alan Bray
• The Castaway – Piero Rivolta
• To Sing Frogs – John M. Simmons
• Shattered Triangle – William Messenger
• Pressed Pennies – Steven Manchester
• The Bane of Yoto: 2nd Edition – Josh Viola
• Liquid Gold – Owen Sullivan
• Tarnished Hero – James W. Gilliam II
• Among the Veils – Bret Sweet
• The Day the Sun Cried – Lizbeth Novelliere
• The Plum Trees of Xiao Zhu – Gloria T. August
• The 2nd Lightning – Trustin Howard

E-BOOK

WINNER: The Girl from France – Laurent Boulanger

RUNNER-UP: The Power of Urgency – William Keiper

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Bridge Club – H.M. Edwards
• Armageddon: Osguards – Guardians of the Universe – Malcolm Petteway
• L'incroyable victoire des vaincus – R.K. Asani
• The Paris Secret – Angela Henry
• The Curse - John S. Marr/Andrew Komula

WILD CARD:

WINNER: The Undiscovered Goddess – Michelle Colston

RUNNER-UP: Lights Out – Melissa Groeling

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Mirror Mirror: A Collection of Memoirs and Stories – Stephanie Hart
• Flyland – Sir Charles Sirtup
• Murder in the Haunted House – Carol Lee Owen
• Adventure Inward – A Risk Taker’s Books of Quotes – Jonathan J. Wunrow
• Swanson at Sundown – Jack C. Ryan
• Rumble Yell – Brian David Bruns
• Descended from the Gods? – David Ritchey
• Rumble Yll – Brian David Bruns
• Strike at the Heart – First Mission – Lawrence W. Berrie
• Surveillance on the Down Low – W.M. Sanguine

COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES

WINNER: My Gutsy Story Anthology – Sonia Marsh

RUNNER-UP: Chiral Mad 2 – edited by Michael Bailey

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Wandering in Paris – edited by Joanna Biggar/Linda Watanabe McFerrin
• 40 Years of Poetry from Alice James Books – edited by Anne Marie Macari & Carey Salerno
• Blood Money – Scott Mastro
• Breadcrumbs for Beginners – Dr. Sherry L. Meinberg
• New Worlds: The 2013 New Worlds Anthology – Girls Right Now
• Hollywood or Bust – Movie Stars Dish… - Susan Marg

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

WINNER: It Only Takes One Friend – Robin Taylor-Chiarello

RUNNER-UP: How Dachshunds Came to Be: A Tall Tale About a Short Long Dog - Kizzie Elizabeth Jones

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Once Upon a Summer – Kymberly Miller Renkoski
• And I Thought About You – Rosanne L. Kurstedt
• Roy G. Biv is Mad at Me Because I Love Pink – Nancy Guettier
• Conversations with Mademoiselle ZoZo – Evelyn de Wolfe
• Thunder – Laura Toich
• Guardian of Dreams: A Bedtime Story – Wendy Torrel
• The Princess Fables – Marc Clark
• History’s A Mystery Once Again – Dell Brand
• Bucket Filling From A to Z – Carol McCloud and Caryn Butzke
• Beatrice Pigeon Goes to Mexico – Lisa Young
• The Little Firefly – Sheri Fink
• A Box of Fortune Cookies – Carmen J. Glatt
• Wally McBap Needs a Nap! - Andrea N. Arco-Mastromichalis
• The Adventures of Penny & Tubs - Marcie May/Margaret Zerhusen
• A Midnight Song – C.L. Peck
• Scamper – Lisa Young
• Joe The Fisherman, What Do The Grown-ups… - Mairi McLellan
• Superhero Tracker Club – Finity Frost
• Robot Rhymes – Karen Teel
• My Bonus Mom – Tami Butcher
• Max’s Midnight Swirl – Jane Brandi Johnson
• The First Birthday Party – K&K Johnson

YOUNG ADULT

WINNER: Alchemy’s Daughter – Mary A. Osborne

RUNNER-UP: Double A Blues – Patrick Rockenbach

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Fountain of Youth – Jon Maas
• Exit Point – A Hidden Secrets Novel - Alicia Sanftleben
• Motley – Seeing Stripes – Lisa Doherty
• Demons! Come Out! – Charlie Purcell
• Creepy Friends – Ronnie Stich
• Playing Tyler – T.L. Costa
• Return of the Dragons: Hidden Magic – Kenneth C. Kappelman
• Donor 23 – Cate Campbell Beatty
• Looking for Redfeather – Linda Collison
• You Are Here – edited by Keren Taylor
• Broken Glass – Tabitha Freeman
• Wizdom and Pandora – Krista Woodard

AUDIO BOOK

WINNER: Catch and Release – J.T. Twerell

COOKBOOKS

WINNER: The Butcher, The Baker, The Wine and Cheese Maker – Jennifer Schell

RUNNER-UP: Well Fed II: More Paleo Recipes for People… - Melissa Joulwan

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Lean & Luscious, 3rd Edition – Millie Snyder

SPIRITUAL

WINNER: Twelve Months – Steven Manchester

RUNNER-UP: Fishing with Faith – Gina DeVries

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• A Shot and a Prayer – Ryan Murphy
• The Antidote to Time: Lessons from the Dream – Peter David Wilder
• Interplay: An Artist’s Approach to Spirituality - Makram Abu-Shakra
• Ancient Wisdom, Modern Master – Lila Ivey
• Being the Miracle of Love – Hope Mauran
• Human Natures of Animal and Spiritual – Carroll Blair
• My Extraordinary Life – Monica Sucha Vickers
• Dorrance – Kevin Garrett
• Alter Your Reality – Sharmila Rao
• Unbound Intelligence: Discover the God Within – Rajeev Kurapati
• What Freedom Smells Like – Amy Lewis
• Manana Starts Today! Affirmations to Jumpstart Your…Sandra Elaine Scott

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY

WINNER: Double Happiness – Tony Brasunas

RUNNER-UP: Tales from the Zirzameen – Brian H. Appleton

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• An Amazingly Kind Universe – Peter David Wilder
• Shamshone: Sun of ASSYRIA – Brian H. Appleton
• Nikola Tesla My Worldview: Inventions, Ideas and Opinions – Berislav Brkovic
• A Woman of Interest – Cindy Zimmermann
• Deer Hunting in Paris – Paula Young Lee
• The Diary of a Passionate Francophile – Diane Myerson
• The Difference in Butterflies - Yung Yung Tsuai
• America's Got Talent Winner Landau Eugene Murphy… - Rick Robinson/Landau E. Murphy
• When Angels Die – Caroline de Chavigny
• Death at 40: The Memoir of a Struggling Christian – Cheryl A. Shaffer

PHOTOGRAPHY/ART

WINNER: Butterflies and All Things Sweet – Bonnae Gokson

RUNNER-UP: Paul Chesley, A Photographic Journey – Paul Chesley


BUSINESS

WINNER: Trends, Waves, Windows and Bubbles – Kenneth Thurber

RUNNER-UP: Compass: Creating Exceptional Organizations – William F. Brandt, Jr.


GENRE-BASED

WINNER: One Life, Many Lives – Piero Rivolta

RUNNER-UP: Executive Command – Gary Grossman

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Dance for a Dead Princess – Deborah Hawkins
• Dragon’s Orb – James Twerell
• Sixty Poems – Phoebe Lambert

MUSIC

WINNER: Jazz From Row Six: Photographs… - Jean Germain


POETRY

WINNER: Winter’s A Comin’ Still – Dr. Neal Hall

RUNNER-UP: L.A. al la Cart – Richard Asperger

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Amber Porch Light – Gina Ferrara
• Garland – Steve Smallwood
• Light – Souvankham Thammavongsa
• Sound Off: A Book of Jazz – Stephen Brett
• Mind Vapor – Karen Killen Alexander
• Parallel Sparrows – Diana Norma Szokolyai
• Take This Journey With Me – John Turner
• The Vast Unknowing – Nancy Shiffrin
• But By the Chance of War – Richard C. Lyons
• Until Tomorrow Comes – LaDonna Marie
• The Temple: Meditations on the Spiritual Life – Nicole Grace
• The Space Between – Anna Elkins
• Box of Blue Horses – Lisa Graley
• Postcards from Poland - Joseph Kuhn Carey

UNPUBLISHED

WINNER: Early Retirement – Steven Prowse

RUNNER-UP: Destiny’s Child – V.S. Kalah


ROMANCE

WINNER: A Silent Prayer – Samreen Ahsan


HOW-TO

WINNER: Sixty-Minute Seder - Cass Foster/Nellie Foster

RUNNER-UP: DUI: The Next Day – Melanie Beauchamp