PARIS BOOK FESTIVAL NAMES INTRIGUING NOVEL ‘BEING HUMAN. HUMAN BEING’ FOR TOP HONORS


PARIS_ A novel that depicts an alien’s dating relationship with an earthling is the top book of the 2025 Paris Book Festival, which honors the best of international publishing.

Author Paul Black’s Being Human. Human Being. (Novel Instincts) is the story of a developer who signs up for online dating, and gets more than he bargained for.

After several torturous experiences, he reluctantly meets Toni Anne Morgan. Her adorable and quirky beauty ignites something he thought had died along with his wife, but she quickly proves herself more than just a pretty face. Much more.

Cameron Harrison's comfortable life is about to be torn apart. Toni is not what she seems; in fact, nothing is what it seems. A dark and dangerous secret looms behind her beautiful blue eyes, and Cameron's dream date is about to lead him into the center of a plot-twisting nightmare that will change everything mankind holds dear.

The novel’s intriguing premise and its well-written action make it well worthy of top honors.

Other winners in the competition:

GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: Being Human. Human Being. - Paul Black

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Doctor, the Witch and the Rose Stone - Joanne Coyle
  • The Third Act of Theo Gruene -Talya Tate Boerner
  • The Dung Beetles of Liberia - Daniel V. Meier Jr.
  • The Fateful Voyage of the Empress of Ireland - Cheryl Roberts Gale
  • The Picasso Job - Avanti Centrae
  • Ancestor - Matt Ozanich


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • La Mentira de Alejandro - Bob Van Laerhoven
  • The Mystery From Way When - Carolyn Summer Quinn
  • Legend of the Ishkadees - Richard Polak
  • Cogitatio: Shadows in the Wind - Book Two - McKinley Aspen
  • Keeper of the Fallen Ages - Clifton Wilcox
  • The Black Widow - Michael Hanson
  • Charlotte Salomon Paints Her Life - Pamela Reitman
  • Crash and Fred - Chase Fiore
  • Little Bird - Barbara Viniar
  • Masa Chronicles - The Copper Scroll - Nicholas Teeguarden
  • Sky Thunder - Charles A. Stewart
  • Descending Thirds - Nicole Conn
  • The Monuments Must Bleed - Clifton Wilcox
  • The Final Comeuppance - Carolyn Summer Quinn
  • Asayi - Sharon Curcio
  • Wrecked by You - Kate Sweden
  • Missing, A Modern Art Masterpiece in a French Medieval Village - Roberta Samuels
  • Attacking the Dragon - A. Marc Ross
  • Vanished, A Valuable African Statue Stolen in Southwest France - Roberta Samuels
  • The Secret Rise, Book - Judith Briles and Brian Barnes
  • A Life Saving Bullet - Krista Beggan
  • I Forgave You - Natia Khaduri
  • Shilpa’s Blue Crayon - Crystal Charlotte CC Lane
  • Conversations with My Mother - Ron Gilbert
  • Abbot Lane - Jim Layeux
  • Born Posthumous - Fish Nealman
  • Easy to Slip - Cal Hoffman
  • Richard: A Dragon’s Destiny - Michael W. Hickman
  • A Dialogue Without Words - Alex Amirian


PHOTOGRAPHY/ART:

WINNER: Mythic Adventures - Ayn Cates Sullivan

RUNNER-UP:

  • The Other Worldly Deep - Charles Rawlings


MEMOIR:

WINNER: My Family and “Them Languages” - Aline P’nina Tayar

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Rough Magic - Miranda Newman
  • The Tennis Champion Who Escaped the Nazis - Felice Hardy
  • French Lessons - Roberta Samuels
  • Hiding in Plain Sight - I.M. Enough


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Easy to Slip - Cal Hoffman
  • One Man’s Journey - Donald T. Hardison II
  • From Nightmare to New Beginnings - Juliette Kalokoh
  • Celine’s Life - Celine Ong
  •  …And Then I Would Fly - Damien Thompson


POETRY:

WINNER: Thunderstroke - Terence Ang

RUNNERS-UP:

  • American Mobile - E.M. Schorb
  • A History of Echoes - Poems - Rod Carlos Rodriguez
  • 65 Sonnets - Paul Buchheit
  • Drifter - Douglas Cole
  • Exits -Stephen C. Pollock



BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

WINNER: Wonders of the West - Stephen G. Yanoff

RUNNER-UP: The Undiscovered Showman - Wayne Olivieri

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • Seeing Eye Girl - Beverly J. Armento


ROMANCE:

WINNER: Living on a Prayer - Katrina Alexander


GENERAL NONFICTION:

WINNER: End of Tour - Pete Thron

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Before Their Crimes - Dr. Wendy Smith
  • The Masterpiece of Nature - Rabei Wazzeh
  • Restoring Our Sanity Online - Mark Weinstein
  • American Kings - Seth Wickersham
  • Listen to Your Animals - Karen Wickerson


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Seeds of Leadership - Will Lukang
  • It’s Okay Not To Be Fabulous Every Day - Ally Dalsimer
  • Expositions and World’s Fairs - In the Beginning - Bob McGlincy
  • Unpacking the Attic - Ann Mracek
  • The Art of Thinking Critically with Clarity for Optimal Health - Jerome Puryear
  • South Node Shaman - Shaman Melodie McBride
  • Yesterday Was Not So Long Ago - Ruth Benario
  • Hardy’s Heroes, Book Two- Rick A.Shockey



CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: Just As It Is!/!Tal Cual Como Es! - Janice Kenyatta

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Into the Misty Forest - Zak Karamally
  • Porsche The Frog Adventures: Porsche Goes Hiking - Faisal Mirza
  • Seasons Change and So Do I - Carol Vigoda-Fuchs
  • Lawrence Likes to Dance - Don Stansberry
  • Voyage au bord du Monde - S.J. Barratt


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Cottonwood Adventures - New Beginnings - Jacqueline Graham
  • The Underground Hounds - Doreen Pullo-Fleisch
  • Not Everyone Walks the Stage - Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
  • Sydney, Bean and the Missing Gloves - Janice E. Collins
  • Allan Learns to Talk - Sharon Wright Austin
  •  Look Up at the Moon - Dr. Karen Phillips



UNPUBLISHED STORIES:

WINNER: The Chinese Room - The Paradox Series - C.V. Wooster


COOKBOOKS:

WINNER: Herbal Teas - Bette K. Angle


COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES:

WINNER: River of Dolls and Other Stories - Suzanne Kamata

RUNNER-UP: Gravity Flow, The Jimmy Whistler Stories - E.M. Schorb

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • AmeriCANS Who Made America ‐ 19th Century: Growth, Division, and Reunification - Richard V. Battle



SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS:

WINNER: Divine Witnesses - Steven Manchester

RUNNER-UP: Dinner at God’s House - Todd Lieman

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Spirit Guides and Angels: Death and Taxes - Wayne Cesaro
  • Cancer, Faith, God’s Miracle - Ray Scott
  • The Cosmic Caretaker - Ang Anderson



YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: Seaside Magic and The Lost Amulet - Vianlix-Christine Schneider

RUNNER-UPS:


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • That’s My Sister - Adrianna Pakes
  • Beyond Superhero School - Gracie Dix


WILD CARD:

WINNER: Before Their Crimes - Dr. Wendy Smith

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Doctor, the Witch and the Rose Stone - Joanne Coyle
  • Chloroform Wars - Dan Uselton
  • Cinderella - A Love Story - Gina LoBiondo
  • The Escape - Eve M. Riley


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • The Game - Eve M. Riley
  • Silver Lake Awakening - D.D. Franklin
  • Confronting the White Shadow - Marcus W. Williams, Esq.
  • Easy to Slip - Cal Hoffman



HOW-TO:

WINNER: Must: Becoming the Person You Were Meant to Be - Stephen Rue

RUNNER-UP: 9 Steps to Build a Life of Meaning - Rick Walker

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • How to Celebrate Your Fandom - Nicholas Seidler, Libby Shea, Robert Warnock, Steven Warren Hill
     


BUSINESS:

WINNER: The Creative Entrepreneur - Carolyn Dailey

RUNNER-UP: The Cherry Pie Principle - Michael Levine