“THE READING PROMISE” WINS NEW ENGLAND BOOK FESTIVAL TOP
HONORS

BOSTON_ The beautiful story of a parent bonding with a child by reading a book
is the grand prize winner of the 2015 New England Book Festival.

Author Troy Kent’s “The Reading Promise” (Mascot Books) tells the story of a
mother and child who share a special time together each night by reading a book.
The lesson is that it is not necessary to be wealthy, but that enjoyment between
parent and child can come from simple pleasures. The book’s touching message is
perfect for our times and beyond, winning it top honors in the festival.

Kent will be honored at a private awards ceremony on Jan. 30 at the Omni
Parker House hotel in Boston.

Other winners in the competition:

POETRY

WINNER: Some Wonder – Eric Nelson

RUNNER-UP: Giants Fall – Edward Eaton

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Place We Become – Carolyn Locke
• Giants Fall – Edward Eaton
• Banshees – Eileen P. Kennedy
  
• Life in the Abstract – Samm Panos
• Crazy Lesbo Poetry – Samm Panos
• Kinyamaswa – Andreas Morgner
• Waving Back – Gail Thomas
• Shifting Tides – Carroll Blair
• Dreaming My Animal Selves – Helene Cardona
• Winter’s Promise and Other Poems – Eric Palmieri
• Newport: American Beauty Rose – Ken Moldow
• Eloquent Love Notes – LaDonna Marie
• Terrarium – Barbara Morrison
  
  

WILD CARD

WINNER: Tourist Town: A Nantucket Idyll – Steve Sheppard

RUNNER-UP: Vermont Ghost Busters – Steve Burt

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Elizabeth Bathory – Edward Eaton
• From Natural to Knockout – Carol Brown
• Edgar Allan’s Murder – Alice W. Ingraham
• Unattached – Lidice Szekely
• Touched by a Phoneix – Sophia Byron
• Life on Base: Quantico Cave – Tom Wise
• Starlette Universe: Eva from E-ville – Kathy Johnson

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

WINNER: The Reading Promise – Troy Kent

RUNNER-UP: A Story of Becoming – Any Cates Sullivan

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Concert Hall Cats – Fausta, Michael, Joseph McDermott
• Shoe Print Art: Step Into Drawing – Karen S. Robbins
• The Dog Show – Sally O. Lee
• The Little Blind Shepherd: A Christmas Miracle – Kay Hall
• Daniel and his Starry Night Blanket – Sally Loughridge
• Freedom Trail Pop-up Book of Boston – Denise Price
• Barkley Moves to the Country – Debbie Shapiro
• The Little Goat in Africa – Deborah Smith Ford
• Explorations of Commander Josh – Donna LeBlanc
• What Makes Me Special! – Elizabeth McKinney
• Flowerchildren – Brigitte Brocato
  
• Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf – Dorothea Jensen
• Every Ornament Has Its Place – Vincent Verrico
• Iwogs Adventures in Bully Blues – Susan Marie Murdoch
• E is For Election Day – Gloria M. Gavris
  
  
• Hapenny Magick – Jennifer Carson
• B is for Boston – Maria Kemahan
• Limbo: From African Slave to Honored Grave – Robin Taylor Chiarello
• Ceceila the Seal Gets a Meal – Jim Coogan
  
• Strike at Charles’ Farm – Nicole Audet
  
  
• Leopold & The 5 Senseteers Flour Power – Joshua Tabachnick
• Can Animals Talk on Christmas Eve? – Kathleen Fox
• Inspector Dewey – Kristen Heimerl

GENERAL FICTION

WINNER:
Killing Maine – Mike Bond

RUNNER-UP: Thirty-Three Cecils – Everett De Morier

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Released from the Shadows – Donna Cantor
• Margel’s Madness – Darcy Scott
• Wall of Dust – Timothy Niedermann
• Benchere in Wonderland – Steven A. Gillis
• Shattered Mosaics – Alice A. Moerk
• Destiny – Carl Howe Hansen
• Surviving 26th Street – Carol Stover
• Prince of Conjurers – Laurie L. Bolanos
• Creole Moon the Betrayal – S.T. Holmes
• Three Deadly Twins – David Thyfault
• Remote Control – Chris McGrath
• The Amethyst Stone – Lloyd Ferriss
• The National Memorial – John Barth
• The Outhouse – David W. Gordon
• Beleagured Truth – Bill Messenger
• Jet Trails: Looking for Blue Skies – M.H. Sullivan
  
• Tiny Bones – Rosemary Smith
• If He Hollers, Let Him Go – Beth Harrden
• Courageous Footsteps: A WW II Novel – Diane Dettmann

PHOTOGRAPHY/ART

WINNER:
Sally O Lee’s Book of Cats – Sally O. Lee

RUNNER-UP: Seacoast: The Seasons of New Hampshire – Bob McGrath

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Dogs on Cape Cod – Kim Roderiques
• Bridges of Paris – Michael Saint James

HOW-TO

WINNER: From Natural to Knockout – Carol Brown

RUNNER-UP: Ravioli Rules – Al Mangiello

HONORABLE MENTION:

• A Guide for the New Novelist – Laurent Boulanger

BUSINESS

WINNER: Sell Your Business for an Outrageous Price – Kevin Short

RUNNER-UP: Ravioli Rules – Al Mangiello

GENERAL NON-FICTION

WINNER: Two Eggs, Two Kids – Alicia Young

RUNNER-UP: The Price They Pay – Karen Solomon

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Second Mourning – Stephen G. Yanoff
• In the Waters of Time – Bette Lischke
• Foxhole Father – Christopher R. Whalen
• The Perpetual Paycheck – Lori Rassas
• Biopsies of the Bible – Jack Silvers
• Modern Irish Essays and Reflections – Imelda Cummins-DeMelkon
• Provocations. Essays – Melvin Howards
• It’s All About Life – Harvey E. Lazarus

SPIRITUAL

WINNER: Miracle Girls: A Novel – M.B. Caschetta

RUNNER-UP: Crossing Swords – Cindy Safronoff

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Please Pass the Gravy – Patti Carabba
• Crossing the Rubicon – Heidi Connolly
• Crossing Swords – Cindy Safronoff

YOUNG ADULT

WINNER: Art School Girls – Lindsay Carlisle

RUNNER-UP: The Crossings – Barry Kienzle

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Chelsea Creek to Bunker Hill: Spring 1775 – Terri A. DeMitchell
• Vampires, Ghosts and Graveyards – Steve Burt
• The Sparks – Kyle Prue
• Street of Dreams – John Williams
• Raman and Sunny – Fiza Pathan
• Warrior Kids: A Tale of New Camelot – Michael J. Bowler

GAY

WINNER: Claims of Family – Ezekiel Nieto Benzion

RUNNER-UP:
The Gay Teen’s Guide to Defeating a Siren – Cody Wagner

SCIENCE FICTION

WINNER: The Tut Clone Contracts – Jan Issaye Berkhout

RUNNER-UP: The Stranger and the Time Machine – Phil Scrima

BIOGRAPHY/AUTIOBIOGRAPHY

WINNER: Doctor’s Orders – Pam Swift, MD

RUNNER-UP: Bill & Hillary: So This Is That Thing Called Love – Darwin
Porter/Danforth Prince

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Double Happiness – Tony Brasunas
• Mac Wiseman: All My Memories Fit for Print – Walt Trott
• Crossing Swords – Cindy Safronoff
• Czar Nicholas, The Toad and Duck Soup – Elisabeth Amaral
  
• A Connisseur’s Journey – Dr. Jeffrey Lant
• A Chick in the Cockpit – Erika Armstrong

COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES

WINNER: Wicked Strange – New England Ghost Stories… – Steve Burt

RUNNER-UP: Ars Moriendi: Writings on the Art of Dying – Edited by Desmond
Kon

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Cape Cod Collected – Jim Coogan/Jack Sheedy
  
• How to be Happy: Not a Self-Help Book – Iain S. Thomas
• Politics in a Post-Cultural America – Patrick M. Garry
• Grave Matters – Carlotta G. Holton
• Signs of Passing – Owen Thomas
• A Two-Sided Truth – Stephen Waller-Delarosa
• Tales of Our Lives: Fork in the Road – Matilda Butler

COOKBOOKS

WINNER: Quick Recipes for Short-Tempered Women – Lorraine Quatrainne

RUNNER-UP: Blue Ribbon Baking – Linda J. Amendt

REGIONAL LITERATURE

WINNER: Crossing Swords – Cindy Safronoff

RUNNER-UP:
Cold Case to Case Closed – Rich Little & Beverley Folstad

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Gooseberry Island – Steven Manchester
• Law and Order at the End of the Oregon Trail – Ken Bilderback
• Amina the Silent One – Fiza Pathan
• Fairly Certain – Deborah Ann Davis

UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT

WINNER: Camp Everdeen Boys Will Be Boys – Suzy Canale

RUNNER-UP: Cape Code Collected – Jim Coogan/Jack Sheedy