GREAT SOUTHWEST BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS “BLOOD AND SILVER” WITH TOP HONORS

LOS ANGELES_ The Great Southwest Book has named a history drama set in the old west as its top book for its 2024 festival, which honors the best books of the late winter/spring.

Author Vali Benson’s Blood and Silver (Tellwell Talent) is the story of a 12-year-old girl who finds herself in the silver boom town of Tombstone, Arizona, in 1880. Her home is a brothel and her only parent is a drug-addicted mother.

The saga of the plucky girl is vividly told with strict attention to period detail, pointing out the best and worst of human nature, the passion for survival, and the beauty of true friendship.

Other winners in the competition:

YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: And The Sun Goeth Down - Terry Mark

RUNNER-UP: Our Lives In Between - Billie Kowalewski

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Jack & Jill, A Love Story - Randal Lee Gritzner
• Talisman Gifts of the Shavtal - Toni Yap

GENERAL NONFICTION

WINNER: The Journey of a Ban of Villanova Brothers - Raymond W. Kane

RUNNER-UP: Smaller is Better - Brady Brim-DeForest


BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

WINNER: Near the Danube Bridge - Catherine Allen-Walters

RUNNER-UP: Angelic Messenger - Shawn E. Lange

HONORABLE MENTION:

• The Aging of an Old Fart - Randal Lee Gritzner

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

WINNER: Angel in City Park - Jan Thornton Jones

RUNNER-UP: Nishka’s Golden Heart - Mel Kucenic


GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: The Northfield Saga: Storm Warning - Calvin B. Fisher

RUNNER-UP: Dark Cloud - Sandra Wolff  

HONORABLE MENTiONS:

• But I Digretch - Quirky Short Stories - Gretchen Astro Turner
• Unleashed - Travis Kuffel
• Elephant SAFARI - Peter Riva
• Reign of Freedom - Ebenezer O. Makinde
• Comes Around - C.D. “Tony” Hylton
• Abbott Lane - Jim Layeux
• Cogitatio: Shadows in the Wind (Book Two) - McKinley Aspen
• A Hard Decision - Westley Thomas

POETRY

WINNER: Worth of Diamonds - Ebenezer O. Makinde


SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS

WINNER: Light of Darkness - Ebenezer O. Makinde


COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES

WINNER: A Fire for Christmas - William R. Hincy


MEMOIR:

WINNER: Honeymoon at Sea - Jennifer Silva Redmond

RUNNER-UP: Deputy While Immigrant - Tom Peine

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Already Home - Howard Frederick Ibach

HOW-TO:

WINNER: What To Expect and How to Prepare for Your Surgery - Fei Zheng Ward


UNPUBLISHED

WINNER: A Cowboy’s Runaway

RUNNER-UP: Soar a Burning Sky - Steven Michael Beck


HISTORY:

WINNER: Blood and Silver - Vali Benson


WILD CARD

WINNER: Dark Cloud - Sandra Wolff


REGIONAL LITERATURE

WINNER: Dark Cloud - Sandra Wolff