NEW YORK_The 15th annual New York Book Festival has named a children’s book for the ages as its grand prize winner in this year’s competition, which honors books worthy of further attention from the world’s publishing capital. Author David Casentini’s Molly’s New Pony, Sir Wallace McGee: A Story of Courage to be Be All You Can Be! (LitPrime Solutions) tells the story of a young girl who, on her 11th birthday, gets what she’s always wanted – a pony! The little frail animal needs love and encouragement, and with Molly’s help, sets his sights on a goal and works hard to achieve it. His belief in self teaches him and the reader that it’s possible to reach farther and dream bigger. Casentini wins the grand prize of $1,500 and will be honored at a later date in New York. Other winners in the competition:

GENERAL NON-FICTION:

WINNER: Uncolonized Latinas – Valeria Aloe

RUNNERS-UP:

• Fear and Other Stories – Chana Blankshteyn
• Life Isn’t Always Beautiful – David Neisser and Clifford J. Fazzolari

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Epidemics - Nancy Dawson
• Martial Arts and Your Life – Lawrence Kane & Kris Wilder
• The Five Elements of Relationships – Dr. Vicki Matthews
• Victim – Karen Moe
• Real-Time Earthquake Tracking and Localisation – George R. Daglish and Iurii P. Sizov
• Trust and Confidence – Jim Lichtman
• Greatness is NOWHERE – Melkart Rouhana
• Wellness, Wellplayed: The Power of a Playlist – Jennifer Buchanan
• The Stress Book – D. Terrence Foster, MD
• God’s Love For You: A Pictorial Devotional – Carolyn B. Daley
• Newburyport Clipper Heritage Trail... – Ghlee E. Woodworth
• Cracking the Healers Code - Milagros Phillips
• Midnight Flight to Nuremberg – Marcus A. Nannni
• Fortune – Lisa Sharon Harper
• Dream Bigger Live Better – Donna Palm
• Black Boy Smile – D. Watkins
• Soul Genetic Code & Destiny – Ashley Ansara, DVM, PhD
• A Notebook of Love – Luis Trivino
• Eternal Vigilance – Ralph L. Bayrer
• Have-a-Seat Yoga – Wislar and Marg
• The Liminal Odyssey: The Alcheical Power – Sande Hart
• Louder Than Silence – Vesta Spivakovsky
• Soul Genetic Code & Destiny – Julie Lyonn Lieberman
• A Notebook of Love – Luis Trivino
• The Liminal Odyssey: The Alcheical Power – Sande Hart
• Musings of a Traveler Headed Home – Thomas Ashley Young
• Leonardo Kento – Danilo Takaesu
• Left at the Altar – Senna Tagboto

COOKBOOK: WINNER: Esther’s COOKBOOK - Esther N. Ekiko

RUNNER-UP: The Gourmet Gangster – Marcia Rosen

GENERAL FICTION: WINNER: Beyond the Cobblestones – Luisa Livorno Ramondo

RUNNERS-UP:

• Arlen’s Gun: A Novel of Men at War – Edgar Doleman
• Fallout Shelter – Steven Schindler
• Coldwater Confession – James A. Ross
• The Lambda Factor – Dimple Desai

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Inassea Chronicles: The Blighted Flame – P.A. Pena
• Delphic Oracle, U.S.A. – Steven Mayfield
• Promised Land – Danny Holst
• Stolen Light – Claudia Riess
• Gathered by the Fire – Mark Mijuskovic  
• Ophelia’s Room – Michael Scott Garvin
• An Ambition to Belong – James Sniechowski
• The Hoarder’s Wife – Deborah S. Greenhut
• Daughter of the Boricua – Olivia Castillo
• Friends, Foes and Lovers – Bob Ford
• A Jewish Refugee in New York – Kadya Molodovsky
• Orchid Blooming – Carol Van Den Hende
• Risky Assets – Rachael Eckles
• Behind Her Lives – Briana Cole
• Memories of that Christmas in Montpellie – Linette Arthurton Bruno
• Justifiable Deceit – Mikael Carlson
• Refugee on a Pendulum – Jemil Metti
• YAD – Daniel Karpinski
• Drunk Talk – Mike Davis
• The Chase – Mario Busacca and Hoyt A. Bynum
• The Devil is in the Details – LaKeisha LaKay
• Strange Fire – Joel Burcat
• Code Name: Jane Doe – A Call to Action – Jane Darrcie
• When Lions Roar – Karen Leigh Gruber
• Twins – Don Helin
• Love of Break Dancing – Frida Love
• Dr. Altman and the Concubines – Jacqueline Shortell-McSweeney
• The Reunion - Raj Velamoor
• Words of Love – Teymour Shahabi
• Kiki Coto – Edward Avanessy

RUNNERS-UP:

• Another New York Moment – John Paolillo
• Surviving the Second Tier – M.K. Lever
• The Corona Monologues – Darrell Bartell

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Dance Towards Death – Tejas Desai
• Newburyport Clipper Heritage Trail...- Ghlee H. Woodward
• The Regulars’ Table – Christina R. Griffin
• Love Before Covid – Greg Scorzo
• Taylor Mill Horror: A True Story – Austin Lawrence
• All ART TolyAK – Apostoly Peter TolyAK Kouroumalis

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: Molly’s New Pony, Sir Wallace McGee – David Casentini

RUNNERS-UP:

• Mr. Shipman’s Kindergarten Chronicles Field… - Terance Shipman
• Mr. Shipman’s Kindergarten Chronicles: ABC – Terance Shipman
• Ten Precious Pigs – Cindy Van Rooy

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Let’s Eat Snails - Barbara Barcellona Smith
• My Papa – Warren Edward Morris
• Bonez by: Mr. Roses – Mr. Roses
• You Are Perfect the Way You Are – Rasheidra Harmon
• Five Mile Charlie – Kimberly Adams
• The Robot Inside You – Matilde Leon
• Ollie & The Moon – Brian Taubman
• He Looks Like Me – Lawanda D. Warthen, PhD
• The Girl Who Wouldn’t Talk – Mr. Z
• Ollie & Timmie – Brian Taubman
• The Adventures of Mahalia and Malcolm… - Terance Shipman and Prudence Williams
• Ruby Smiles – Prudence Williams
• Up up you go Jo! – Mariam Shapera
• Tango on a Mission to Reduce Trash – Nathalie Goshen
• Oscar the Ferry Cat – Molly Arbuthnott
• Ava’s First Day at the Diner – Latoya White
• Orange and Ginger Soapy Shampoo – Pamela James
• Adams Cape: The Missing Crew – Kaitlyn Dorroh
• Zen and Now – Dreama Denver
• Corrine’s Team – Dayle Dabney
• Lacie’s Moon – Natcole Staskiewicz  
• Rooty the Rutabaga – Steven Megson
• Noah’s Quest – Sev Emanuel Pretila
• Love Snaggs – Melanie Joy Mezzancello  
• Sathi: The Street Dog from Kathmandu, Nepal
• Jada’s Dance for Chicano Park – Vera Sanchez
• The Girl, The Pig, and the Accidental Demon – Amos J. Landon
• Wilbur and Simmy – Joyce A. Badie

YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: Beyond the Cobblestones – Luisa Livorno-Ramondo

RUNNERS-UP :

• One Arctic Night – D.F. Whibley 5 Wilbur and Simmy – Joyce A. Badie
• Heirs of Anarwyn: Torn – J.W. Elliot
• Seaside Magic – Vianlix-Christine Schneider

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Adventures of Mahalia and Malcolm… - Terance Shipman and Prudence Williams
• Mom! What is That? – Emiliano Avila and Matthew Munoz
• The Adventures of Abby and Friend – Connor Owen
• Danger Peak – Michael Thomas Perone
• To The Monsters of My Past – Cameron Crews
• Wilbur and Simmy – Joyce A. Badie
• South of Main Street – Robert Gately

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR:

WINNER: I Am a Girl From Africa – Elizabeth Nyamayaro

RUNNERS-UP:

• Paris Blue – Julie Skolnik
• One Student at a Time – Ken Rand
• Better to Cry Now – Geoffrey Newman

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Wild Colts Make the Best Horses – Mary Rae Mauch
• Untethered: Faith, Failure and Finding… - Laura Whitfield
• Destiny Lives on Fairhaven Street – C.J. Hudson
• Mia’s Odyssey – Mia Odeh
• The One Winged Phoenix – Sylvia Larsen
• Burn This City to the Ground – N. Daniel
• On the Wings of the Condor – Bill Toone
• Finding 42: Searcher of Soul Keys – Benny Mailman
• Breaking Down Vonnegut – Julia Whitehead
• Acting School – Rory Lance
• Black, White and Gray All Over – Frederick Douglass Reynolds
• Surgeon & Lover, Fulfillment & Folly – Michael Meguid, MD
• Hell’s Heaven – Anthony Florence
• Hold, Please: Stage Managing A Pandemic – Richard Hester
• If I Die Before I Wake – Eli Shaw
• Short Circuit An Epileptic Journey – Alyssa D’Amico
• Finding 42: Cut the Rope – Benny Mailman
• What Grows in the Space It Left Behind – H. Saint James
• Truth is Indestructible – Stuart Nagero
• The Elephant Tooth of ’95 – Rana Baydoun
• My Gay Church Days – George Azar
• When To Run: Born Scared – Stephanie King
• Nate Branch: Playing My Way Through Life – Nate Branch with Barry Kienzle
• Trials and Tribulations – Veersen Bhoolai
• Angels, Of Course – Win Tuck-Gleason
• Catching Rain – Sandi Paris
• Embrace Grace – Arlene Santos McCain
• Something More – John Paolillo

SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS:

WINNER: Is God Incompetent? – Geoffey E.L. Bennett

RUNNERS-UP:

• I Love To Tell The Story – J. Harold McKeithen Jr
• Looking for God – AW Schade

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• I’m Praying and I Won’t Get Up – Rev. Dr. H. Elaine Joyner
• Building with Discarded Stones – Timothy Buckley
• Something We Never Imagined – Douglas J. Wemple
• The Good Wine – Amy Schisler
• Soul Genetic Code & Destiny – Ashley Ansara, DVM, PhD
• Salt & Light: The Complete Jesus – Jonathan Geoffrey Dean
• The Joy in My Journey with Cancer – Sandra Reese Jolla
• Walking on the Water – Aimy Ellen

UNPUBLISHED:

WINNER: The Future is a Memory – Charles Ross

RUNNER-UP: Destiny Lives on Fairhaven Street – C.J. Hudson

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Leonardo Kento – Danilo Takaesu
• The Distinguished Hyperbourgeois – Rômulo Oliveira Chaia

ROMANCE:

WINNER: Vinnie the Vampire & Me – Elm Jed

RUNNERS-UP:

• Wanda’s Tower – Robert Beatty
• Divine Travel Agency –Frank Corso
• The Refusal – Eve M. Riley

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Perfect Match – Dennis Ross
• The Lights of Sheridan Square – Bob Ford
• A Heart Lies Within Us – Steven LaBree
• Then Came July – Cornelia Allen
• The Elephant Tooth of ’95 – Rana Baydoun

SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR:

WINNER: Endemic – Robert Chazz Chute

RUNNERS-UP:

• The Devil Pulls the Strings – J.W. Zarek
• Abandon Us – E.T. Gunnarsson
• Infernium – Jayson Adams

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• I Am Sheffrou – Cami Michaels
• Hotel Chelsea – Jeremy Bates
• Hard Kill – Bill Eckel
• Einstein in the Attic – Dana Dargos
• Eyes of Morpheus – Kevin D. Miller
• True Teryn – S.G. Blaise
• Hierarchy of Blood – Jennifer Haskin
• The Adventures of Mahalia and Malcolm… - Terance Shipman and Prudence Williams
• The Black Cell – Wendy Shaia

PHOTOGRAPHY/ART:

WINNER: Curves and Angles – Charles E. Rawlings, MD, JD

RUNNER-UP:

Sally O. Lee's Salon des Refusés (Illustrations) – Sally O. Lee

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Hmong Reverse Applique’ – Linda A. Gernder

BUSINESS:

WINNER: Be A Lion – Terry Blackburn

RUNNERS-UP:

• The Value Equation – Christopher H. Volk
• Greatness is NOWHERE – Melkart Rouhana

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Ethical Profit – Samantha Richardson
• Things I Heard Myself Say – Eli Boulou with Curtis Odom, Ed.D
• Twelve-Minute Risk Management – Ivy Walker
• Prophecy Before Vision – James Michael Matthew

POETRY:

WINNER: Make it a Double – Randall McNair

RUNNERS-UP:

• Once Upon Each Time – E.M. Schorb
• Home of the Blues – Joe Griffin, PhD

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• A Life’s Tapestry – Patricia Stanway
• The Journey/Poems of Salvation – Regina Marie Blaylock
• My Body Lives Like a Threat – Megha Sood
• Fun Poems for Your Child – Jenny Carey
• Healing Yesterday’s Tears – Kyli Santiago
• Politics of the Minotaur – Karla K. Morton
• A Brighter TOMORROW – Lori Schneider, MD
• Flow Through Me – Natalie N. Williams
• Satan, Hell With You – Rea Unique

COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES

WINNER: Every Beast Has a Secret – Members of the Final Twist

RUNNER-UP: Stumbling Through Adulthood – John Sheirer

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Everything is Everything: Finding Your Magic – Sally Kingman

HOW-TO

WINNER: A Fish Ate My Homework – Rick Robinson and Wade DeHate

RUNNER-UP: The Essential Rules of Love – Phil Russotti