Monday, June 10, 2013

Island of the White Rose Ties for Third and Receives Honorable Mention at this Year's New York Book Festival


Received word from the New York Book Festival Fiction Competition today that Island of the White Rose won honorable mention, tying for third place. The festival takes place June 21-22 in New York City. I hope this is a harbinger of good things to come for Island.

It’s hard getting back to work after attending Book Expo America, a dazzling book fair at the Javits Center, a huge complex. I spent so many hours walking its length repeatedly that there was no danger of gaining an ounce from any of the many meals taken at a variety of New York restaurants. The highlight of the week was having dinner at the Cosmopolitan Club with my editor and publisher, Barbara and Warren Phillips. Although I have worked with them for nearly a year, we had never met. Barbara shared her recent photos of Cuba, and Warren informed me that Publishers Weekly had agreed to review Island. They were very gracious hosts, and I enjoyed our dinner at that historic building, a center of literature since the early 20th Century.

It was fun visiting with my boyhood friends, Paul and Carl, as well as my cousins, Al, Sussie, Carol and Steve. Paul and Ronni Ginsberg were fantastic hosts at their lovely home on Huckleberry Hollow in Stamford and made us feel very much at home. I always learn of something new that Costco sells whenever I look in Ronni's refrigerator. This visit was no exception—the tzatziki is wonderful and with the paleo diet being the order of the day, a relatively safe cheat on top of a mushroom omelet.


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