The annual Royal Palm Literary Awards from the Florida Writers Association recognizes excellence in the published and unpublished work of published and unpublished writers in the state.
At the awards presentation during the Association’s annual conference in Orlando recently, 10 Villagers were included in the exclusive list. The big winner was Mark Newhouse, who won Gold for the best Published Book of the Year and Best Historical Fiction Published Book of the Year, “The Devil’s Bookkeepers, Book 1: The Noose.” Mark also won Gold for Historical Fiction Unpublished Book with the second in the planned trilogy, “The Devils Bookkeeper, Book 2: The Noose Tightens.”
Both books have been published and are available on Amazon. The trilogy is set in the Lodz Ghetto in Poland during World War II. Both of Newhouse’s parents were Holocaust survivors. He also has won several RPLA awards in the past for his illustrated children’s books.
Mark’s son, Keith, who lives in Orlando, won Silver for Published Children’s Book for “My Tio’s Pulse,” which commemorates the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in June 2016. This is only the second time in the 18 years that the RPLA Awards have been given out that a father and son both won during the same year. Keith’s book is available on Amazon.
The Gold awards for the Best Children’s Book of the Year and Best Published Children’s Picture Book went to Villager and amateur photographer Rita Boehm, for “Bluebirds in the Garden.” The book details, in words and photographs, the nest building and raising of a brood of youngsters by a pair of bluebirds in Boehm’s garden. It is available on Amazon.
Villager and memoirist Peggy Best took the Silver award in Published Autobiography for “Dandelion Child: A Soldier’s Daughter,” which details her life growing up, “like dandelions blown by the wind,” as an Army brat during the Cold War era. The book is available on Amazon.
Larry Martin won the Bronze award in Published Short Story for “My Deal With the You Know Who.” Learning to play the piano as a senior was not working well. Then, the main character makes a deal with You Know Who and the results are unexpected.
Paula Stone Tucker, who was in the front row of the crowd during the Kent State shooting in 1970, won Silver in the Unpublished Autobiography or Memoir category for her book, “Surviving: A Kent State Memoir,” which chronicles the tumultuous times of a young woman during the turbulent era of the War in Vietnam, domestic violence and her triumph in face of great danger and great loss. The book is now available on Amazon and Sunburypress.com.
Villager Maggie Wacker took Bronze in the Published Educational or Informational category for “Memory Lane,” a book that uses prompts to trigger memories. Structured questions built around common dollhouse objects spark guided discussion and shared memories through group interaction.
Other RPLA finalists from The Villages included: Linda Leggett for her children’s picture book “UPTIGHT!,” John Mallon for “To Die Among Friends,” Barbara Rein for short stories, and Jack L. Hayes, winner of seven prior RPLA non-fiction awards, for “Say It Ain’t So, Joe!”
The Florida Writers Association (FWA) has about 2,000 members across the state and sponsors a number of workshops, seminars, a newsletter and an annual conference to help and encourage writers. For more information, click HERE. FWA also facilitates meetings between authors and publishers/agents, as well as providing access to editing and critique services.
The Writers League of The Villages is an FWA affiliate. For more information, click HERE. There are also numerous writers’ critique and support groups in The Villages. Click HERE for more information.
John W Prince is a writer and Villager. For more information, visit www.GoMyStory.com. If you know of someone in or around The Villages with a great story, please contact John at John@GoMyStory.com.
