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Entrancement

The Consciousness of Dreaming, Music and the World
Ruth Finnegan

2017 Finalist
288 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2017 Finalist
This powerful, ground-breaking study of dreaming, death, music, and shared consciousness brings together a staggering number of fields to explore what we know about dreaming and its interactions with other forms of consciousness. Setting a humanistic, evidence-based context, Ruth Finnegan engages with anthropology, ethnomusicology, sociology, psychology, parapsychology, cognitive science, and more, building a strikingly diverse base of evidence and analysis with which to treat a subject that is all too often taken lightly. Entrancement will quickly prove indispensable for anyone studying these altered states of consciousness and what we can know about how they work and what they do for our minds, bodies, and selves.

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My Father's Daughter

From Rome to Sicily
Gilda Morina Syverson

2017 Honorable Mention
296 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2017 Honorable Mention
In this multigenerational story, My Father's Daughter: From Rome to Sicily, Gilda Morina Syverson travels with her Italian-born father, Italian-American mother and very-American husband to the village of her ancestors. This trilogy tale leads the reader through ancient sites of Rome, landscapes of a picturesque countryside, seaside villages of Sicily, olive trees in the valley of Mount Etna, while contrasting an emotional journey between a father and daughter. This Novello Literary Award Book Finalist, Nominee for the Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction, 2016 Nominee for Author of the Year for the Artist Guild Award, 2016 Honorable Mention for Non-Fiction in the New England Book Festival, and 2017 Runner Up for Autobiography in the Great Southeast Book Festival exudes passion, eloquence, heartfelt language, and ancestral roots. Reader discussion questions are included for book clubs, reading groups and libraries. 
 "Travel south from Rome with Gilda Morina Syverson. Let her show you her ancestral land through the eyes of her closest ancestors, her parents, who travel with her and her husband. It's a trip well worth taking... vividly observed, richly detailed, gently humorous, and deeply poignant. The only thing better would be a trip to Italy." - William Martin, New York Times Bestselling Author of Cape Cod and The Lincoln Letter
"My Father's Daughter: From Rome to Sicily is a travel book in every sense. Syverson - a savvy, funny, elegant tour guide - expertly escorts us through the gorgeous time-locked terrain of Italy, but also along the often precarious byways of the heart. This book risks everything: its humanity, its courage, its sheer unbridled candor, the moving sweep of its poetic language and its refusal to turn away from the breathtaking mystery of love and ancestry." -Joseph Bathanti, North Carolina Poet Laureate, 2012-2014 
"Here's what's in store for you: A delightful journey into the heart of Italy, this family, and what it means to be human. My Father's Daughter is beautifully crafted, moving, entertaining memoir that will win you over from page one. If five stars is the highest rating, I give this book six." -Judy Goldman, author of the memoir Losing My Sister 
"Gilda Morina Syverson shares the journey of a lifetime, taking her elderly parents back home to visit Italy after decades in America. Gilda is a brave woman, an admirable daughter, and a very good writer -- she recounts the occasional bumps in the road with aplomb and the heartwarming, as well as, the frustrating moments with humor." -Sharri Whiting De Masi, writer Olive Oil  IQ app; Italy correspondent, Luxury Travel Advisor 
Gilda Morina Syverson is an award-winning poet, author and teacher of Memoir Writing who lives in North Carolina with her husband Stu.  Connect at gildasyverson.com

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Eye to the Sky

Storytelling on the Edge of Magic
Bobby Norfolk

2017 Bronze Medal
224 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2017 Bronze Medal

Nobody knows how to tell a story like Bobby Norfolk, and here he tells his own life story. Norfolk grew up in hardscrabble neighborhoods of Saint Louis, Missouri, during the 1950s and 60s, sometimes walking to elementary school from an apartment his parents could not afford to heat. Lifting himself up by force of will and God-given talent, Norfolk defeated a childhood stutter to become a high school dramatist and later an exceptional college student. The path was never easy—and often frightening. With men of color being killed all-too-frequently in America, Norfolk sought a personal identity based upon talent and hard work, but also upon where safety and justice might be found. He tells these stories—some heartwarming or humorous, some frightful and treacherous—honestly, with a graceful mindfulness that all would do well to emulate.

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The Mastery of You

Toward an Understanding of Self
Renu Persaud

2017 Silver Medal
300 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2017 Silver Medal
The Mastery of You takes you on a self-discovering journey that provides the framework for developing inner self-confidence. The priority shifts from other-centric to self-centric. And, in the end, giving you the tools in order to be a healthier, happier and balanced individual.

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If You Were Me and Lived in... Germany

A Child's Introduction to Cultures Around the World (Volume 21)
Carole P. Roman

2017 Gold Medal
36 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2017 Gold Medal
Join Carole P. Roman when she visits the beautiful land of Germany in the newest book of her informative series. Learn about the varied customs and cultures. Travel to the central Europe to discover what you would eat and do for fun. See the land through the eyes of a youngster like you and understand what life is like in this exciting place. Don't forget to look at the other books in the series so that you can be an armchair world traveler.

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Why Do We Quote?

The Near and Far of Others' Words and Voices
Ruth Finnegan

2016 Honorable Mention
348 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2016 Honorable Mention
Quoting is all around us. But do we really know what it means? How do people actually quote today, and how did our present systems come about? This book brings together a down-to-earth account of contemporary quoting with an examination of the comparative and historical background that lies behind it and the characteristic way that quoting links past and present, the far and the near. Drawing from anthropology, cultural history, folklore, cultural studies, sociolinguistics, literary studies and the ethnography of speaking, Ruth Finnegan's fascinating study sets our present conventions into cross cultural and historical perspective. She traces the curious history of quotation marks, examines the long tradition of quotation collections with their remarkable cycling across the centuries, and explores the uses of quotation in literary, visual and oral traditions. The book tracks the changing defi nitions and control of quoting over the millennia and in doing so throws new light on ideas such as 'imitation', 'allusion', 'authorship', 'originality' and 'plagiarism'.

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Where is Language?

An Anthropologist's Questions on Language, Literature and Performance
Ruth Finnegan

2016 Bronze Medal
176 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2016 Bronze Medal

Language is central to human experience and our understanding of who we are, whether written or unwritten, sung or spoken. But what is language and how do we record it? Where does it reside? Does it exist and evolve within written sources, in performance, in the mind or in speech?

For too long, ethnographic, aesthetic and sociolinguistic studies of language have remained apart from analyses emerging from traditions such as literature and performance. Where is Language? argues for a more complex and contextualized understanding of language across this range of disciplines, engaging with key issues, including orality, literacy, narrative, ideology, performance and the human communities in which these take place.

Eminent anthropologist Ruth Finnegan draws together a lifetime of ethnographic case studies, reading and personal commentary to explore the roles and nature of language in cultures across the world, from West Africa to the South Pacific. By combining research and reflections, Finnegan discusses the multi-modality of language to provide an account not simply of vocabulary and grammar, but one which questions the importance of cultural settings and the essence of human communication itself.

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Better Dead Than Divorced

The Trials Of Panayota
Lukas Thanasis Konandreas M.D.

2016 Silver Medal
214 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2016 Silver Medal
“Better Dead Than Divorced,” responds a young wife to those who urge her to divorce her adulterous, manipulative and abusing husband, who plans to kill her. She knows about his evil intentions and she is urged to leave him and save her life but her love, her devotion, and societal prejudice against divorced women make her stay. And dead she ends up by a commissioned assassin. Her cousin, a principled man, fights beyond his modest means in a corrupt system to have justice for her loss served. Winner of 8 National Awards

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Motions and Moments

More Essays on Tokyo
Michael Pronko

2016 Gold Medal
265 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2016 Gold Medal


Motions and Moments is the third book by Michael Pronko on the fluid feel and vibrant confusions of Tokyo life. These 42 new essays burrow into the unique intensities that suffuse the city and ponder what they mean to its millions of inhabitants.

Based on Pronko’s 18 years living, teaching and writing in Tokyo, these essays on how Tokyoites work, dress, commute, eat and sleep are steeped in insights into the city’s odd structures, intricate pleasures and engaging undertow.

Included are essays on living to size and loving the crowd, on Tokyo’s dizzying uncertainties and daily satisfactions, and on the 2011 earthquake. As in his first two books, this collection captures the ceaseless flow and passing flashes of life in biggest city in the world with gentle humor and rich detail.

Praise for the first collection, Beauty and Chaos: Slices and Morsels of Tokyo Life:

"A clear-eyed but affectionate portrait of a city that reaches beyond simple stereotypes. An elegantly written, precisely observed portrait of a Japanese city and its culture." Kirkus Reviews

" Beauty and Chaos is a spectacular read. Its essays are long enough to be cohesive and provocative while remaining short and sweet. The collection is masterful and unique." Stephanie Chandler, SPR Review

“He notices the kinds of things that might be taken for granted by the Japanese and overlooked entirely by visitors.” Rebecca Foster, The Bookbag

Gold Award First Place for Cultural Non-Fiction (Reader's Favorite Awards 2015)
Gold Award (Non-Fiction Authors Association 2015)

Praise for the second collection, Tokyo’s Mystery Deepens: Essays on Tokyo :

“As chapters flow through Tokyo cultural experiences, readers receive a rare glimpse of the structure and nature of Tokyo's underlying psyche. It's a powerful, intimate consideration of many aspects of Japanese culture.” D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

"An insider's view of what life is really like in this pulsing, densely populated Asian metropolis...this little book of short, easy to read essays delivers to its readers an education." Vera A. Pereskokova Luxury Reading Blog

“Could one have a better guide? Anyone planning to work and live in Tokyo for a period of time will find Pronko indispensable.” BookReview

“Tokyo's Mystery Deepens is so much more than just a guidebook to Tokyo…it actually plunges into the minuscule details of what it is like to be a Tokyoite.” OnlineBookClub

Gold Award for Creative Non-Fiction (eLit Awards 2015 )
Silver Award for Travel Essay (eLit Award 2015 )

For more information, go to: www.michaelpronko.com

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Woody Allen

Reel to Real: Digidialogues
Alex Sheremet

2015 Honorable Mention
610 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Cultural

2015 Honorable Mention
Update for March 2017
The book has been updated with new cover art as well as an essay on 2016's Cafe Society.

Update for March 2016
The book has been updated with a long-ranging interview with the author conducted by critic and filmmaker Joel Bocko. It also features a new essay on 2015's Irrational Man.

Woody Allen: Reel To Real is the most comprehensive discussion of Woody's film art to date, covering every film he's ever written, directed, or otherwise acted in at great length. It also responds to five decades of Woody-related criticism - both in print and online - before turning the tables on the director, himself, to dissect his opinions on art, life, and philosophy, and what they mean for his films.

As the first DigiDialogue from Take2 Publishing, the book follows an exciting new format. It will be updated annually with essays, articles, and reviews of Woody's new work. It will also respond to reader/critic feedback so that the book will continue to grow organically with the critical discourse surrounding it, and so that others can become a part of the publishing process. These updates will sync automatically with all purchased copies, ensuring that Woody Allen: Reel To Real will never be outdated.

The genesis of this DigiDialogue is the book's website, established some time ago to have Alex Sheremet and his readers further explore, expand and explain the theses he presents. On that site one can find a combination of faithful summaries of the key chapters of this book and one key chapter in its entirety, all married to dedicated 'Comment Boxes' that serve to propagate the dialogue. The first manifestation of this dialogue includes exchanges with film critics and readers, including a fiery exchange with Jonathan Rosenbaum over Sheremet's in-depth critique of Rosenbaum's work.

According to John Pruzanski, managing publisher of Take2 Publishing, "the advent and popular uptake of eBooks finally provides the platform to open up the publishing world to new forms and factors and DigiDialogues have been specifically formulated to perform the task of bringing the readers into the publishing process."

Note: Readers who wish to get the live updates to the book must give Amazon permission to sync updates via Kindle.