SAN FRANCISCO_ Headline authors Rick Robinson, author of 1968: A Primer for Understanding Baby Boomers, and Matt Dragovits, author of Dawn of Legends win top honors in their categories at the San Francisco Book Festival.
1968 BY RICK ROBINSON is a small-town deep-dive into one of the most significant and controversial years in American history. Vietnam, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, civil rights, protests at home and abroad, Nixon versus Humphrey all made 1968 a seminal year. This book is a month-by-month look into 1968 with a lens of understanding how this year helped shape not only baby boomers but all generations that followed.
Rick Robinson has authored over a dozen top-selling books in multiple genres. His political thrillers are as current as today’s headlines, and his literary novels offer coming-of-age guidance for folks who never really came of age. He’s had a Number 1 Amazon top seller in humor and has often placed numerous books on Amazon’s top seller list at the same time.
Matt Dragovits brings us Dawn of Legends, the prequel to his multi-award-winning picture book and chapter book adventure, Zach’s Quest. Matt is a nationally recognized video producer and editor.
Dawn of Legends shows us that legends aren’t just born. They are made. Join young Kris Kringle, his wife Jessica, and a weary band of toymaker elves as they set out on an epic journey across the harsh arctic wilderness of the North Pole. Along the way, they will battle ancient evils, unlock new magical talents, and, with a little luck…find a new home.
Additional honors go to Zahra Omar Shansab, Runner Up for Best Children’s Book for her new release, Mira & the Magic Pond. Mira sells samosas to motorists and commuters at one of the busiest intersections of a city in India. Living in a tiny room in the slums is also getting harder, as the monsoon storms are becoming fiercer and more violent. She often wonders why the weather is becoming hotter and more unpredictable. One eventful day, as she heads home, Mira decides to take the long way back and stroll through her favorite forest. What happens next in the forest makes Mira realize that nature had chosen her to relay an important message that could save nature itself and life in a race against time.
Honorable Mentions go to:
C. D. ‘Tony’ Hylton III for Best Fiction. His novel, Comes Around, is the third in his Rick Hill series. Newspaper publisher Rick Hill continues his crusade against the crooked politics that have ruled over the citizens of Jordan County – deep in the mountains of southern West Virginia.
Diana Pishner Walker for her book, Magic Pasta. In a small Italian village in Italy lived a royal family, King and Queen Primavera, Prince Orzo, and Princess Penne. When Princess Penne grew tired of her royal toys, she discovered a little magic beneath her pasta bowl. Join this royal Italian family on a magical adventure that will last a lifetime.
As an international businessman, John Dragonetti, author of The Falcon and The Shaikhs traveled to numerous Middle Eastern countries, developing a fascination with Arab history, culture, and language. It was the stories and experiences, of friends and business associates, members of the tribal families, as well longtime resident expatriates, that really enthralled him, and led to the writing of The Falcon and the Shaikhs, a historical fictional account, of the intricate relationships cultivated between pioneering expatriates and the tribal families who laid the foundation of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, before the formation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971.
Dr. Raymond A. Keller, a well known Ufologist, latest book, The Real Resident Aliens, also takes Honorable Mention in the Wild Card category. Dr. Keller believes the idea of extraterrestrials and even ultra-dimensional beings from many different planets and alternate realms living and working among us clandestinely is more than just another conspiracy theory. He has been amassing files of such purported cases since his days with the Cleveland Ufology Project (CUP) and the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) in the 1960s and feels there exists enough anecdotal evidence to support this conclusion. With this in mind, he made the time to organize this material into a highly readable, fully illustrated, and enjoyable book, which he proudly presents to you now as The Real Resident Aliens.
A book that defines and explores artificial intelligence has been selected for top honors in the 2024 San Francisco Book Festival, which honors the best books of the spring. Author Aakash Chotrani’s Humans and AI Coexistence: Technology Changing the World Order (Kindle Scribe) examines the profound impact of artificial intelligence, a disruptive technology that can transform society.
Penned by AI research and development experts, this book transcends mere technological overviews, offering a guiding light through the complexities of AI adoption and its associated risks. From demystifying machine learning to exploring the intricacies of AI-powered decision-making, Humans and AI Coexistence takes readers on an immersive journey into the heart of this dynamic domain.
Award Winners will be celebrated at an awards ceremony on June 20 in Los Angeles.