Military Writers Society of America Announces 2011 Book Award Winners

The Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) announces the winners of its 2011 book awards. The MWSA book awards recognize outstanding military-themed books in a wide range of categories from children to adult. The categories include fiction, non-fiction, spiritual/religious, individual service branches, poetry, business/how to, and others. Entries included books published by traditional, subsidy, self-published, and e-book formats.

Three authors received special recognition. Mike "Moon" Mullins received the 2011 Founder’s Award, the society’s highest honor, for Out of the Mist: Memories of War. Leila Levinson received the 2011 President’s Award for her book Gated Grief. Jack Woodville London is the first recipient of the organization’s new Author of the Year Award. London received the 2011 Author of the Year Award for his book French Letters. The William E. Mayer Award for Literary or Artistic Excellence went to Bonnie Bartel Latino for Christmas Whistles (Gold) and Jim Greenwald for False Honor (Silver).

In addition, Donald Farinacci was the winner of the Korean War Book Award for his history, Truman and MacArthur. MWSA, together with the Center for the Study of the Korean War, Our History Project, and Positively Pittsburg Live, was a co-sponsor of this special book award, which included a cash prize of $150, designed to raise awareness of the conflict known as the "Forgotten War."

"Out of the Mist was a labor of love," Mike Mullins said. "The men who let me interview them just blessed me. When I wrote it, I never thought about anything except preserving their history. I never thought what might come of it; it’s wonderful."

"This is the best day I’ve had since Gated Grief was published," Leila Levinson said. "I am really just humbled, and thrilled."

"I am absolutely stunned to be named Author of the Year," Jack W. London said. "I can’t think of a more flattering award. I did not see this coming at all."

"The annual Awards program is MWSA’s most important and exciting function. We focus on content, style, visual, and technique. Each year, more active military, veteran, and historians submit their work. Each year, the competition is more intense," says Joyce Faulkner, President of Military Writers Society of America, "and 2011 is no exception."

The Military Writers Society of America is an association of more than 800 authors, poets, artists, and photographers whose core principle is a love of the men and women who defend this nation, and an understanding and respect of their sacrifice and dedication.

MWSA 2011 Award Winners
Founder’s Award

Out of the Mist: Memories of Warby Mike "Moon" Mullins

 President’s AwardGated Grief
by Leila Levinson

 Author of the Year 2011French Letters: Engaged in War
by Jack Woodville London

 Korean War Book AwardGold Medal: Truman & MacArthur by Donald Farinacci
Silver Medal: War Remains
by Jeffrey Miller
Bronze Medal: The Untold Experiences
by C. Gilbert Lowery
Honorable Mention: Eddie & Bingo
by Kathleen & Katherine Taylor
1^st Runner Up: Chitose Road
by Robert S. Ruehrdanz

 William E. Mayer Award for Literary or Artistic ExcellenceGold Medal: Bonnie Bartel Latino for Christmas Whistles
Silver Medal:
Jim Greenwald for False Honor


Historical Fiction/EventGold Medal: Victory Road by Mark Bowlin
Silver Medal: David & the Mighty Eight
by Marjorie Hodgson Parker
Bronze Medal: Once a Knight
by Walt Shiel
Honorable Mention: Beyond Those Hills
by M.H.A. Menondji
1^st Runner Up The Corydon Snow
by Richard Whitten Barnes
2^nd Runner Up Look Long Into the Abyss
by A.R. Homer


Historical Fiction/ChronicleGold Medal: Shall Never See So Much by Gerald Gillis


Historical Fiction/ProtagonistGold Medal: For Love of Country by William C. Hammond


Fiction/MysteryGold Medal: Laos File by Dale A. Dye
Silver Medal; Loose Ends Kill
by Bob Doerr
Bronze Medal: I Know Why the Dogwoods
Blush by Bill Cain


Fiction/ThrillerGold Medal: The Mullahs Storm by Thomas W. Young
Silver Medal: Pirates & Cartels
by Lee & Vista Boyland
Bronze Medal: Project Dragonslayers
by Kathy Rowe



Fiction/LiteraryGold Medal: War Remains by Jeffrey Miller
Silver Medal: The Book in the Wall
by John F. Simpson


Non-Fiction/HistoryGold Medal: Keeping the Promise by Donna Elliott
Silver Medal: Lost Eagles
by Blaine L. Pardue
Bronze Medal: American Guerilla
by Mike Guardia
Honorable Mention: T-41 Mescalero: The Military Cessna 172
by Walt Shiel
1^st Runner Up Eisenhower & Montgomery
by William Weidner
2^nd Runner Up Targeted Killing
by Thomas B. Hunter


Non-Fiction/MemoirGold Medal: DAI Uy Hoch by David R. Hoch
Silver Medal: Lullabies for Lieutenants
by Franklin Cox
Bronze Medal: Wing Wife
by Marcia J. Sargent
Honorable Mention: We Came to Fight a War
by Jack Flynn & Alvin E. Kotler
1^st Runner Up: Life Interrupted by War
by Thomas van Hees
2^nd Runner Up: Earning My Wings
by Shirley Dobbins Forgan


Non-Fiction/ReferenceGold Medal: Aerial Aces of the Universal Newsreel by Philip W. Stewart


Non-Fiction/BiographyGold Medal: Women in the U.S. Armed Forces by Darlene M. Iskra
Silver Medal: Grey Eminence
by Edward Cox
Bronze Medal: Beyond All Price
by Carolyn Poling Schriber
Honorable Mention: True Blue: A Tale of the Enemy Within
by Joe Sanchez & MoDhania


Non-Fiction/How To/Business
Gold Medal: Disability Compensation by Thomas van Hees
Silver Medal: Breastfeeding in Combat Boots
by Robyn Roche-Paul


Non-Fiction/Creative Non-FictionGold Medal: Incoming by Jack Manick
Silver Medal: Inside the President’s Helicopter by G.T. Boyd and J. Boor


Non-Fiction/Spiritual/ReligiousGold Medal: A Prayer Journey through Deployment by Donna Mull
Silver Medal: I Want to be the Fat Pretty One
by Lori Kathleen Cline
Bronze Medal: Bringing Courage to the Courageous
by Don Williamson
Honorable Mention: God + Military Spouse
by Lori Kathleen


Artistic/PictorialGold Medal: USAF Interceptors by Mary Isham & D. McLaren



Artistic/PictorialGold Medal: Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion by Billy Tucci


PoetryGold Medal: Kings of the Green Jelly Moon by King, Greenwald, Jellerson, Mullins
Silver Medal: Blooming Red
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson & Magdelina Ball
Bronze Medal: Through the Years
by James Jellerson

 Children/Ages 12 & BelowGold Medal: Klinger by Betsy Beard
Silver Medal: Our Daddy is Invincible
by Shannon Maxwell
Bronze Medal: The Sandpiper's Game
by Charles Boyle
Honorable Mention: Eddie & Bingo: A Friendship Tale
by Katherine & Kathleen L. Taylor
1^st Runner Up: The Adventures of Briskey Bear
by Steve Bolt


Military/Air ForceGold Medal: Two Gold Coins and a Prayer by James H. Keeffe lll
Silver Medal: Safe Landings
by Fran McGraw
Bronze Medal: The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe
by Jay A. Stout
Honorable Mention: Belle of the Brawl
by Gary A. Best


Military/ArmyGold Medal: Alan's Letters by Nancy E. Rial
Silver Medal: Still Standing
by Jim Kosmo
Bronze Medal: The Sentinel & the Shooter
by Douglas W. Bonnot


Military/MarinesGold Medal: Obediently Yours, Orson Welles by Ulman Bray


Military/NavyGold Medal: The Seventh Angel by Jeff Edwards
Silver Medal: Listening to Ghosts
by Robert (Bob) Stockton
Bronze Medal: The Untold Experiences
by C. Gilbert Lowery



Military/Coast GuardGold Medal: The Coast Guard by Tom Beard

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MWSA Book Review Workshop

Sharing my Opinion-Editorial on Military.com

I'm honored that the prestigious Military.com news service recently ran an Op-ed I authored having to do with military members making the transition to civilian life. I focused a great deal on education and the importance it plays in a post-military career, especially a career in the security industry. While my Op-ed was not so much oriented to my writing, the wonderful people at Military.com were gracious to post a separate box with the article that contains my biography. My bio includes information about my writing and my background in the US Air Force. Military.com reaches an audience of 10 million, so this opportunity has been one of the best I've had so far in terms of getting my story out there.

Please visit the article here: New GI Bill is Key to a Successful Transition

Mike Angley
Award-Winning Author of the Child Finder Trilogy
www.childfinder.us

MWSA Conference & Awards Banquet

• MWSA Conference and Awards Banquet will be held at the Westin Imagine Orlando in Orlando FL -- October 9-11th, 2009. Basic information is in the July Newsletter posted at http://www.militarywriters.com/.
  
  New programs this year:
• Conference will be broadcast live through streaming video on the website -- by Videographer Paul Sninchak.
• Opening Mixer
• Open Mic Emceed by Mike Mullins
• Bob Calvert's Hope For Heroes Radio Show
• Winners will be interviewed on Video by Bob Calvert
• Precious "Medals" Reception
• Screening of Chris Martini's Movie in the works TROOPER
• Volunteer & Reviewers Invitational Breakfast
• Saturday morning Opener -- Jeff Edwards
• People's Choice Award Event hosted by Dwight Jon Zimmerman
• Radio Show by Dale Throneberry of Veterans Radio Network
• People's Choice Finalist Performances
• Workshops
• People's Choice Award Voting
• MWSA Awards Banquet and Ceremony
• Screening of PERFECT VALOR -- Richard Lowry
• Sunday Morning Opener
• Dwight Jon Zimmerman Talk about his experiences converting his book to documentary for Military Channel
• State of the Organization -- Joyce Faulkner, President
• MWSA Bucks Auction
• Closer

West Point Launches New Center for Oral History - Telling Soldiers' Stories

Although countless works of fiction and journalism have examined the soldier’s life in wartime, there has never been an archive of soldiers’ experiences, spanning historic conflicts and other missions, told in the soldiers’ own words.
Now there is. The United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, has established the Center for Oral History, an online research center gathering the personal stories of American service men and women of all ranks – beginning with those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and going back to veterans of Vietnam, Korea, World War II and other campaigns. http://www.westpointcoh.org/
Housed by the History department at West Point, the new Center – which will officially launch in 2009 – is advised by a board that includes documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and 1947 West Point graduate and former Presidential advisor Gen. Brent Scowcroft, among many other eminent historians, journalists, and educators.
Gen. David Petraeus, who recently became head of U.S. Central Command, welcomed the new Center: “Our army has a proud history, one that is chronicled in innumerable books and films. This Center aims to record our army's history in a different way, through the personal oral histories of our soldiers captured by thorough, thoughtful interviews. This is an exciting prospect,” General Petraeus said. The Center was conceived to help educate West Point cadets, through the stories of soldiers who preceded them into conflict; but also to create a trove of personal testimony that will assist the work of scholars and historians; and to help build a bridge of greater understanding and empathy between the military and the civilian population it serves. The Center’s web site will be open to all users.
“Oral history delivers a spontaneity and intimacy that you can’t draw from any other research sources,” said the Center’s director, Todd Brewster, a journalist and co-author of two best-selling books with the late Peter Jennings of ABC News. “In the best West Point tradition, we hope our recorded interviews will speak directly to the soldiers of tomorrow while contributing to the policy dialogue going on right now.” The choice of Brewster, who has served as senior producer at ABC News and has written for Time and Vanity Fair, underscores the Academy’s intention to make its new oral history center a resource for the general public as well as the military community.
Among the early projects undertaken by the COH: an oral history of the Iraqi conflict as well as a look back at the West Point Class of ’67, most of whose graduates were immediately sent to Vietnam. The Center will also interview former U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense whose decisions have been so pivotal to the fate of American soldiers.
The Center’s ambition is captured in its motto: “Every soldier has a story. Here is where the story is told.”
Here is a link to additional material about the Center – including a 12-minute video that includes some early interviews of soldiers featured in the news announcement below: http://www.westpointcoh.org/
Let us know if you’d like to speak with Mr. Brewster or others associated with the Center for Oral History.
James Bourne 212 262-7470 jimbournenyc@aol.com Allan Ripp 212 262-7477 arippnyc@aol.com

Contact:
James Bourne
212-262-7470
jimbournenyc@aol.com

Allan Ripp
212-262-7477
arippnyc@aol.com

Military Writers With Stories To Tell Invited. And It's Free!

I want to remind you that publisher Patrika Vaughn, talented Toastmaster award-winner Allyn Evans and I are teaming up to present a free teleseminar to writers who want to tell their own stories, as memoir or as fiction. Thus it is for genealogists, journalers and story tellers everywhere. It is titled "How To Write Your LIfe Story." I am pretty sure that many MWSA members have some untold stories to tell, even if they've already written one or two!

I'll share my experience turning my family's genealogy and stories into my award-winning novel This Is the Place and how I used the leftover stories from that effort in a book of creative nonfiction short stories, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered. I hope my experiences will inform those inclined to publish their stories but who need more information about how that might come to be. I even used family memories in my chapbook of poetry, Tracings.

Patrika is author of How to Write Your Own Life Story or Your Family's Saga available as a CD set. She will talk about how to turn this material into a book, covering:

1) why you should write it

2) how to go about it (even if you've never before written anything but emails)

3) how to make it interesting to others


The teleseminar will be moderated by Alyn who is also the author of Grab the Queen Power: Live Your Best Life, based on her own experiences.


Writers are invited to listen and come prepared with their questions at noon on July 12th EST . Call 1-218-936-7999. When prompted use this access code: 390175. If asked participants may need this pin number: 2823.

The teleconference will be available as a podcast afterward at :

Authors' Coalition, www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress/podcasts_&_radio.htm
The ACapella Publishing site, www.acapella.com/
Allyn Evans' site, www.allynevans.com
On Allyn's Queen Power site, www.queeenpower.com .
And on Carolyn's Resources for Writers page at www.howtodoitfrugally.com

Those with questions may contact Patrika at acappub@aol.com

The seminar is offered as a service to the writing community through the auspices of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com) and Vaughn's publishing firm, A Cappela Publishing (www.acapella.com).

We three would love it if you could (or would!) pass this information to your fellow writers. How about your fellow critiquers and writing club members? (-:
h
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.