2023 HOLLYWOOD BOOK FESTIVAL NAMES CHARLIE CHAPLIN BIOGRAPHY AS GRAND PRIZE WINNER


HOLLYWOOD_ The life and times of the movie genius who brought us such masterpieces as City Lights and Modern Times is the grand prize winner of the 2023 Hollywood Book Festival, which honors books worthy of further attention from the film, television and multimedia communities..

Author Scott Eyman’s Charlie Chaplin vs. America (Simon & Schuster) is the story of Chaplin’s years of exile from the United States during the postwar Red Scare. The move ruined his film career.

In the aftermath of World War Two, Chaplin was criticized for being politically liberal and internationalist in outlook. He had never become a U.S. citizen, something that would be held against him as xenophobia set in when the postwar Red Scare took hold.

Politics aside, Chaplin had another problem: his sexual interest in young women. He had been married three times and had had numerous affairs.

In the 1940s, he was the subject of a paternity suit, which he lost, despite blood tests that proved he was not the father. His sexuality became a convenient way for those who opposed his politics to condemn him. Refused permission to return to the U.S. from a trip abroad, he settled in Switzerland, and made his last two films in London

The gripping story of the film legend’s fall from grace is a biopic waiting to happen, and well worthy of top honors. Eyman wins a cash prize of $1,500 and will be honored at a ceremony in Hollywood later this year.

Other winners in the competition:


BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

WINNER: Charlie Chaplin vs. America - Scott Eyman

RUNNER-UPS:

  • The Monzelli Tales - John Gloske
  • Peekaboo - Jeff Lenburg
  • The Sergeant - Dean Calbreath

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Genesis of a Genre - Joe Markko
  • Enemy Territory - Francis Gary Powers Jr. & Walter Pfenninger
  • Bearded Lady - Allison Landa
  • Under the Naga Tail - Mae Bunseng Taing and James Taing
  • Play for Her - Melisa Strother
  • Living While Human - Arwinder Kaur
  • The Warmth of Ashes - N. Daniel
  •  Saffron Rose Water and Blood - Soudabeh Etessami
  • My Unexpected Life - Jennifer Gasner
  • In the TIme of Madmen - Mark A. Prelas



GENRE-BASED:

WINNER: Guidance to Death - Daniel V. Meier Jr.

RUNNER-UPS:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • My Place Among Them A Novel - J. Stanion
  • Shelter in a Hostile World - Mack Little
  • Needleneck - E.M. Schorb
  • Imelda’s Secret - Liza Gino
  • Tale of the Raptor Men - John R. Cobb
  • In Your Dreams: Book 1 - Robert Sanborn
  • Last Will and Puzzlement - Melissa Nordhoff
  • Moonlight Rip Tide - Yurie Kiri
  • Brotherhood and Betrayal - Gwen Sutton
  • Bushwacked in the Outback - Whimsey Wylde


GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: Eleonora and Joseph. Passion,Tragedy, and Revolution in the Age of Enlightenment - Julieta Almeida Rodrigues, Ph.D

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Bobby Truax - Denise Cassino
  • Red Chaos - Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller
  • The Way to Cape May - Kimberly Brighton
  • No, You’re Crazy - Jeff Beamish

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Ella’s War - Rusty Allen
  • Trail Magic: Lost in Crawford Notch - M.H. Sullivan
  • Freeze Frame - Tyler Beauchamp
  • New Normal - MIchelle Paris
  • Malfus: Necromancer Unchained - Casey Sutton
  • The Tenth Seat/A Novel - Steven A. Glazer
  • Reluctant Killer - Lisa R. Perron
  • Field Control: An NYPD Story - Harry Nyles
  • Time of Ends - Geoff Robberts
  • The Hollywood High Chronicles Book 1 - Melissa Velasco
  • Fraidy Hole - Staci Andrea
  • Rogues of the Crosslands: Azoria’s Blade - John Daze
  • Kurt - Hristina Bloomfield
  • Deeply in the Soul - Hristina Bloomfield
  • The Laundry Room - Lynda Lippman-Lockhart
  • The Assassins of Alamut - James Boschert
  • The Hollywood High Chronicles Book 2 - Melissa Velasco
  • Edmund Street - Rony Jane
  • Nad of Nadide - Wagia Abu-Rish
  • The Question - Greg Siofer
  • A Darker Shade of Giemsa - A.J. Donovan
  • Baja Silver - Timothy Brown
  • The Soul Machines - Alexandru Czimbor
  • Lotus - C.K. Durham
  • I Am Germany - Michael Witt
  • On Wings of a Lion: The Persian Glories - Susan Wakeford Angard
  • The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone - Paul E. Doutrich
  • Secrets of the Totenkopf Rings - Barb Goodwin/Doug Penikas
  • Secrets in the Mirror - Leslie Kain
  • Headcase Book 1: Shock and Denial - Chris K. Jones
  • Dominion 2024 - Geoff Roberts
  • The Wayward Mage - A.S. Norris
  • The Forbearing Mage - A.S. Norris
  • Twelve Nights with Viola & Olivia, and More - Lady Vanessa -S.G.
  • Secrets of the Royal Danish Egg - Barb Goodwin/Doug Penikas
  • Dr. Altman and the Concubines - Jacqueline Shortell-McSweeney
  • God’s Gift Women - Freddie Floyd Jr.
  • Created No Way Out - Jen Zahari


SCREENPLAY:

WINNER: Neptune’s Honor - Larry Thomas

RUNNER-UP: The Gang Busts Ghosts - Joe Pattison



YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: The Clockwork Pen - Jennifer Haskin

RUNNERS-UP:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Second Earth: The Draeus - Toni Taylor
  • Cryptic Spaces: Foresight - Deen Ferrel
  • A Machine Divine - Derek Paul
  • The Invisible Hand: A Pareto Sisters Mystery - Paul Eric Klein
  • Saving Sophia - Debbie Schrack
  • The Dawnbreaker Gambit - Tony Merriweather
  • Archer of the Heathland: Deliverance - J.W. Elliot
  • The Goddess of Second Chances - Kennedy Sangiovese
  • Botheration - Vito DiBarone
  • Rogues of the Crosslands Book 1 - John Daze
  • How the World Gets Done - Peter David Wilder
  • Public Display of Aggression - Hugh Fritz


CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: The Christmas I ALMOST Scared Santa Away! - Craig M. Porter Rollins

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Bentley’s Fantabulous Idea - Miki Taylor
  • Digger the Colony Worker Ant - Christian Kueng
  • Mr. Alex, The Hamster Who Wanted to be Free - Soudabeh Etessami
  • Bailey Speaks! - Mary Calvert

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • How The Strawberry Got Its Seeds - Alejandria Kate
  • Mommy’s Blue Stilettos - Missy Brickman
  • Be Tidy, or Not? - Joel Brown
  • Snoodles in Space - Steven Joseph
  • Freckles Finds a Family - Heidi Eberle
  • Monster Match: Book 1 (Frankinschool) - Caryn Riadeneira
  • Where Did Appa Go? - Sue Jin Kim
  • Marky the Magnificent Fairy - Cynthia Kern O’Brien
  • The Lantern Fairy - Alejandria Kate
  • The Merry Meerkats Go!! - Ty Lloyd-Calhoun
  • The Inspiring World of Ella Rose La Fleur - Lori Schneider, MD
  • Five and Ten - E.M. Schorb
  • Henri and the Magnificent Snort - Samantha Childs
  • Just Like Your Daddy - Tiffany Parker
  • WrestleDreamia - Daniel Boyd
  • The Adventures of Norma Jane - Jo Don Pat
  • Nurse Florence, How Does Our Spine Work? - Michael Down, RN, MS
  • Life Lessons of Lucy Lu - Gwen Kelly


GENERAL NON-FICTION:

WINNER: The American Way - Helene Stapinski & Bonnie Siegler

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Emotional Magnetism - Sandy Gerber
  • Not Funny - Jena Friedman
  • The Fresh Prince Project - Chris Palmer
  • Enemy Territory - Francis Gary Powers Jr. and Keith Dunnavant

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • The Empowerment Solution - Friedemann Schaub
  • Trailblazer Founders - Deepti Pahwa
  • Spy Pilot - Francis Gary Powers Jr. and Keith Dunnavant
  • The Saigon Guns - John Thomas Hoffman
  • The Fun Habit - Mike Rucker, Ph.D
  • The Financial Mindset Fix - Joyce Marter
  • The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster, MD
  • A Path to Excellence - Tony Jeton Selimi
  • Her Alibi - Mary L. Schmidt
  • Real Talk - Chinazom Sunny Nwabeuze
  • Unhunched - Aesha Tahir
  • Parish the Thought Too - John Ruane
  • Fighting for Justice - Paulette J. Buchanan
  • A Voice from Heaven - Alexander Girman, Cynthia Girman
  • Jigsaw Puzzle in a Vortex - Aurora M. Lewis
  • An Outcome As Perfect as Morning - N. Daniel
  • Be a Better Manager in Five Minutes a Day - Dr. Dominic Mcoughlin
  • Regenerative Business - Samantha Garcia
  • Finjamin and the Wild Ones - Linda Lacunza
  • Treasures in Trauma - Elaine Yarbrough
  • Why They Are Winning and You Are Not - Kat Sterling
  • Emerging from the Dark - Terence Ang
  • Echoes in Eternity: Street Cop Stories - James Disser
  • A Requiem for Evolution - Pierre W. Beausejour
  • Estelles: Our Galactic Reflection - Shelley Briske


HOW-TO:

WINNER: A Path to Excellence - Tony Jeton Selimi

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Fun Habit - Mike Rucker, Ph.D
  • Rise of the Warrior Leader - Claudio Chiste
  • The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster, MD

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Business & Marketing Strategy for the Proactive Performer - Kimberly Faye Greenberg
  • The Guitar Decoder Ring - Asher Black
  • Allison, You Are Beautiful - Erika Archer


WILD CARD:

WINNER: Immortal Red - Keith Hummel

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Limerick Comics - Robert Hoyman
  • The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster, MD
  • Vila and the Doomsday Affair - Roger Danchik

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Letters in the Attic - Meredith Lindsey
  • West Virginia: Paranormal Gateway - Fred Saluga
  • The Halloween Warriors - Esteban Vazquez
  • A Diary to My Babies - Carmen Grover


UNPUBLISHED:

WINNER: Rogues of the Crosslands: Azoria’s Blade - John Daze

RUNNER-UP: The Whole and its Parts - Emanuil MIhaylov


MEMOIR:

WINNER: Black on Madison Avenue - Mark S. Robinson

RUNNERS-UP:

  • How I Think I Should Be is B***S*** - Eileen Marder-Mirman
  • The Bionic Bullrider - Barry Brown

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Spirit of a Hummingbird - Felicia Thai Heath
  • Boy Wander - A Coming of Age Memoir - Jobert E. Abueva


SCIENCE FICTION:

WINNER: Summerday: Book 2 of the War Bunny Chronicles - Christopher St. John

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Endgame on Luna One - Isaac Petrov
  • The Ark Project: The Clone Paradox - J.B. Wadsworth
  • Diary of a Martian - Stephen Haunts
  • Portals in Time - John J. Teressi
  • Fallen Hunter - Mike Wyant Jr.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Taquoma - Kevin D. Miller
  • Mountains of the Gods - Diann T. Read
  • Rise of the Source: The Phantom Cobra - Don Universe
  • The Intrepid - Arnie Benn


BUSINESS:

WINNER: Ethical Profit - Samantha Richardson

RUNNER-UP: The Startup Visa - Tahmina Watson


SEQUELS:

WINNER: Protect the Queen - Steve Burt

RUNNER-UP:

Why Hearts Keep Secrets - Mara Purl

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • Pressure Point - Betty Briggs


HISTORY:

WINNER: Blood and Silver - Vali Benson

RUNNER-UP: Retro Active Television - Herbie J. Pilato

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • Adoption History - Rev. Janine Vance, Ph.D


SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS:

WINNER: Genesis of a Genre - Joe Markko

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Sand Dweller - Molly Neely
  • You Are Still Alive, Now Act Like It - Ray Catania

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • The Negative Effects of Comparison - Diane Paige Collins
  • Canvas of Healing - Suzette Welling
  • Godsway - Diana Skidmore Keathley
  • The MENtal Fight of Your Life - Freddie Floyd Jr.