2024 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS

LOS ANGELES_ The story of the “Bear Whisperer” of Mammoth Lakes is the top honoree of the Southern California Book Festival,  which honors the best books of the fall.

Authors Steve Searles and Chris Erskine’s What The Bears Know: How I Found Truth and Magic in America’s Most Misunderstood Creatures (Pegasus Books) is a journey with Searles, the “Bear Whisperer” of Mammoth Lakes, California.

Called on to cull a troublesome bear population, Searles realized there had to be a better way. He soon developed nonlethal tactics to control bear behaviors, heralding a landmark moment for the American black bear.

The lively story promises readers that they’ll never look at bears in the same way.

Other winners in the competition:

BUSINESS/TECHNOLOGY

WINNER: Index Funds - Mark Hebner

RUNNER-UPS:

• The 87-Day MBA - Vonne Williams
• The Chief Customer Officer Playbook - Rod Cherkas

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The ChatGPT Business Playbook - Kaden Kashner
• Leadership Anatomy - Satpreet Singh
• Business & Marketing Strategy for the Proactive Performer - Kimberly Faye Greenberg

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: The Pickles! of Pickleton - Bucleigh Newton Kernodle

RUNNER-UPS:

• Diwali In My New Home - Shachi Kaushik
• Bailey Speaks! - Mary Calvert
• Angel in City Park - Jan Thornton Jones

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Magic Pasta - Diana Pisher Walker
• The Fish Stick Detective - John Kilby
• Candace’s Big Audition - Joan Enockson
• Dancing Denise and the Spring Recital - Nikki R. Porter, Lauren Porter, London Porter

GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: Exile Music - Jennifer Steil

RUNNER-UPS:

• Forest for the Trees - Mathieu Cailler
• Against All Enemies - Thomas M. Wing
• Man Alone - Jack Remick

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Our Lives in Between - Billie Kowalewski
• The Throne of Osiris - Peter Meissner
• Our Lives in Between - Billie Kowalewski
• Paradise Undone - Annie Dawid
• The Secret - Eve M. Riley
• The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone - Pau Doutrich
• Diversionary Fires - Rodney Ross
• Beyond a Thousand Words - Michael Rose
• The Tenth Seat/A Novel - Steven A. Glazer
• Kill The Night - Terry Mark
• Dead Ending - Stephen G. Yanoff
• To The Victor - Steven Glazer
• Mabel Murphy - Mike Delaney
• Buried Relics - Don Helin
• Comes Around - C.D. “Tony” Hylton III
• Jingle Boys, A Novel - Herb Williams-Dalgart
• The Pleasure Seeker - Robyn Michaels
• After Hours: Life’s a Drag - Jerry Farley
• Chosen Mistress - Elizabeth Conte
• UMA: Champion of the Seven Dojo - Lawrence Kane & Kris Wilder
• A Hard Decision - Westley Thomas
• Hopeland - Ebenezer O. Makinde

REGIONAL LIT:

WINNER: Why Hearts Keep Secrets - Mara Purl

HOW-TO:

WINNER: Rise of the Warrior Leader - Claudio Chiste

RUNNER-UPS:

• The Fun Habit - Mike Rucker
• Doubt to Certainty - Mina Wasfi

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Visibility Mindset - Bernice Chao and Jessalin Lam
• Grip Life - Elizabeth W. Grubbs
• The U.S. High Power-Bill Crisis - John Rubio
• Grow it Back - Tamim S. Hamid

SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS:

WINNER: Legacy: Wisdom of African Tradtions and the Bible - Chris Morehouse

RUNNER-UP: Reign of Freedom - Ebenezer O. Makinde

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Negative Effects of Comparison - Diane Paige Collins
• Thou Shalt Be Wealthy - Nhanhla Cyri Khuzwayo
• From the Back of a Donkey - Nancy Elaine Hartman Minor
• Conversando con El/Conversing with Him - Julie Pujol Karel
• The Magnificence of the 3 - Timeout A. Taumua

YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: Man Alone - Jack Remick

RUNNER-UPS:

• Botheration - Vito DiBarone
• Ripples - Jasmine O’Hea
• Isle of Shadows - Don Stansberry

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Last Football Player - John Blossom
• Soar a Burning Sky - Steven Michael Beck
• SQL Quest: A Journey Through Data - Neha Saini

POETRY:

WINNER: Now You Are A Missing Person - Susan Hayden

RUNNER-UPS:

• My AfroRican State of Soul - Lucas Rivera
• Worth of Diamonds - Ebenezer O. Makinde

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Refugios del Alma - Eriberto De La Fe
• De Viaje Por La Vida - Auri Ascencio Uriostegui

GENERAL NONFICTION:

WINNER: What the Bears Know - Steve Searles, Chris Erskine

RUNNER-UPS:

• Completely Mad - James R. Hansen
• Saint Bloodbath - Frederick Douglass Reynolds
• The Fun Habit - Mike Rucker

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Gift of Sensitivity - Elena V. Amber
• The Last Hippy Poet of the Woodstock Generation - C. Steven Blue
• My Rock My Hard Place - Teresa L’Heureux
• Live in the Real! - Ark Sardarov
• The Ultimate Brag Book - Maria J. Albertie
• Jigsaw Puzzle in a Vortex - Aurora M. Lewis
• The Destination Birth - Alex Bisset
• The Snowman Project - Angie Dixon

MEMOIR:

WINNER: How I Lost My Kidneys in China - Randall Flores

RUNNER-UPS:

• Now You Are A Missing Person - Susan Hayden
• “Freedom!” They Cried - Stefan Meissner
• Honeymoon at Sea - Jennifer Silva Redmond

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Scriptless: A Memoir - Carol McMillian
• Already Home - Howard Frederick Ibach
• Hummingbird - Diana Raab
• The Last Hippy Poet of the Woodstock Generation - C. Steven Blue
• Already Home - Howard Frederick Ibach

WILD CARD:

WINNER: Now You Are A Missing Person - Susan Hayden

RUNNER-UP: The Adventures of Captain Polo - Alan J. Hesse

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Matador and the Mustang  -  James Smith

PHOTOGRAPHY/ART:

WINNER: Face is a Face is a Face: 101 Faces by Esther Pearlman - Esther Pearlman