Sarasota Author Wins Honors For Book On Sarasota Society Queen

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Looking for a good book to read over spring break and maybe to buy in anticipation of summer vacation? According to the Florida State University Libraries 12th annual Florida Book Awards, you can’t go wrong with these winning books by Florida authors.

With more than 200 eligible books submitted, the Florida State University Libraries announced the winners of this year’s annual contest.

Among this year's winners is one of special interest to Sarasota residents because it tells the story of Sarasota's "society queen" of the early 20th century.

Sarasota author Frank Cassell's book, “Suncoast Empire: Bertha Honore Palmer, Her Family, and the Rise of Sarasota, 1910-1982 ," published by Pineapple Press, won a Silver Medal in the Florida Nonfiction Category.

In the early 20th century, Bertha Palmer was one of the best-known and wealthiest women in America. She was an art collector, women's rights advocate, businesswoman, owner of Chicago's Palmer House Hotel and owned elegant homes in Chicago, Paris and London.

In 1910 she traveled to the small and rough settlement called Sarasota. For some reason, she decided to spend much of each year for the rest of her life on one of America's last frontiers, investing in cattle and farming, creating communities out of marshlands, pine forests and tropical jungles.

The social reform advocate excelled as a frontier entrepreneur, just as she had in every other endeavor in her life. She managed to make a good deal of money and to change Sarasota forever.

Also taking home a Silver Medal, this one in General Fiction, was Bradenton author Elizabeth Sims for her book, “Crimes in a Second Language," published by Spruce Park Press.

Sims' book is the story of retired school teachers Elnice Coker and her husband Arthur, who move from Indiana to Hollywood Hills to add to excitement to their lives. Elnice befriends her housecleaner, Solita, and decides to teach her English. In the process, they encounter treachery and danger.

And garnering a Bronze Medal in the Popular Fiction Category was Sarasota author Ward Larsen for "Assassin's Code," published by Forge Books.

"Assassin's Code" is Larsen's latest novel featuring former assassin David Slaton. In this novel, Slaton discovers a cryptic message on a memory stick -- a photograph of the man who will soon assume command of France’s elite counterterrorism force. But Slaton is sure this man is really a terrorist Slaton thought he'd killed 15 years earlier.

Other winning authors that you might want to check out are:

YOUNGER CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

GOLD: Rob Sanders (Brandon), "Rodzilla" (Simon and Schuster)

SILVER: Carrie Clickard (Gainesville), “Dumpling Dreams” (Simon and Schuster)

BRONZE: Marianne Berkes (Orange City), “Baby on Board: How Animals Carry Their Young”

OLDER CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

GOLD: Ed Masessa (Florida), “Wandmaker’s Apprentice” (Scholastic)

SILVER: R.M. Romero (Miami Beach), “The Dollmaker of Krakow” (Penguin Random House)

BRONZE: Rodman Philbrick (Florida Keys) “Who Killed Darius Drake?” (Scholastic)

COOKING

GOLD: Norman Van Aken (Miami), “Norman Van Aken’s Florida Kitchen” (University of Florida Press)

FLORIDA NONFICTION

GOLD: Arlo Haskell, “The Jews of Key West,” (Sand Paper Press.)

SILVER: Frank Cassell (Sarasota), “Suncoast Empire” (Pineapple Press)

BRONZE: Julio Capó Jr., “Welcome to Fairyland” (UNC Press)

GENERAL FICTION

GOLD: Laura Lee Smith (Palm Coast), “The Ice House” (Grove Press)

SILVER: Elizabeth Sims (Bradenton), “Crimes in a Second Language” (Spruce Park Press)

BRONZE: Randy Wayne White (Sanibel), “Mangrove Lightning” (G.P. Putnam Sons)

GENERAL NONFICTION

GOLD: Edwidge Danticat (Miami), “The Art of Death” (Graywolf Press)

SILVER: D. Bruce Means (Tallahassee), “Diamonds in the Rough” (Tall Timbers Press)

BRONZE: Kristine Harper (Tallahassee), “Make it Rain: State Control of the Atmosphere in Twentieth-Century America” (University of Chicago Press)

POETRY

GOLD: Kaveh Akbar (Tallahassee), “Calling a Wolf a Wolf” (Alice James Books)

SILVER: Terry Ann Thaxton (Winter Springs), “Mud Song” (Truman State University Press)

BRONZE: Michael Hettich (Miami Shores), “The Frozen Harbor” (Red Dragonfly Press)

POPULAR FICTION

GOLD: Patricia Gussin (Longboat Key), “Come Home” (Oceanview Publishing)

SILVER: Robert Macomber (Pine Island), “An Honorable War” (Pineapple Press)

BRONZE: Ward Larsen (Sarasota), “Assassin’s Code” (Forge Books)

SPANISH LANGUAGE

GOLD: Pedro Medina León (Coral Gables), “Varsovia” (Sudaquia Editores)

SILVER: Carlos García Pandiello (Miami), “Jaspora” (Aduana Vieja Editorial)

YOUNG ADULT

GOLD: Jenny Torres Sanchez (Orlando), “Because of the Sun” (Delacorte Press)

VISUAL ARTS

GOLD: Jared Beck and Pamela Miner, “River and Road,” (University of Florida Press.)

Authors must be full-time Florida residents, except in the Florida nonfiction and visual arts categories, where the subject matter must focus on Florida.

The winning authors from across the state will be honored at the Abitz Family Dinner, the annual awards banquet April 12 at Mission San Luis in Tallahassee.

For information, visit the Florida Book Awards website.