On May 21 at the Union Club, the Chicago branch of the Illinois Women’s Press Association awarded its Silver Feather awards for writing excellence to several of Connie’s projects, including both of her most recent books, It Came from the ’70s: From The Godfather to Apocalypse Now and Hellfire & Damnation. Both books have already scored (first-ever) E-Lit awards for their Kindle versions ($8.50 and $2.99, respectively, on Amazon and Barnes & Noble). Hellfire & Damnation, which is organized around Dante’s Inferno and its 9 Circles of Hell, also placed 7th (of 46 nominees) on the Preliminary Stoker Ballot. (Stephen King placed 10th on that ballot) from the HWA (Horror Writers’ Association. A sneak preview of one of the stories from the sequel to follow went up (for 99 cents) as a Kindle short story (6,500 words) on May 17th, entitled “The Bureau.”
A third book Ghostly Tales of Route 66 in Kindle format also was named a Gold Medal winner in the E-Lit awards in the travel category earlier this year. ($9.50 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble). It has only recently been made available in other than print format, although the Kindle format contains several new stories never before published, but has no pictures as the print versions do.
Other categories awarded Silver Feather awards for excellence in writing by the IWPA were:
Photo on the Web for “The Tall Ships in Chicago at Navy Pier” on www.WeeklyWilson website.
Writing for the Web: “Obama in Iowa for Health Care Initiatie: Tea Partiers Rally Outside Iowa City Fieldhouse.”
Writing for the Web, Column or Commentary: “Opinion: Phil Hare Is Better Choice than Bobby Schilling in Illinois’ 17th District Race,” Yahoo! News.
Videos for the Website, Special Interest Site: Hellfire & Damnation, Quad Cities’ Learning, dba Quad City Press
Writing for the Web, Feature Article: “What Did General Stanley McChrystal Really Say in the ‘Rolling Stone’ Article that Got Him Fired?”, Yahoo Contributor Network
Website Development, Special Interest Sites: www.ConnieCWilson.com, Quad Cities’ Learning, Inc.
Blogs, Webcontent, Special Interest Sites, “Weekly Wilson: Chicago Film Festival: Encounters of the Famous Kind,” WeeklyWilson website.
Connie signed copies of her newest book, It Came from the ’70s: From The Godfather to Apocalypse Now at the BEA (Book Expo America) on Wednesday, May 25 from 2 to 3 p.m. and she will be selling and signing copies of all of her books at Printers’ Row on Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If you miss her there, try the RME (River Music Experience) on July 30th in Davenport, Iowa, during the Bix Road Race weekend which coincides with the RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Race Across Iowa) race finale. She will also be heading out for appearances at an assortment of Family Video stores with the movie book and delivering a lecture at the Moline Club in the near future. (Stay tuned for further developments.)
Pamela Rhodes
Congratulations! Way to go!