The I & I Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Instruction and Insight non-fiction that are self-help, how-to, guides, or explanatory. In non-fiction works, the author assumes responsibility (in good faith) for the truth, accuracy, people, places, or information presented. The I & I Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best Instruction and Insight books featuring How-To, Guidance, Travel Guides, Cookbooks, Self-Help, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2022 I&I Non-Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2022 I&I Book Awards Finalists. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the First Place and Grand Prize Winners of the 2022 I&I Book Awards novel competition for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
Tana Hope – Healthy Habits for Desk Potatoes
Kenneth Nixon Jr. – Born Into Crisis
John W. Feist – Pocket Japan: a concise guidebook for business travelers to Japan
Deborah Vinall, PsyD, LMFT – Trauma Recovery Workbook for Teens
Kip and Pam Rosser – Vegetarian Tales From the Mushroom Rooms
Natalie Dale, MD – A Writer’s Guide to Medicine. Volume 2: Illness & Injury
Kerrin Margiano – Enjoy the Gift of Childhood
Simran Sadana & Meena Iyer – Ramayana Through Ikebana
Michael J. Freeman Ph.D. – Freeman Explains! The Things That Can Change That Should Be Changed
Matthew J. Louis – Mission Transition: Navigating the Opportunities and Obstacles to Your Post-Military Career
Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Dating While Autistic: Cut Through the Social Quagmire and Find Your Person
Ellen Notbohm – Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew
Gustavo J. Gomez, Ph.D. – Hair Loss: Options for Restoration & Reversal 2nd Edition
Ann E Feldman – Building Communities of Trust: Creative Work for Social Change
E. Alan Fleischauer – Reconfigurement
D. Terrence Foster, MD – The Stress Book: Forty-Plus Ways to Manage Stress & Enjoy Your Life
Tracy Cram Perkins – Dementia Home Care, How to Prepare Before, During, and After
Sandy Gerber – Emotional Magnetism – How to Communicate to Ignite Connection in Your Relationships
Donna McCart Welser – Rue’s Butterfly
Jocelyn Jones – Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within
Benjamin Plumb – The Satisfied Introvert: A Memoir About Finding Safety in an Extroverted World
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post.
We are now accepting submissions to the 2023 I&I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
The I & I Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Instruction and Insight non-fiction that are self-help, how-to, guides, or explanatory. In non-fiction works, the author assumes responsibility (in good faith) for the truth, accuracy, people, places, or information presented. The I & I Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best Instruction and Insight books featuring How-To, Guidance, Travel Guides, Cookbooks, Self-Help, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2022 I&I Non-Fiction Short List to the 2022 I&I Book Awards Semi-Finals. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the Finalists of the 2022 I&I Book Awards novel competition for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
Tana Hope – Healthy Habits for Desk Potatoes
Kenneth Nixon Jr. – Born Into Crisis
John W. Feist – Pocket Japan: a concise guidebook for business travelers to Japan
Deborah Vinall, PsyD, LMFT – Trauma Recovery Workbook for Teens
Kip and Pam Rosser – Vegetarian Tales From the Mushroom Rooms
Natalie Dale, MD – A Writer’s Guide to Medicine. Volume 2: Illness & Injury
Kerrin Margiano – Enjoy the Gift of Childhood
Simran Sadana & Meena Iyer – Ramayana Through Ikebana
Michael J. Freeman Ph.D. – Freeman Explains! The Things That Can Change That Should Be Changed
Matthew J. Louis – Mission Transition: Navigating the Opportunities and Obstacles to Your Post-Military Career
Gene Berardelli – Schnooks, Crooks, Liars & Scoundrels: A Field Guide to Identifying Political Buffoons
Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Dating While Autistic: Cut Through the Social Quagmire and Find Your Person
Ellen Notbohm – Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew
Gustavo J. Gomez, Ph.D. – Hair Loss: Options for Restoration & Reversal 2nd Edition
Ann E Feldman – Building Communities of Trust: Creative Work for Social Change
Margaret Tran – The Actions
E. Alan Fleischauer – Reconfigurement
D. Terrence Foster, MD – The Stress Book: Forty-Plus Ways to Manage Stress & Enjoy Your Life
Tracy Cram Perkins – Dementia Home Care, How to Prepare Before, During, and After
Sandy Gerber – Emotional Magnetism – How to Communicate to Ignite Connection in Your Relationships
Donna McCart Welser – Rue’s Butterfly
Jocelyn Jones – Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within
Benjamin Plumb – The Satisfied Introvert: A Memoir About Finding Safety in an Extroverted World
Daryl Potter – Even the Monsters. Living with Grief, Loss, and Depression
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post.
We are now accepting submissions to the 2023 I&I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
The I & I Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Instruction and Insight non-fiction that are self-help, how-to, guides, or explanatory. In non-fiction works, the author assumes responsibility (in good faith) for the truth, accuracy, people, places, or information presented. The I & I Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best Instruction and Insight books featuring How-To, Guidance, Travel Guides, Cookbooks, Self-Help, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2022 I&I Non-Fiction Long List to the 2022 I&I Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2022 I&I Semi-Finals. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the Semi-Finals of the 2022 I&I Book Awards novel competition for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Tana Hope – Healthy Habits for Desk Potatoes
Kenneth Nixon Jr. – Born Into Crisis
John W. Feist – Pocket Japan: a concise guidebook for business travelers to Japan
Deborah Vinall, PsyD, LMFT – Trauma Recovery Workbook for Teens
Kip and Pam Rosser – Vegetarian Tales From the Mushroom Rooms
Natalie Dale, MD – A Writer’s Guide to Medicine. Volume 2: Illness & Injury
Kerrin Margiano – Enjoy the Gift of Childhood
Simran Sadana & Meena Iyer – Ramayana Through Ikebana
Michael J. Freeman Ph.D. – Freeman Explains! The Things That Can Change That Should Be Changed
Matthew J. Louis – Mission Transition: Navigating the Opportunities and Obstacles to Your Post-Military Career
Gene Berardelli – Schnooks, Crooks, Liars & Scoundrels: A Field Guide to Identifying Political Buffoons
Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Dating While Autistic: Cut Through the Social Quagmire and Find Your Person
Mitzi Perdue – Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
Christopher H. Volk – The Value Equation: A Business Guide to Wealth Creation for Entrepreneurs, Leaders and Investors
Daniel Shyti – American Gaslighting: How America Is Being Systematically Taught to Hate Itself
Ellen Notbohm – Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew
Gustavo J. Gomez, Ph.D. – Hair Loss: Options for Restoration & Reversal 2nd Edition
Ann E Feldman – Building Communities of Trust: Creative Work for Social Change
Margaret Tran – The Actions
E. Alan Fleischauer – Reconfigurement
D. Terrence Foster, MD – The Stress Book: Forty-Plus Ways to Manage Stress & Enjoy Your Life
Tracy Cram Perkins – Dementia Home Care, How to Prepare Before, During, and After
Sandy Gerber – Emotional Magnetism – How to Communicate to Ignite Connection in Your Relationships
Donna McCart Welser – Rue’s Butterfly
Jocelyn Jones – Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within
Benjamin Plumb – The Satisfied Introvert: A Memoir About Finding Safety in an Extroverted World
Daryl Potter – Even the Monsters. Living with Grief, Loss, and Depression
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post.
We are now accepting submissions to the 2023 I&I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
The I & I Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Instruction and Insight non-fiction that are self-help, how-to, guides, or explanatory. In non-fiction works, the author assumes responsibility (in good faith) for the truth, accuracy, people, places, or information presented. The I & I Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best Instruction and Insight books featuring How-To, Guidance, Travel Guides, Cookbooks, Self-Help, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 I&I Non-Fiction entries to the 2022 I&I Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2022 I&I Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2022 I&I Book Awards novel competition for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Tana Hope – Healthy Habits for Desk Potatoes
Kenneth Nixon Jr. – Born Into Crisis
John W. Feist – Pocket Japan: a concise guidebook for business travelers to Japan
Deborah Vinall, PsyD, LMFT – Trauma Recovery Workbook for Teens
Kip and Pam Rosser – Vegetarian Tales From the Mushroom Rooms
Natalie Dale, MD – A Writer’s Guide to Medicine. Volume 2: Illness & Injury
Kerrin Margiano – Enjoy the Gift of Childhood
Simran Sadana & Meena Iyer – Ramayana Through Ikebana
Michael J. Freeman Ph.D. – Freeman Explains! The Things That Can Change That Should Be Changed
Matthew J. Louis – Mission Transition: Navigating the Opportunities and Obstacles to Your Post-Military Career
Gene Berardelli – Schnooks, Crooks, Liars & Scoundrels: A Field Guide to Identifying Political Buffoons
Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Dating While Autistic: Cut Through the Social Quagmire and Find Your Person
Mitzi Perdue – Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
Christopher H. Volk – The Value Equation: A Business Guide to Wealth Creation for Entrepreneurs, Leaders and Investors
Daniel Shyti – American Gaslighting: How America Is Being Systematically Taught to Hate Itself
Ellen Notbohm – Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew
Gustavo J. Gomez, Ph.D. – Hair Loss: Options for Restoration & Reversal 2nd Edition
Ann E Feldman – Building Communities of Trust: Creative Work for Social Change
Margaret Tran – The ACTIONS
E. Alan Fleischauer – Reconfigurement
D. TERRENCE FOSTER, MD – The Stress Book: Forty-Plus Ways to Manage Stress & Enjoy Your Life
Tracy Cram Perkins – Dementia Home Care, How to Prepare Before, During, and After
Sandy Gerber – Emotional Magnetism – How to Communicate to Ignite Connection in Your Relationships
Donna McCart Welser – Rue’s Butterfly
Jocelyn Jones – Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within
Jennifer Browdy – Purposeful Memoir as a Quest for a Thriving Future
Linda Kolsky – Heavenly Hindsights: How One Mother Found Meaning in Life After the Death of Her Child
Benjamin Plumb – The Satisfied Introvert: A Memoir About Finding Safety in an Extroverted World
Daryl Potter – Even the Monsters. Living with Grief, Loss, and Depression
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post.
We are now accepting submissions to the 2023 I&I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
“You should be a teacher!” “You do that so well!”
“I love how much you know about that!”
If you hear things like this often, there’s a good chance you should be submitting to our I&I Book Awards! The I&I Awards look at the best Instructional & Insightful work featuring How-To, Guidance, and Self-Help.
You can see all six of our Non-Fiction Divisions here. While these days, the How-To and Self-Help genres are ubiquitous, what do we really know about their origins?
A Closer Look at Instructional Literature
Ani’s Heart is weighed against a feather before Anubis in The Egyptian Book of the Dead
The first recorded genre that could be described as self-help was called “Sebayt” an Egyptian style of reading that translates as “teaching.” You can even think as far back as The Egyptian Book of the Dead which is an instructional guide for Ani as he begins the journey through the afterlife.
But do they work?
Aristotle believed that reading had healing capabilities. While self-help book buyers may not be cured of whatever ails them, feeling better is not to be entirely discounted. People hate their jobs, fail at love, fear getting old, worry about their weight; self-help books address and try to assuage these problems. Life hurts, and the promise that self-help books make is a relief of that hurt. (read more from Publishing Perspectives here)
Carnegie never made it as a fiction writer, and his initial idea to give lectures based on what would become his bestselling work was laughed at by universities. However, he certainly can be said to have succeeded as a writer as people continue to live by his suggestions to this day.
The self-improvement industry has been analyzed in a variety of academic disciplines, but its literary import has not received the attention it demands. The omission is even more glaring in light of the fact that self-help guides are among the most lucrative book genres of the past 30 years, with approximately 150 new self-help titles published every week.
The competition for book sales is sky high!
Like the entire publishing industry since the Kindle came out in 2007, the Self-Help industry is blowing up! With Chanticleer’s goal of Discovering Today’s Best Books, we aim to shine a light on the best How-To books, becoming a link in the circle that helps those books find their way into the hands of readers everywhere! We do this through our Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards and through Editorial Book Reviews.
I remember when working at Village Books the book that was sold back the most was Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It always came in with at least three other bags full of books from the same household. It seemed to be working! – David
Marie Kondo is an incredible success story with her lifestyle changes and instructions on organization. She did so well that she had her own Netflix series!
Kondo recommends keeping 30 books max in your house. We can’t quite bring ourselves to do that at Chanticleer.
Instructional & Insightful Books That Have Done Well at Chanticleer
Read on to see what we recommend from books that fit into the I&I Division.
TEN THINGS EVERY CHILD WITH AUTISM WISHES YOU KNEW
By Ellen Notbohm
Grand Prize Winner in I&I Awards
Renowned author and mother of a son with autism, Ellen Notbohm here writes from both a personal and a studied viewpoint.
Not so long ago, autism was considered incurable, hopeless, a sort of dead-end diagnosis. But with time and attention to real people on the spectrum, we know now that children with autism can become positive, productive adults. The author’s son, Bryce, decided early on to “be happy” despite his differentness. For parents initially facing the diagnosis, there will undoubtedly be challenges, often on a daily, hourly basis, but Notbohm’s diligent exploration assures us that “autism is not awful.”
The SUBURBAN MICRO-FARM
By Amy Stross
First Place Winner in I&I Awards
Author, educator, and urban farmer Amy Stross offers a comprehensive look at how to repurpose a small yard in the city for basic sustenance and so much more.
Award-winning writer Stross has composed a thoroughly practical guide to everything a reader would need to know to do what she did: transform a yard into a farm. Acknowledging that the ground surrounding a town dwelling is hardly what one thinks of when one thinks farmland, Stross draws from her personal experience to show precisely how the transformation can take shape. Her colorfully illustrated manual gives the basics for managing an ample garden space, or micro-farm, almost down to the minute (in fact, seven minutes twice a day).
The SATISFIED WORKBOOK
By Dr. Rhona Epstein, PsyD, CAC
Dr. Rhona Epstein, PsyD, CAC is the leading expert on Food Addiction Recovery.
She is a therapist who has recovered from the problems she now focuses on, seeking to help those who suffer from food addiction to recognize their problem and solve it with spiritual guidance.
Epstein has based this manual around the 12 Steps, a program originally geared to alcoholism and based on Christian principles, but gradually secularized to facilitate outreach to a broader group. The 12 Steps take the addict, of whatever sort, through a series of deepening inner questions and resolutions. Initially, the addict must admit he or she has an addiction – in this case, to food and overeating, resulting in bingeing and other disorders such as bulimia. From that point, there will be a diligent search for relief, aided by faith in God’s care, and concluding with the possibility of helping others with the same problems.
Author and entrepreneur Kris Kelso made a discovery about himself that he shares with others in his book,Overcoming The Impostor: Silence Your Inner Critique and Lead with Confidence.
The author was surprised in a first meeting at a new job to be referred to as an “expert.” It raised doubts in his mind about whether he had earned such a title, but it also forced him to do things he’d never done before and succeed in the process. But the voices in his head persisted, even as he went from accomplishment to accomplishment. His shadow, The Impostor, told him he didn’t know how to do a certain thing; moreover, he was making it up. The Impostor relentlessly mocked him, saying that just been lucky, he wasn’t a “real” businessman at all. When he learned about “Impostor Syndrome” – “a psychological pattern in which people doubt their accomplishments” – he realized that we all have an “Inner Impostor” that needs to be recognized, dealt with, and banished.
SAVORING the OLDE WAYS SERIES
By Carole Bumpus
First Place Winner in I&I Awards
The retired family therapist turned travel writer and culinary memoirist, Carole Bumpus shares the delicious first book in her new series,Savoring the Olde Ways: Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table.
In this first book, Carole takes readers on an intimate food tour of the Champagne, Alsace, Lorraine, and Paris regions of France. After being introduced by a mutual friend, Carole builds a special friendship with Josiane and her mother. Wanting to understand what brings and keeps European families glued together through generations of happiness and hardship, Bumpus begins by interviewing Josiane’s mother. Hearing about traditions passed down and the challenges of cooking during the war, the plan for a culinary tour of France is born among the women. Unfortunately, after travel delays out of their control, Josiane’s mother passes away before they can make the trip. Determined to make a dream trip a reality, Carole and Josiane set off to start a journey of a lifetime in honor of the woman who inspired it all.
EXPLORE EUROPE on FOOT
By Cassandra Overby
Grand Prize Winner in I&I Awards
Due to COVID-19 sweeping across continents, travel restrictions are at an all-time high. With the general population being placed on lockdown, the need for social distancing, and hunkering down moving towards an indefinite timeframe, some much-needed armchair travel adventures couldn’t come at a better time.
Here in Cassandra Overby’s encyclopedic guide Explore Europe On Foot, readers are taken through a step-by-step process of dreaming, planning, and hopefully soon experiencing memorable, slow travel ventures of a lifetime. Whether it’s choosing a route and destination, deciding what to pack, finding appropriate accommodations and food options, or dealing with inevitable challenges, Overby supplies a world of information in this informative foot (and bike) travelers’ guide.
Looking to submit to our other Non-Fiction Divisions? See them all here!
When you’re ready,did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services?We do and have been doing so since 2011.
Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).
If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.
We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis.Contact us today!
Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.
A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service, with more information availablehere.
And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn more here.
If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Reviewhereor to one of our Chanticleer International Awardshere.
And remember! Our 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22) will be April 7-10, 2022, where our 2021 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up, so sign up today! CAC22 and the CIBA Ceremonies will be hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Sign up and see the latest updates here!
Writer’s Toolbox
Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Spotlight Article.
In the Federal Prison Handbook-The Definitive Guide to Surviving the Federal Bureau of Prison, Christopher Zoukis has meticulously identified, collected, and organized a compendium of information regarding life in federal prison. Zoukis’ straightforward writing, free of personal bias or opinion, is neither mysterious nor titillating—reality is not sensationalized—it’s not fiction, it’s the facts.
However, if through some twist of fate, you or a loved one finds yourself in the unthinkable situation of going to prison, it may become the best book you’ve ever read.
Consider. You’ve been sentenced to serve time in one of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ 125 stand-alone facilities, a private contract facility, or a satellite prison camp scattered throughout the United States. You, who need directions to find your way through Costco to the deli, must now enter an unfamiliar world with its own lexicon, rules, and consequences. How will you survive?
As a thirty-year-old federal prisoner, incarcerated since he was a high school senior, Zoukis speaks authoritatively to that question—and other issues you haven’t even considered—and, why would you, with no previous experience or points of reference.
Zoukis has created a comprehensive guide to seemingly all aspects of prison life—from entering the front doors to the time you leave. He provides annotated, specific information regarding life in this mandated setting, a community which exists within both real and figurative walls. Its written and unwritten rules allow little latitude for divergent behavior or personal desires. And, perhaps equally important, Zoukis delineates the unique customs and unwritten social mores of prison culture.
Each handbook section cites and explains rules and regulations in detail, as well as providing practical tips, based upon the author’s experiences, observations, and information garnered from extensive interviews of fellow prisoners. The Federal Prison Handbook disabuses some of the sensationalism created by fiction, tell-alls, and media in general, regarding sexual abuse, gang violence, power hierarchies, and such. The topics are objectively elucidated within the context of the prison rules, consequences, and the overall prison culture.
Unlike many popular “survival” books, the Federal Prison Handbook will probably not give the reader an emotional rush or provide an epiphany regarding the meaning of life. However, it could prove invaluable to counselors, lawyers, families, and individuals who find themselves facing incarceration in the federal prison system.
Federal Prison Handbook-The Definitive Guide to Surviving the Federal Bureau of Prison won First Place in the Instruction & Insight Awards in 2017.
Are you in retirement, or close to it, wondering how you’re going to make ends meet pulling from your portfolio? Well, you’re not alone if you’re staying up at night thinking about how low-interest rates are killing your investments.
In a practical and easy to read format, Gomez explains to investors the particulars of a little known, yet potentially lucrative investment technique that can handle the ups and downs of the stock market. Unlike stocks, the underlying security of private money lending is a tangible asset – brick and mortar, so there is another layer of protection for you, the investor.
But what is Private Money Lending? According to Gomez, it refers to a private individual or organization that lends money. Typically, when you’re looking for financing, you would go to a bank. With private funds, on the other hand, you’re going to an individual or organization that specializes in this type of lending. The upside of private money lending is that it’s less regulated, which means less red tape. The icing on the cake, he says, is that these investments have consistently generated 9 to 12 percent returns* – not bad considering stock market investments have averaged closer to 7 percent, and with much more fluctuations. We can’t forget the economic crash of 2008 when many stock market investments plummeted close to 40 percent.
In a nutshell, amid the 2008 economic crash, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to help boost the US economy, the author explains in fluid and well-organized chapters. The general thinking was to reduce interest rates to encourage people to borrow money, who then would go on to buy more products – all good for the American economy. However, those same low-interest rates translated to less growth for those in retirement. Private money lending offers an alternative strategy that could generate a “predictable, safe, and consistent income stream that this low-interest rate environment does not currently permit,” Gomez says.
No investment comes without risk, Gomez reminds his readers, so his bottom line advice for investors: do your homework (start with this book), find out who is offering the loan, and check they have a good track record.
Even though the content derives from Gomez’s doctoral research and dissertation conducted at Florida Christian University in Orlando, it’s not academic in style. In fact, you will find it conversational and accessible, with a thorough glossary of terms (e.g., origination fee, negative amortization, and Private Mortgage Insurance) and recommended reading to further your knowledge.
Whether you’re in your golden years relaxing on a sandy beach or fast approaching retirement, you will want to read Gustavo Gomez’s Private Money Lending: Learn How to Consistently Generate a Passive Income Stream.
*as of the book’s publishing (2015)
Private Money Lending Learn How to Consistently Generate a Passive Income Stream won First Place in the 2017 CIBAs for Instruction & Insight!
The I & I Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Instruction and Insight non-fiction that are self-help, how-to, guides, or explanatory. In non-fiction works, the author assumes responsibility (in good faith) for the truth, accuracy, people, places, or information presented. The I & I Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
