SAN FRANCISCO BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS CULT EXPLORATION

SAN FRANCISCO_ A strange tale of a 19th century sex cult has garnered top honors at the 2023 San Francisco Book Festival, which honors the best books of the spring.

Author Susan Wels paints a compelling picture in An Assassin in Utopia: The True Story of a Nineteenth-Century Sex Cult and a President’s Murder (Pegasus Crime). The true crime story explores a forgotten chapter in American history, leading the reader from a free-love community in upstate New York to the shocking assassination of President James Garfield.

From 1848 to 1881, a small utopian colony in upstate New York—the Oneida Community—was known for its shocking sexual practices, from open marriage and free love to the sexual training of young boys by older women. And in 1881, a one-time member of the Oneida Community—Charles Julius Guiteau—assassinated President James Garfield in a brutal crime that shook America to its core. The story is a page-turning look at the cultural and political landscape of the time and well worthy of top honors.

Other winners in the competition:

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR:

WINNER: The Sergeant - Dean Calbreath


RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Fondas - Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince
  • The Boy from Boadua - Patrick Asare
  • My Whorizontal Life: An Escort's Tale - Sephe Haven
  • How I Think I Should Be is B***S*** - Eileen Marder-Mirman


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  How Do I Un-Remember This? - Danny Pellegrino
  •  Under the Naga Trail - James Taing
  •  "Are You a N****r or a Doctor?" A Memoir - Otto E. Stallworth Jr MD MBA
  •  Reading Jane - Susannah Kennedy
  •  The Warmth of Ashes - N. Daniel
  •  May Your Children Be Like You - Nanette Jordan
  •  Spirit of a Hummingbird - Felicia Thai Heath
  •  The Singing Nun Story - D.A. Chadwick
  •  The Adventures of Kozmos Lovejoy, Exp - Patrick O'Brien
  •  Unsuspecting Child - Marylee Martin
  •  Salvation is a Glazed Doughnut - Kathrin A. Swanson-Valerio
  •  An Outcome as Perfect as Morning - N. Daniel
  •  Paintings on Paintings - Nanette Jordan
  •  Living While Human - Arwinder Kaur


POETRY:

WINNER: Birth of a Daughter - Samantha Kolber

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Consolations of Science & Philosophy - Christopher Buckley
  • Everybody - Albert Goldbarth
  • All That Matters Now - John Witte
  • Words in Passing - E.M. Schorb

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  An Imaginary Affair - Diana Raab
  •  This May Sound Familiar - E.M. Schorb
  •  The Gold Tooth in the Crooked Smile of God - Douglas Cole
  •  portraits of red and gray - James Morehead
  •  Little Hour - Rae Gouirand
  •  Contra Mortem - E.M. Schorb
  •  The Saint of Everything - Deborah Keenan
  •  The Oratory of All Souls - Richard Robbins


YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: The Invisible Hand: A Pareto Sisters Mystery - Paul Eric Klein

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse: - Aurora Winter
  • The Clockwork Pen - Jennifer Haskin
  • The Game of War - Glen Dahlgren
  • Sticks & Stones: Breaking the Silence - Paddy Eger


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  The Halloween Warriors - Esteban Vazquez
  •  The Captain And The Lady - Cecilia Johansen
  •  Cryptic Spaces: Foresight - Deen Ferrell
  •  Isle of Shadows: The Inky Trilogy - Don Stansberry
  •  Argren Blue - Ross Hightower and Deb Helm


WILD CARD:

WINNER: Housewife Assassin - Geri Spieler

RUNNERS-UP:

  • West Virginia: Paranormal Gateway - Fred Saluga
  • I Want to Play College Golf - Angelina & Cameron Huang

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  Broken Pencils - J.R. Rice
  •  Villa and the Doomsday Affair - Roger Danchik

 

GENERAL NON-FICTION

WINNER: Overcoming the Fear of Being Fabulous - Judith Sherven, PhD and Jim Sniechowski, PhD

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Empowerment Solution - Friedemann Schaub
  • Homesick for Nowhere - Richard LeBlond
  • Under the Naga Trail - James Taing
  • The Financial Mindset Fix - Joyce Marter


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  The Art of Cycling - James Hibbard
  •  Staying Healthy Living Longer - Mary DiCaro
  •  Pandora’s Lockbox - Nico Lundborg-Griffith
  •  Touchstones: Life and Times of Modesto - Ken White
  •  I Thought a Thought - Ryan Wagman
  •  Learning to Feel: One Man's Path of Reconnecting to the Heart of Emotions - Kris Girrell
  •  Sooner Than I Thought - Stacie Ellerson
  •  Black Recovery - Anneca Peoples
  •  The Cost of Freedom - Lilyam Martino
  •  The World is Your Studio - Deborah McMahon Osterholtz
  •  Cambodia in the Dust - Kathryn Housden
  •  Miss Me, Always - Tasha Van Howe


GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: The Trail Back Out - Jadi Campbell

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Collector's Protege - Glenn Rehder
  • Pericles and Aspasia - - Yvonne Korshak
  • Bobby Truax - Denise Cassino
  • Ambush at Horse Creek - Michael L. Clark
  • The Outcast - Eve M. Riley

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  No, You’re Crazy - Jeff Beamish
  •  The Soul Machines - Alexandru Czimbor
  •  Fool, Anticipation - Robert Polakoski
  •  Under My Thumb - Gary Kassay
  •  Immortal Red - Keith Hummel
  •  The Reluctant Visionary - Datta Groover
  •  The Appointment - John Keeble
  •  Outer Sunset - Mark Ernest Pothier
  •  The Phantom of Pemberley - Regina Jeffers
  •  The Madrinega Missiles - Damien Hunter
  •  Utopia Revisited 2050 - Bhaskar Sompalli & Prem Menon
  •  Dead Lift - Peter D. Bove
  •  Montauk Time - Peter D. Bove
  •  Nad of Nadide - Wagih Abu-Rish
  •  The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy - Regina Jeffers
  •  The White Field - Douglas Cole
  •  The Rotting Whale - Jann Eyrich
  •  When Tomorrow Comes - Deb Larson
  •  De Facto Pathfinder - Cesare Giannetti
  •  The Middle Daughter - Chika Unigwe
  •  Captured by their Past - Miguel Arrufat Millan
  •  Compas - Lilyam Martino


HISTORY:

WINNER: An Assassin in Utopia - Susan Wels

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Rise of Napa Valley Wineries - Mark Gudgel
  • History of San Jose Auto Racing 1903-2007 - Dennis Mattish
  • Saffron, Rose Water and Blood - Soudabeh Etessami
  • The Last Moon - DeAnn Lubell


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  Swift Sword - Doyle Glass
  •  Cambodia in the Dust- Kathryn Housden
  •  Musical Nationalism in Indonesia - Sharifah Faizah Syed Mohammed
  •  Tales of Princes Past - Marjorie Anne Prince


BUSINESS:

WINNER: The Review Cycle - Matt R. Vance

RUNNER-UP: Cowboys & Conductors - Dustin Davis, Paul Jan Zdunek

HONORABLE MENTION:

  •  The Discerning Investor - Julie Jason


COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES:

WINNER: ESPN: One Giant Leap for FANkind - Bill Rasmussen

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Retro Active Television - Herbie J. Pilato
  • The Long and the Short of It - RJ Stastny


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Wandering in Japan - Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Laurie McAndish King
  •  Life Lessons from the Color Yellow - Patricia Walkow (check)


SCIENCE FICTION:

WINNER: Ripe - James Hider

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Last Lumenian - S.G. Blaise
  • Hierarchy of Blood - Jennifer Haskin


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  Taquoma - Kevin D. Miller
  •  The Rise: Dystopia - David Towner
  •  The Intrepid: Dawn of the Interstellar Age - Arnie Benn


CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER:Bailey Speaks! - Mary Calvert

RUNNERS-UP:


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • The Search for the Magical Egg - Becky Morrison
  •  Wild Thing and the Bagel - Erin L. Neal
  •  Thomas Hooker: Puritan Minister and Founder of the Connecticut Colony - Julia Kneeland
  •  Travel Bug 2 - Avril Jones
  •  Five and Ten , a Fairy Tale, a Few Poems…- E.M. Schorb
  •  Finn Finds the Mooster - Jacqueline Winnell
  •  Cristobal Bull - Chris Corbett
  •  A Story of Whoa - Chris Corbett
  •  Nurse Florence, How Does Our Spine Work? - Michael Dow, RN, MS
  •  Under the Golden Rain Tree - Eileen Hobbs
  •  The Audacious Adventures of Drippy the Dragon - E. Michael Lunsford
  •  The Letter Critters Word Book - Chase Taylor
  •  WrestleDreamia - Daniel Boyd
  •  Fields Apart - J.N. Kelly
  •  Digger the Colony Worker Ant - Christian Kueng
  •  Dressing Basil Up and Down - Diana Duncan
  •  My Thousand Treasures - Licia Chenoweth
  •  Roy the Robot - Taniya PT
  •  Huckleberry Academy The School of Imagination - J.L. Willis
     

 SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS:

WINNER: The Menu - Steven Manchester

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Being ONE - Scott Friedman
  • You Are Still Alive, Now Act Like It - Ray Catania
  • Lost Art of Wisdom - N.Daniel

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  Holy Parrot - Adam Mackey
  •  The Inward Outlook - Laura Basha, PhD
  •  Something We Never Imagined - Douglas Wemple
  •  Subtle Art of Suffering - N. Daniel
  •  The Unopened Present - Richard Battle
  •  These Dry Bones - Josh R. Ritter
  •  Moonlight Rocks - Yurie Kiri
  •  Estelles - Our Galactic Reflection - Shelley Briske
  •  Noble Truths Explained - Buddha Z
  •  Journey of Faith with Jesus,Mary and the Saints - Lea Agnero Powell

GAY:

WINNER: The Wealthy Whites of Williamsburg -Mike Karpa

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Obsequies: A Broadway Memorial - Gregory A. Kompes
  • The Prescott Labors: Tom Masters in College - Thomas De Tore
  • The Colourblind Grief - Jude Gorini

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  Sinful Fathers: A Spicy Romance - Philip Burbank Pallette
  •  Young Tom Masters: Love is Truth and Friendship - Thomas De Tore
  •  Tom Masters: Senior Year -Thomas De Tore


HOW-TO:

WINNER: Beep! Beep! Get Out of My Way! - Catherine DeMonte

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Woo-Woo Way - Sandy Evenson (check)
  • How to Talk to Anyone - Lucas Bailey
  • From Shrink to Think - Daniel R. Guilfoyle
  • The Kintsugi Moms - Dr Haseena Chokkiyil


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  •  Tales of the Profitable Trader - James Harris
  •  From Detect to Intellect - Daniel Guilfoyle, LCSW-R
  •  A Path to Excellence - Tony Jeton Selimi
  •  Science of Getting Rich for Women - Muse Literary
  •  Breathe, Sleep, Thrive - Dr. Shereen Lim
  •  Alchemical Search for the Unified Field - Richard E. Kretz  
  •  Nature Gifts of the Soursop Leaves - David Sohpohhuat
  •  Messed Up Like You - Rick Culleton


TECHNOLOGY:

WINNER: Humology - Joanne Griffin and Declan Foster

RUNNER-UP: The Business Case for AI - Kavita Ganesan

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • Pacifica - Richard C. Deason


PHOTOGRAPHY/ART:

WINNER: Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door - Emmanuel Laroche


ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:
WINNER: Woof! – Ethlie Anne Vare

RUNNER-UP: AI _ AGI Revolution - Ms. Bella St. John