The Bet That Really Paid Off: Aspiring Author Wins Writing Contest, will be Published in July 2012 Novel Headlined by #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Debbie Macomber

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 18, 2011

Christmas came early for aspiring author Darlene Panzera: just in time for the holidays, Panzera learned that a veritable angel, in the form of #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber, has selected Darlene?s novella, ?The Bet,? to be published in the July 2012 edition of Macomber?s heartwarming book, Family Affair. Darlene is one of hundreds of unpublished authors who participated in Avon Books? ?Make Your Dreams Come True? writing contest, offering all those who participated the chance to win a golden ticket ? the chance to be published alongside one of the most important authors in modern literature.

Avon vice president and executive editor Lucia Macro was tasked with selecting the top three entries for Macomber to judge. The choice was difficult: all of the entries were excellent and eminently worthy of publication. Macro says, ?Each time I started reading one of the submissions, I felt like I was opening a present. And, believe me, making the decision for the final three wasn?t easy. I was truly impressed by the quality of so many of the stories, and that?s a testament to the talented writers who took the chance and entered.?

The finalists included ?The Bet? by Panzera; ?Miss Chance? by Cheryl Johnson and ?Where There?s Smoke? by Amy Mullins. The manuscripts were delivered anonymously to Macomber, who read them without knowing who the entrants were, and what stories they wrote. The bestselling author says that she selected ?The Bet? because it seemed like a good companion to her own story, Family Affair. Macomber says, ?I read ?The Bet? with delight and found myself smiling at this classic romance many times. It was a pleasure to read; light-hearted and uplifting. The author shows a great deal of promise and I expect to see many more stories come from her.?

To Panzera, entering in this contest was truly a bet that paid off. In addition to winning a $ 500 cash prize, the opportunity to have her story on bookshelves (and e-bookshelves), packaged with a beloved Macomber tale, is something she?d never even dreamed would happen to her. Panzera, who graduated from the Writer’s Digest Advanced Novel Writing School and The Christian Writer’s Guild apprentice writing program, says that she spent six years trying to get her manuscripts published. ?The dream to be a published author has been there inside me for a lifetime. When I found out I won Debbie Macomber’s “Make Your Dreams Come True” contest I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t!? Panzera will admit, like most aspiring authors, that her family has had more than their share of burnt dinners while she struggled to find the right words to put on paper. But, like Macomber, Panzera takes faith in hard work and perseverance. ?If you work hard to improve your craft, connect with other writers, and believe in yourself, dreams can come true.? For more information about this fresh new voice, visit her website, http://www.darlenepanzera.com.

In talking about the results of the ?Make Your Dream Come True? writing contest, an unparalleled opportunity generously afforded by Debbie Macomber to aspiring authors looking to break into publishing, Macro concludes, ?This has been such a delightful experience for us here at Avon Books. Congratulations to the finalists and thank you so much to everyone who took the time to enter. And a special personal thank you to Debbie Macomber. I truly appreciate her gracious and always-generous support for ?unknown? talent.?

The paperback and e-book edition of Family Affair (ISBN 9780061997136: $ 6.99; on-sale 6/26/12), which includes ?The Bet,? will be available everywhere books are sold July 2012 from Avon Books.

About HarperCollins Publishers

HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world including the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children?s Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand and HarperCollins India. HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary and commercial fiction, business books, children’s books, cookbooks, mystery, romance, reference, religious and spiritual books. With nearly 200 years of history HarperCollins has published some of the world’s foremost authors and has won numerous awards including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement HarperCollins is the first publisher to digitize its content and create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business opportunities. You can visit HarperCollins Publishers on the Internet at http://www.harpercollins.com.

About Debbie Macomber

With more than 140 million copies of her books in print, the #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber is one of today?s most popular authors.

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Groundbreaking Pew Forum Religious Knowledge Study Features Stephen Prothero?s New York Times bestselling, RELIGIOUS LITERACY

Groundbreaking Pew Forum Religious Knowledge Study Features Stephen Prothero’s New York Times bestselling, RELIGIOUS LITERACY














Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — But Doesn’t by Stephen Prothero


San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 29, 2010

The United States is one of the most religious places on earth, but it is also a nation of shocking religious illiteracy. We have a major civics education problem today, says religion scholar Stephen Prothero. His book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – But Doesn’t, reveals what every American needs to know in order to confront the domestic and foreign challenges facing this country today.

Backed by the new findings in the Pew Forum survey, in his acclaimed book Prothero argues it is time to teach religion in American public schools. “Our national ignorance is staggering,” claims Prothero.

Consider this:


    Most Americans cannot name the first book of the Bible
    A mere 10 percent of American teenagers can name all five major world religions
    Fifteen percent of American teenagers cannot name any of the major world religions
    Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the Bible holds the answers to all or most of life’s basic questions, but only half of American adults can name even one of the four gospels
Unlike many who want to bring religion back into the public schools, Prothero has no theological, religious, or moral agenda. He argues on secular grounds that “Americans are not equipped for citizenship (or, for that matter, cocktail party conversation) without a basic understanding of Christianity and the world’s major religions.”

Complete with a dictionary of key beliefs, characters, and stories about Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the other major world religions, Religious Literacy is a provocative book that is generating an important national discussion.

Stephen Prothero is the author of the New York Times bestselling Religious Literacy and God Is Not One, and a professor of religion at Boston University. His work has been featured on the cover of Time magazine, Oprah, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, National Public Radio, and other top national media outlets. He writes and reviews for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Boston Globe, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Salon, and other publications. He holds degrees in American Religion from Harvard and Yale and lives on Cape Cod. For more information, please visit http://www.stephenprothero.com.

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