THE LONDON BOOK FESTIVAL NAMES “ROTTENKID” FOR TOP HONORS


LONDON_A memoir sauteed in Hollywood stories, world travel, and the need to belong has won top honors in the 2024 London Book Festival, which celebrates the best of international publishing.

Cookbook author Brigit Binns’ coming-of-age memoir, Rottenkid: A Succulent Story of Survival (Sibylline Press)  reveals how simultaneous privilege and profound neglect lead Brigit to seek comfort in the kitchen, eventually allowing her to find some sense of self-worth.

In the old Hollywood of her childhood, Brigit seems to live in an elite world. But when her parents eventually divorce, Brigit racks up seven schools and a host of bad decisions before the age of 16.

Marriage to an Englishman takes her across the pond and to professional cooking school. But when that life comes crashing down, she returns heartbroken and alone to Los Angeles 18 years after vowing never to return. There she thrives, cold pitching herself to top chefs as co-author for their cookbooks. Peppered with humor and seasoned with optimism, Brigit’s story is an entertaining tribute to female resilience.

Other winners in the competition:

POETRY:

WINNER: Sunrise Over South Africa - Joseph Kuhn Carey

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Crossings - Chaitali Sengupta
  • Words in Passing - E.M. Schorb


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Ireland's Unparalleled Essence - Norbert G Gomes
  • Worth of Diamonds - Ebenezer O. Makinde



CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: Saving Noah - Andrea Hellman

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Dad Bag - Michael Ramos & Steven Manchester
  • The Fish Stick Detective - John Kilby
  • Captain Festus and the Close Shave - Douglas Cochran
  • The Ballad of Captain Jack Scurvy - Hazel Spire


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Goodnight Shadow - Kimberly J. Muller
  • The Land of Hearts - Antwinette Scott
  • Nishka's Golden Heart - Mel Kucenic
  • Spectrum Fairies - Diana Atehortua
  • Vroom! Barry, Kari and the Power Boost - William Wilberforce III
  • Clearlake - Stanislava Buevich
  • She Who Walks Above The Trees - Jennifer Conklin
  • Alex Axoloti's First Day of School - Angelrae Thompson
  • Ava's Talking Tree - Eva Hornyak
  • Tooth Tales and Enchanted Smiles - Angelina and Cameron Huang
  • Ava's Talking Tree - Eva Hornyak


BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

WINNER: Daylight Saving Time - David W. Berner

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Cuba, your children cry! - Otto H. Iglesias
  • Near the Danube Bridge - Catherine Allen-Walters
  • If I Die Before I Wake, A Caregivers Journey - Eli Shaw


HONORABLE MENTIONS:



GENERAL NONFICTION:

WINNER: Society and the Machine - Ashish K Saxena

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Hip-Hop Mindset - Toby S. Jenkins
  • Rise Above the Rut - Jay Nesbit
  • The Strong Family Guidebook - Joe and Mell Hashey
  • My Bear- Chronicles and Reflections of an Immigrant - Emanuil Mihaylov


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Rite Of Passage: - V. Michael Santoro
  • Killing Shore: - K.A. Nelson
  • Outside Voices: A Memoir.... - Joan Gelfand
  • Coping and Thriving with a Chronic Condition - Carla Cobbs
  • Awakening - Karina Cury
  • An Afro-Caribbean in the Nazi Era - Mary L. Romney-Shaab


SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS

WINNER: The Magnificence of the 3 - Timeout A.Taumua

RUNNER-UP: The Game - HRM Princess Merrilee of Solana

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • Light of Darkness - Ebenezer O. Makinde



MEMOIR:

WINNER: Rottenkid: A Succulent Story of Survival - Brigit Binns

RUNNER-UP: Last Days on the Zambezi - Steve Chapple

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • The Invisible Girl, a Memoir - Yvonne Sandomir

 

GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: Wylde Oates - Dell Brand

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Against All Enemies - Thomas M. Wing
  • The Secret - Eve M. Riley
  • Fireweed - Richard Vaughan Davies
  • Frank's Shadow - Doug McIntyre
  • All Grown Up - Catherine Evans


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Second Life - James Sniechowski
  • Three Princess Series - Bobby Cinema
  • 8 Seconds - Blagomira Halacheva
  • Comes Around - C. D. "Tony" Hylton III
  • Cryptic Blood - Don Stansberry
  • Third Librarian Detective Series - Bobby Cinema
  • Paradise Undone - Annie Dawid
  • Elephant Safari - Peter Riva
  • Light of Darkness - Ebenezer O. Makinde
  • The Light of Your Eyes - Donna Sonnenberg
  • Dominion 2024 - Geoff Robberts
  • The Falcon and The Shaikhs - John Dragonetti
  • Captured by their Past - Miguel Arrufat Millán
  • Hopeland - Ebenezer O. Makinde
  • Watch Dog - Rose Marie Rocchino


COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES:

WINNER: 1968: A Primer for Understanding Baby Boomers - Rick Robinson

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Adoptionland: From Orphans to Activists - Adoption Truth & Transparency Worldwide Network
  • I Dream I Wake I Write - Jane Ruby


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • A Fire for Christmas - William R. Hincy
  • Girl, Don't Play!!! Pray!!!! - Ina Johnson Myers


HOW-TO:

WINNER: Mission Possible: How to Graduate From College Debt-Free - Juan Phillip Chisholm

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Legacy, Learn It, Live it, Leave it - Eli Shaw
  • Buttercream Palette Knife Painting Techniques - Valeri Valeriano and Christina Ong


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • What, Who, Why, Where.... - Yvonne Sandomir
  • Coping and Thriving with a Chronic Condition - Carla Cobbs
  • Girl, Don't Play!!! Pray!!!! - Ina Johnson Myers
  • Edgar Allan Know and His Big Busy Brain - Rahni Varieur-Davies



WILD CARD:

WINNER: Bernadette Barrymore - Diane Coia-Ramsay

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster, M.D.
  • Sunrise Over South Africa - Joseph Kuhn Carey


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Isla Vulnerable - Ivan Luiz Hernandiz
  • Who Will Wear The Crown? - Seye Oke



BUSINESS:

WINNER: The Future of Work is Human - Hannah L. Ubl & Lisa X. Walden

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Backstage Pass: - Harvey Lee
  • Flawed: Why Perfectionism is a Challenge.... - Greg Chasso


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Be Human, Lead Human: - Jennifer Nash
  • Cassius King - Ebenezer O. Makinde


YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: Pretend - Jennifer Conklin

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Cryptic Spaces: Foresight - Deen Ferrell
  • Botheration - Vito DiBarone


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Tunnels of Treachery - Mary Harelkin Bishop
  • Belt of Chaos: - Shan Shan Nie
  • Angelina's Choices - Angelina Wang
  • Cassius King - Ebenezer O. Makinde



SCIENCE FICTION:

WINNER: The Black Map - Aaron T. Brownell

RUNNER-UP: Escape from the Future and Other Stories - Paul Clayton

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • Arena 2088 - Gabriel Minnella


GENRE-BASED:

WINNER: Against All Enemies - Thomas M. Wing

RUNNER-UP: Dawn of Legends - Matt Dragovits

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • By Rook Or By Crook - Nancy A. Hughes


ROMANCE

WINNER: Love ad Lib - Evie Alexander