FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington Authors Receive International Best Business Book Award

Authors Rafael Colón and Alesa Lightbourne were awarded the prestigious Best Business Book Award, English language, at the 9th Annual International Latino Book Awards on May 31, 2007. The awards were presented during BookExpo America at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. These awards honor literary excellence in a variety of categories.

The SALSA Solution: Adding Picante To Your Life—A Parable for Success (ISBN 0966578538, $14.95). This inspiring story provides the ingredients for success in life and business with an Hispanic beat. Two Latino friends working in burnout jobs put gusto back in their lives by reviving their dream of becoming entrepreneurs. They learn critical lessons about managing a business, developing career goals, honoring family, lifelong learning and giving back to community. This is a transforming story that appeals to people of all cultures and ages, including those with the entrepreneurial spirit to succeed in business.

Latino Literacy Now is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes literacy and literary excellence within the Latino community. In addition to these book awards, the organization also awarded the Latino Literacy Now Lifetime Achievement Award for publishing excellence and, in association with noted actor, director and community activist Edward James Olmos, host of the national Latino Book and Family Festival series.

In recognition of the many positive contributions being made to Latino literature by publishers and writers worldwide, Latino Literacy Now, created the Latino Book Awards in 1999. Due to the dramatic increase in recent years in nominations of literary works from Mexico, Central and South America and Spain, the title of the awards was changed to the International Latino Book Awards in 2006.

Rafael Colón, founder of Voices Internacional and cofounder of Diversity Broadband, is a nationally recognized Latino keynote speaker and inspirational trainer. His previous book, Journey to Success: 8 Steps to Avoid the Career Dormido Virus, was awarded the 1998 Best Business Book of the Year by the North American Bookdealers Exchange, and the 2001 Best Self-Help English Language Book of the Year by the Latino Literary Hall of Fame. He, his wife and their two children live in the Pacific Northwest.

Alesa Lightbourne, Ph.D is co-author of eight books ranging from inspiration to corporate history.  Her work has appeared in hundreds of magazines and newspapers.  She is named in Who’s Who of American Women, and teaches writing and communications at Chapman University College and Columbia College.  Alesa has three sons, and lives with her husband on Whidbey Island in Washington.

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