Diane Auten, a communications professor at Allan Hancock College, was nominated for a 2018 Author Academy Award for her book The Joys of Raising Boys: The Good, the Bad, and the Hilarious.
Auten’s book is a memoir chronicling her life as a mother raising two boys. She spent more than 10 years writing the book, working with the Central Coast Writer’s Conference to get it published.
“After many years of sharing funny stories and quotes from my sons on social media, people would always say I should write a book,” Auten stated in a press release. “So I did. My book is not only a ‘momoir’ about my boys and their funny antics, but it also has a theme of how to improve communication with the boys in your life and raise them to be good communicators as adults.”
According to its website, the Author Academy Award recognizes “literary merit and publishing excellence in the writing and publishing industry,” and is presented annually by the Author Academy Elite (AAE). Auten is one of 10 finalists competing in the memoir category.
The awards take place Oct. 26 in Columbus, Ohio. To vote in the awards, visit authoracademyawards.com/finalists2018.
Arts Briefs is compiled by Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose. Send information to rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 6, 2018.