Books-A-Million Announces Winners of 2nd Annual Publishing Contest

Books-A-Million received many impressive student submissions for its second annual BAM! Publishing Contest, but one young author's work stood out from the rest. Daniel Blokh from The Alabama School of Fine Arts was deemed the unanimous wordsmith winner for his captivating collection of essays titled "In Migration," and will be published through BAM! Publishing's Masterpiece Publishing Package.

"Daniel is wise beyond his years and his powers of observation are exceptional. Both those attributes are on full display in this collection of essays," said TJ Beitelman, Blokh's creative writing teacher at The Alabama School of Fine Arts. "Iris Rinke-Hammer, Daniel's sponsoring teacher, needs to be recognized here too; she has a gift for helping our students tell their truest stories."

As part of the first place Masterpiece Publishing Package, "In Migration" will be available for sale at the Books-A-Million in Brookwood Village through their Espresso Book Machine and online at Booksamillion.com. The school will receive $3,000 in Books-A-Million gift cards, which can be used to stock and supply its library and classrooms.

"We reviewed so many noteworthy works from talented contenders, but 'In Migration' was an extraordinary standout," said Joyce McKinnon, Espresso Book Machine Coordinator with Books-A-Million. "Daniel's writing demonstrates talent and, more importantly, a keen insight into the human experience. We are excited to reward Daniel and ASFA for this excellent work."

Second and third place winners for the high school publishing contest went to Mountain Brook High School's "The Muse" and Shades Valley High School's "The Valley Echoes." Mountain Brook High School will receive $1,500 in Books-A-Million gift cards and Shades Valley High School will receive $500 in Books-A-Million gift cards. The second and third place winning books will also be published with BAM! Publishing's Masterpiece publishing package, and they will be available for sale at the Brookwood Village Books-A-Million and online at Booksamillion.com.

Books-A-Million's annual Publishing Contest offers greater Birmingham-area high school students a chance to win a publishing package from the Espresso Book Machine to get their original work in print and on the shelves at Books-A-Million. The Espresso Book Machine is a full color, self-publishing machine that gives customers the ability to print their works or any user-generated content, photo books, recipes and more in about the time it takes to make a cup of espresso.

For more details about BAM! Publishing, please visit BAM! Publishing online. For more information about the BAM! Publishing Contest, please visit bampublish.com/contest.html.

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Books-A-Million, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is the second largest chain of bookstores in the United States. Books-A-Million got its start in 1917 as a magazine stand in Florence, Alabama and now operates over 250 stores in the 32 states as well as an online store at http://www.booksamillion.com. While Books-A-Million's presence has grown, the goal has remained the same: to serve each community with the best selection of books, toys, tech and more, all at great prices. Find the nearest Books-A-Million at http://www.booksamillion.com/storefinder.

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