Toads' Museum of Freaks and Wonders Wins Gold

Goldie Goldbloom's novel Toads' Museum of Freaks and Wonders (New Issues, 2010) has won the gold from ForeWord Reviews.

Winners of the Book of the Year Award from ForeWord Reviews represent the best independently published books from 2010 and were selected by a panel of librarian and bookseller judges.

Book of the Year 2010 Winners in Fiction - Literary Category

* Gold: Toads' Museum of Freaks and Wonders by Goldie Goldbloom
* Silver: Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
* Bronze: John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel by Kenneth Womack
* Honorable Mention: Journey to Virginland: Epistle I by Armen Melikian

Goldbloom Wins GLCA New Writers Award

Goldie Goldbloom's novel Toads’ Museum of Freaks and Wonders has won the 2011 GLCA New Writers Award for Fiction from the Great Lakes Colleges Association. Winning writers receive invitations to visit GLCA member colleges, where they give readings, meet and talk about writing with students and faculty members.

The GLCA judges noted:

This novel includes stunning descriptions of place; it is interestingly grounded in the historical billeting of Italian soldiers in the Australian outback during the Second World War. Its characters are both quirky and well-grounded, and their many eccentricities make the novel both distinctive and compelling.

Toads' Museum of Freaks and Wonders is part of the AWP Award Series in the Novel, published by New Issues Press. Goldbloom's novel was selected for the series by Joanna Scott.

Toads' Museum of Freaks and Wonders
Goldie Goldbloom

NewPages.com Reviews Toads' Museum of Freaks and Wonders

Visit NewPages.com for a review of Toads' Museum of Freaks and Wonders, the new novel by Goldie Goldbloom, winner of the 2008 AWP Award for the Novel. Reviewed by Alex Myers.

"Delightful strangeness abounds in this novel, whether it is Mr. Toad’s collection of Victorian corsetry, the foul-mouthed cockatoo that lives on the veranda, or the bright magenta uniforms the Italian POWs are supposed to wear. The characters, too, are not just strange on the surface, but are richly odd, profoundly other."

Goldbloom Novel to Debut at Chicago's Women & Children First

Toads' Museum of Freaks and Wonders, a novel by Goldie Goldbloom, will debut at Chicago's independent bookstore Women & Children First, Sunday, March 14th, at 4:30 p.m.

Goldbloom's novel was chosen by novelist Joanna Scott to win the 2008 AWP Award Series in the Novel, an award given by the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.

In her judge's citation, Joanna Scott called Toads’ Museum of Freaks and Wonders "a strange, mesmerizing tale about characters uncomfortably defined by superficial eccentricities. It is also a wrenching love story."

Visit the New Issues website for more information about Goldbloom's novel. The book will be available February 26.

Winner of the 2008 AWP Award Series in the Novel

Goldie Goldbloom of Chicago, Illinois, has won the 2008 AWP Award for the Novel for her manuscript titled Invaded. Joanna Scott, author of Everybody Loves Somebody and The Manikin, judged the contest for AWP. AWP is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving American letters, writers, and programs of writing. Visit the 2008 AWP Award Series page for more information on the contest and to view the winners of the other categories.

Judge's Statement: "Invaded is a strange, mesmerizing tale about characters uncomfortably defined by superficial eccentricities. It is also a wrenching love story."

Goldie Goldbloom's stories have appeared in StoryQuarterly and Narrative Magazine. She lives in Chicago and has eight children.