“STAN LERNER’S CRIMINAL” WINS THE GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK AT THE 2008 HOLLYWOOD BOOK FESTIVAL
Literary sensation Stan Lerner added another accomplishment to his long list Friday night at the Grove winning the Hollywood Book Festival’s highest honor.

Los Angeles July 13, 2008—LRT Management announced that the highly acclaimed crime novel “Stan Lerner’s Criminal”, the story of the world’s most powerful drug dealer—Sam Noah, written by LRT client Stan Lerner won the top honor at the 2008 Hollywood Book Festival. The book, published by Mr. Lerner’s own publishing house Lerner Wordsmith Press, prevailed in a hotly contested field against some of the biggest names in the publishing industry. The Hollywood Book Festival was anticipated to be the final stop on the book’s LA reading and signing tour (which is also the subject of the documentary “LA Signings” currently in production) but Lerner Wordsmith Press is now in discussions with additional stores and libraries for several other events in the Los Angeles area.

“Stan Lerner’s Criminal” is the product of the author’s own dark past. Lerner himself was once considered to be one of the most powerful men in the drug world. His newfound willingness to write and speak on the subject has made his LA signings the talk of the literary community. Listeners at readings usually sit clutching their seats, white knuckled, while Mr. Lerner accompanied by some of Hollywood’s finest actors delivers readings that are more theatrical spectacle than intellectual talks.

Lerner’s journey from the world of crime, to highly respected legitimate businessman (clothing, nightclubs, gyms, restaurants, art galleries, real estate, ticketing), to partner of CAA founding president Rowland Perkins in his once heralded internet company IEP, to Las Vegas show producer, to motion picture writer, director, producer, to arguably, the best author of his generation could seemingly be a book unto itself. Yet Lerner is almost pedantically humble about his life when he says, “A long time ago I told an LA Times reporter, writing a not so nice story about me, that I was working everyday to be a better person—to be better at what I do. Twenty years of hard work later I’m still working on it—still trying to get it right. I really hope by the end people will think of me as a man who gave a lot more than he took from this world.”

Lerner added still further interest to this years festival with the honorable mention given to his children’s book “Stanley the Elephant”. The Grand Prize winning author of perhaps the most explicitly violent and sexually graphic book ever written almost took home the top honor for best children’s book as well—showing off his unequaled scope of ability.

About “Stan Lerner’s Criminal”

“Stan Lerner’s Criminal” is the shocking and horrifying tale of, Sam Noah, the greatest criminal mind and most powerful purveyor of illegal drugs the world has ever known. Considered the most dangerous criminal on the face of the earth by the FBI, Noah is also part of an ongoing drug conspiracy that makes him the CIA’s most valuable asset. “Stan Lerner’s Criminal” utterly transports the reader into the darkest of all places, the criminal mind. Never before has a story so accurately depicted the most heinous crimes of the last half of the twentieth century. Never before has a book dared to expose the inventor of the crack house and drive-by-shooting. Never before has a book explained the relationship between the world’s most powerful criminal, the sell of illegal drugs, and the government of the United States. Never before has a book dared to explore the evil life of Sam Noah and the one good man who tried to stop him.

For additional information or a copy for review (press only please) please contact:
Lisa Thomas
(818) 777-4947

About Lerner Wordsmith Press

Lerner Wordsmith Press, founded in 2007 and based in Los Angeles, is the latest in a long line of innovative business ventures to be launched by Stan Lerner. Mr. Lerner, often called an entrepreneur extraordinaire has created a book publishing company that is a unique blend of traditional book publishing and Hollywood movie making. The company owns the movie rights to its books and has placed a particular focus on rewriting unmade screenplays into books, which it will then go back and make into motion pictures. The company plans on releasing 24 titles in the next two years. Perhaps most compelling, is the fact that Mr. Lerner the entrepreneur, is also a writer and moviemaker of exceptional ability. Lerner Wordsmith Press is a publishing company that is run by a President that can not only publish a novel—he can write one.

About The Author

Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Stan Lerner the author is the product of one of the worst public school systems in the United States but as a painter, playwright, musician, choreographer, screenwriter, director, and novelist, triumph after triumph has ensued. From the paintings of Black Period to the motion picture Meet The Family, the Las Vegas spectacle Night Tribe, and now the novel “Stan Lerner’s Criminal” he has done nothing less than shift the paradigm of his chosen media. For a look at the world through the eyes of Stan Lerner, please visit his personal blog: http://www.stanlerner.com

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