Chicago Author Wins Writer's Digest Book Award; Winged Victory Press's 'Noble Vision,' A Romantic Thriller and Thought-Provoking Look at Today's Healthcare Crisis, Takes Honorable Mention in Mainstream Fiction Category.

CHICAGO -- The Writer's Digest 13th international book awards has just honored first-time fiction writer and Chicago-based author Gen LaGreca with one of the most sought after awards in the publishing world for her dramatic novel "Noble Vision." This book competition celebrates small press publishers and is sponsored by Writer's Digest magazine, considered the bible for up-and-coming writers. "Noble Vision" won honorable mention in the category of mainstream fiction.

This first novel of Genevieve (Gen) LaGreca, a former pharmaceutical chemist and healthcare writer, was one of the top six picks in a field swamped with hundreds of submissions. The announcement comes in the current March 2006 issue of the nation's leading magazine for writers. In a letter to LaGreca, Writer's Digest editor Kristin Godsey observed, "Competition was particularly fierce this year, so your accomplishment is truly impressive."

"Noble Vision" is the love story of a beautiful Broadway dancer whose life is shattered by a tragic accident and a young neurosurgeon determined to save her. The ballerina's only hope is a revolutionary new treatment the surgeon has developed to repair damaged nerves. The new procedure, however, does not have the required approval of their state's health system, a bureaucracy bogged down with cost overruns and other politically motivated priorities. The doctor must ultimately risk everything to fight for his work and the woman he loves.

According to Writer's Digest, "The author seems to know a great deal about the medical profession and the issues surrounding it. The novel is dealing with some of the most serious issues of our day, and this lends the story an immediacy and vibrancy. The author's prose is polished and professional. The book reads like the work of an experienced author."

"Noble Vision"'s all-too-accurate portrayal of today's real threats to quality healthcare earned endorsements from medical leaders, including Edward Annis, past president of the American Medical Association, and Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. The novel also garnered praise from magazine magnate Steve Forbes, Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, and syndicated columnist Walter Williams.

"Noble Vision" was published in 2005 by Winged Victory Press, a Chicago-based independent press formed by LaGreca and her associates. "We're dedicated to publishing works that inspire freedom and independence," said LaGreca. Winged Victory Press will also publish the author's second novel, a semi-finalist in the Pirate's Alley William Faulkner Creative Writing Competition.

This emerging Chicago author lives in the booming Near South, the city's fastest-growing neighborhood. She just completed the screenplay of "Noble Vision," which made semi- and quarter-finalist in several contests, including the acclaimed Phoenix Film Festival/Arizona Screenplay Search. She is now honing her script with the aid of a Hollywood screenplay coach and senior instructor at UCLA Extension's internationally known Writers Program.

The Writer's Digest award comes to LaGreca at the kick-off of Small Press Month, a nationwide celebration of independent publishers. The March 2006 industry-wide event is sponsored by Kurt Vonnegut, the American Booksellers Association, the Independent Book Publishers Association and other publishing leaders.

"NOBLE VISION," a novel by Gen LaGreca
         Available to the trade from Biblio Distribution/NBN,
                        Ingram, Baker & Taylor
                        6 X 9 inches, 338 pages
                 Hardcover: ISBN 0-9744579-8-1, $27.95
                 Paperback: ISBN 0-9744579-4-9, $14.95

High resolution COVER IMAGES and AUTHOR'S PHOTO are available at www.wingedvictorypress.com under "Downloadable Images."