- WINNER -
180 Days
by Alfredo Botello
Alfredo Botello is a novelist and screenwriter who has worked on projects ranging from the indie Sundance Global Short La Revolucion De Iguodala to the studio tent pole Fast and Furious 9. His debut novel, 180 Days, has garnered multiple literary awards. He is a Fulbright Fellow in architecture and a Nicholl Fellow in screenwriting.
In addition to screenplays and the novels, he has written for The San Francisco Examiner Magazine, Metropolis, Diablo, Surface, The Utne Reader, Style, The East Bay Express, and The Monthly. Botello co-owns Little Bird bar in downtown Oakland, and at home dotes on his two Corgis, George and Dotty.
- RUNNER-UP -
Sober Stick Figure
by Amber Tozer
Amber Tozer’s hilarious illustrated memoir, Sober Stick Figure, was an international bestseller and touted “the funniest book you’ll ever read about alcoholism” by the Seattle Times. She has written for Cartoon Network’s animated sketch series MAD and Adult Swim’s Moral Orel. Back in the day, pre-crazy times, her Twitter (X) account landed her on Rolling Stone’s list of “Funniest People on Twitter” and fueled her co-creation of #nitTWITS, a Twitter-based short film series featuring writers and performers from SNL, Modern Family, The Office, and Conan.
As a keynote speaker, she explains how emotional honesty and bringing humor to dark topics can fuel creativity. Her favorite speaking gig was for Hallmark because, after her talk, they hired her to write greeting cards (dream come true.) She has appeared on Last Comic Standing, Marc Maron’s WTF podcast and, one time, Ellen read one of Amber’s jokes on her show. After producing a live storytelling show called The Story-Yellers in London and LA, she took a break from the biz to travel and think about what’s really important in life … she discovered dogs are very important.
She is now living with her pups in the desert in Colorado and spends more time with her nutty family.
Aside from trying to read her dog’s minds, she spends her time ghostwriting, animating stick figures, developing a TV show, and working on her second book. She also helps manage her mom’s restaurant, Do Drop Inn, where silly and insane customers provide her with endless material.
Amber is still sober and is very keen on exploring more about recovery and human transformation. She takes long breaks from social media because she is experimenting with not losing her mind.