Self-published book bags 2009 PEN Oakland Award

C. Paolo Caruso, author of the self-published book, Sophia’s Exit Strategy bested other writers in the 2009 Pen Oakland Award, as distinguished from the Ernest Hemingway PEN for outstanding achievement by first-time authors.

Founded in 1989, PEN Oakland is an international organization of literary artists which aims to address multicultural issues and educate the public as to the nature of multicultural work. It aims to lobby against literary censorship practices across the United States as well as promote the role of literature in the development of mutual understanding and world culture. PEN, which originally stands for Poets, Essayists and Novelists, now includes writers of any form of literature, such as journalists or historians.

The award ceremony will take place on December 6, 2009 at San Francisco.

Sophia’s Exit Strategy is a poignant novel about a beautiful and reserved young woman named Sophia Lucarno, who struggles to break free from the shackles of an arranged marriage.

The book is also available in St. Mar’s Book, New York. Sophia’s Exit Strategy is published with Xlibris.

C. Paolo Caruso hold a Bachelors and Masters degree from Pace University and M. Phil Columbia University, respectively. She has also taught and lectured in different universities in the US and has a number of published articles on political and social issues.

A well-traveled person, C. Paolo Caruso is currently a trainer in the InterFuture cross-cultural understanding program for college students.