Paris Book Festival Names Dystopian Novel for Top Honors

PARIS_ The story of a strange new society and an entertainment empire built around two bizarre TV shows is the top book of the 2026 Paris Book Festival, which honors the best of international publishing.

Author J Loretta’s The Aspirants is centered on a TV show featuring terminally ill patients committing suicide on live TV and another broadcast featuring dangerous rescue missions.

Set in a world of the near future, with drones monitoring the world and homeless tent cities creating separate societies within society, the story examines the limitations of the health care system, homelessness, and the inequalities caused by poverty that results in hard life choices.

Using the backdrop of the streets of Paris, the page-turning story makes the reader reflect on the morality of society and the impact of policies on our collective humanity. Ultimately, the characters must consider how far is too far for a good cause.

The book won the General Fiction category and is well worthy of top honors.

Other winners in the competition.

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY

RUNNER-UP: The Legacy of the Twins Platoon – Christy Sauro Jr.

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Faith, Cancer, God’s Miracle – Ray Scott

BUSINESS

WINNER: The Million Dollar Hurdle – Jim Fitzgerald

RUNNERS-UP:

• 10 Things I Learned From the Billionaire – Calvin Barry Schwartz/Kae Wagner
• The Happy High-Performing Lawyer – Dr. Stephen Rue
• The Listening Advisor – John Gatewood
• Marketing Mindset in Motion – Leora Lanz

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Do Your Thing – Ralph Hamers
• FIATA Forever: A Leadership Legacy – FIATA and the Council of Past Presidents

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

RUNNERS-UP:

• Bailey’s Awesome Day – Mary Mayo Balfour Calvert
• Izzy – An Octopus Tale – Charles E. Rawlings
• Le Noeud d’Amour – Vassi Rombis
• Four Bears in a Box: Birthday Bash – Dreama Denver
• First There Was Bird – Keith Garton
• One Inch at a Time – Alyssa Herrera

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Pablo – Mar Andersons
• Moo-Nay R U Monet? – Loni Belle and J.E. Laufer
• Litter Lady Leads – Martha Goldner
• Line ‘Em Up! – Oscar Avery
• Will My Haircut Hurt? – Martha Goldner

COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Fantastic! A Celebration of Fans Discovering Doctor Who – Nicholas Seidler, Editor
• Fierce & Fearless Phoenix: Rises From the Ashes – Ciara Lewis

COOKBOOKS

RUNNERS-UP:

• Encrypted Patriot: The Ghosts That Protect America – Dennis Currie
• Escala’s Wish – David James
• The Reincarnation of Marie – Jim Woodman
• Roscoe – Andrew James Gregor
• The Hero – Eve M. Riley
• Straw Shoes – Mathias B. Freese
• Manroot – Ann Steinberg
• Beneath The Rings – Joe Battaglia

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Palimony – Steve Grossman
• The Shadow Kingdom and The Land of Nines – Pranab Kumar Mishra
• Punishment – Kujtim Hajdari
• L’Ombre de la Taupe – Bob Van Laerhoven
• Bolero A Novel – Raquel Puig Zaldivar
• Dream of a Murder – Vicki Mastriani Walker
• The Hero – Eve M. Riley
• The Quantum Mirror – Jayson L. Adams
• The Shadow Kingdom and The Land of Nines – Pranab Kumar Mishra
• Railroad Man: Legacies Son – Dan E. Hendrickson
• The Goldilocks Genome – Elizabeth Reed Aden
• The TellTale Lie – Richard Kiehr
• Zetta: A Three-Act Play with Music – Zishan Evans
• Gods and God Particles – Raghavan Jayakumar

GENERAL NON FICTION

RUNNERS-UP:

• Hey Baby – The Elk That Survived! – Pamela J. Howard
• Connections, Academics, and Purpose – Dr. Cinde Lock
• 100 Objects from the Collections of the YIVO Institute.. – Stefanie Halpern, Editor
• American Moon – David W Berner
• Developing Your Marketing Mindset – Leora Lanz
• From Coercion to Courage – Dr. Stevie Carnegie

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• A Life in the Sunshine – J. Everett Prewitt
• La dissonance cognitive et nos façons d’y répondre – R.K. Compton
• Being Broken – Geoffrey R Jonas

• La psychologie des états de survie – R. K. Compton

HOW-TO:

RUNNERS-UP:

• The End of Autoimmunity – Leland Stillman
• Les différents types de psychothérapie – R. K. Compton
• Turning Skills Into Dumb Luck – Simon Vine

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Pack « Débuter et terminer une thérapie » – R.K. Compton
• The Terminal ATC Training Guide – Randolph Arslanian
• Your Guide to Counselling and Psychotherapy in the UK – R. K. Compton

MEMOIR:

WINNER: Empowered by the Dream – Gladys A. Barrio

RUNNERS-UP:

• Dancing Through the Shadow – Agnes Briow
• Mud, Microbes & Medicine – Elizabeth Reed Aden
• Six Weeks: A Literary Memoir – William Ledbetter
• Thank God I Failed – Orlando Da Silva
• Saying the Hard Parts Out Loud – Maranda Dziekonski

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Heart Life Music – Kenny Chesney w Holly Gleason
• Chasing Legends: Motorcycle Stories from the Podcast Trail – Aaron Pufali
• A Mad Box of Rain – Brian J. Quattlebaum
• Finding My Way: A Memoir – Jerry Morton

PHOTOGRAPHY/ART

RUNNERS-UP:

• How Does It Matter? Portrait of an Artist as a Woman – Lopamudra Banerjee
• All the Things I Want to Tell You – C.J. Canino
• On Love – Zishan Evans
• Skies and Chasms: Poems – James Richard Hansen

ROMANCE

RUNNERS-UP:

• Sacred Crossroads – Mitch Russo
• Catch the Wave – Steven Cole
• I’m On Assignment! – Diane Marie Taylor
• Spirit Guides and Angels: Death and Taxes – Wayne Cesaro

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• There’s a Tortoise in My Hair – Calvin Barry Schwartz
• Faith, Cancer, God’s Miracle – Ray Scott
• There is a Doorway…. – Rick L. Johnson

UNPUBLISHED

RUNNERS-UP:

• EroTech – Sean Haines and Geoffrey Krawczyk
• Heir To The Pridelands (Pridelands Series Book 1) – M.S. West
• Questions for Werewolves – Forrest Wolfe
• Prince Adam’s Quest – Terrence Walsh

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Perils of Privilege – John W. Roberts
• Lady of the Castle – Rachel Elwiss Joyce
• Pablo – Mar Andersons
• Custom Maid Palestine for New World Disorder – Peter G. de Krassel

YOUNG ADULT:

RUNNERS-UP:

• The Mermaid Riot – Joy E. Held
• Lake of Clouds – Alex Bonilla
• The Door In the Carnegie Library – VC Williams

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Terra Nova – Anniversary Edition – MtG
• The Greenbrier Mermaid – Rusty McQuade
• The Greenbrier River Adventures: JoJo the Dragon – Rusty McQuade
• Journey to Superhero School: – Gracie Dix