10 August 2009 - OREM, UT -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff will release his first historical novel Am I Not a Man? The Dred Scott Story on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. In celebration of the life, courage and strength of Dred Scott, Mark Shurtleff, working in conjunction with his publisher, Valor Publishing Group, LLC has launched a contest:
Entrants will submit a 600-word essay on the concept of Freedom and compete for a prize including an heirloom quality, signed, limited edition of Shurtleff's novel and dinner for two with the Attorney General at The Market Street Grill in Salt Lake City. All entries must be emailed to Contests and be received by midnight, September 15, 2009. The winner will be announced on the Valor website, October 1, 2009.
The story of Dred Scott shaped American history and affects our lives today. An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his knees, Dred cried, "Ain't I a man?" Dred answered his own question by rising and taking his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. Dred ultimately lost his epic battle when the Chief Justice declared that a black man was so inferior that he had "no rights a white man was bound to respect."
"There are parts of this book where I wept as I read the passages," said publisher and author Candace E. Salima. "The strength and courage of Dred Scott are the reasons Abraham Lincoln became president, and the horrific judgment denying him his freedom and recognition as a human being is still used by our federal government today. Mark Shurtleff has done a phenomenal job breathing life into this incredible man who lived so long ago but whose life still affects us today. It is, indeed, the story of a man from whom we can all be deeply inspired."
The life and times of Dred Scott leap off the page in a brilliantly written novel worthy of every home, school and city library.
Am I Not a Man? The Dred Scott Story will be available in stores on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. Pre-orders are available through Labor Day via the Valor Publishing Group website only.
You may now pre-order a SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION Am I Not a Man: The Dred Scott Story by Mark L. Shurtleff. There are 5,000 autographed, personalized and numbered copies available, to be shipped 15 October 2009. Once the 5,000 special copies are gone, regular pre-orders will be available. Orders above 5 copies will need to have special shipping arrangements. Please add valorpublishinggroup.com to your safe list so that you will receive any communications from Valor Publishing Group in regards to your order. So place your order now!
Valor Publishing Group urges contestants to go to Valor's website for contest rules, specific submission requirements and prize description.
For further information please contact:
Candace E. Salima
Email: candace@valorpublishinggroup.com
Website: http://valorpublishinggroup.com
Contest: http://valorpublishinggroup.com/contests.htm
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