Cleveland, OH - USABookNews.com recently announced the winners and finalists in its National “Best Books” 2009 Awards. Marvin A. McMickle's Profiles in Black: Phat Facts for Teens (Judson Press, 2008) was the winner in the African American Studies category.

This is the third national award for Profiles in Black, which in September was recognized with the bronze medal in the Multicultural Non-Fiction – Young Adult category of the 2009 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. In 2008, the book was also a finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year.

Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle is pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where he has served since 1987. In addition to his pastorate, McMickle also serves as professor of homiletics at Ashland Theological Seminary. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Cleveland State University. A prolific author, Dr. McMickle's most recent book is The Audacity of Faith: Christian Leaders Reflect on the Election of Barack Obama (Judson Press, 2009).

Commenting on Rev. Dr. McMickle’s literary achievement, CSU President Ronald M. Berkman said, “We applaud this remarkable accomplishment and recognize the tremendous labor that goes into writing a book and the enormity of receiving national recognition. Congratulations, Rev. Dr. McMickle, on behalf of the CSU community as we celebrate this distinction for one of our very own.”

USABookNews.com is the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses. Jeff Keen, President and CEO of USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to more than 500 winners and finalists among over 140 categories of print and audio books.

The media can request review copies by contacting Kim Shimer at kim.shimer@abc-usa.org or 610.768.2458.

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