The Eric Hoffer Book Awards Announce 'Beat Your A-Fib' Winner of the First Horizon Award

MALIBU, Calif. - April 12, 2014 - PRLog -- The book, Beat Your A-Fib: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Cure by Steve S. Ryan, PhD, has won a First Horizon Award, a special distinction beneath the Eric Hoffer Award umbrella. The First Horizon Award is given each year to the highest scoring books by debut authors.

The author, Dr. Steve Ryan, is known in the atrial fibrillation patient community as the publisher of the website, Atrial Fibrillation: Resources for Patients, A-Fib.com, now in its 13th year.

Beat Your A-Fib is also a Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Award to be announced by mid-May.

The Eric Hoffer Award, established at the start of the 21st century, honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers.

In addition to the $2,000 grand prize and the First Horizon Award, Hoffer honors are bestowed by press type and subject category, and also through the Montaigne Medal and da Vinci Eye awards for the most thought provoking books and superior cover artwork, respectively.

The winning books are presented by The US Review of Books, a well-known online publication which offers professional, in-depth reviews of small-press and independent books. The US Review connects authors and publishers and has more than 13,000 monthly subscribers.

The winning stories and essays are published in Best New Writing, an annual anthology of fiction and creative nonfiction showcasing new works of outstanding literary value that are found outside of the commercial publishing establishment.

About the Author
Steve Ryan, PhD, is a former A-Fib patient, a noted healthcare educator and advocate for patients suffering from the heart condition Atrial Fibrillation. In 2002, Dr. Ryan started Atrial Fibrillation: Resources for Patients (www.A-Fib.com) a source of independent, well-researched information on current and emerging treatments, resources and medical research, written in plain language for patients and their families. His first book, Beat Your A-Fib: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Cure, is available at Amazon.com, other online booksellers and the author's book site, www.BeatYourA-Fib.com.

Dr. Ryan earned his Ph.D. in Educational Communications from The Ohio State University and for many years taught film and television courses at the college level. He and his wife, Patti, live in Malibu, California. For a more detailed background, see Steve S. Ryan, PhD on LinkedIn.

Online Media Kit at http://beatyoura-fib.com/Press.html

The Eric Hoffer Award: http://www.hofferaward.com/, (http://www.hofferaward.com/)
First Horizon Award winners: http://www.hofferaward.com/HAFirstHorizon.html#.U0n0343Qe00
The US Review of Books: http://www.theusreview.com/
Best New Writing: http://www.bestnewwriting.com