Isle-inspired cookbook
wins national award

"Remembering Diamond Head, Remembering Hawai'i," by Shirley Tong Parola and Lisa Parola Gaynier, has won this year's Writer's Digest award for self-published cookbook.

The mother-daughter team of Parola and Gaynier published their cookbook in 1999 to commemorate the recipes of their Ann Arbor, Mich., restaurant, the Diamond Head Cafe.

Judges praised the cookbook's theme and substance. "Particularly impressive is the down-to-earth, friendly tone, which makes the experience of reading and cooking from it feel as warm-hearted as a face-to-face chat over a cup of Kona coffee."

"Remembering Diamond Head" was first place among 45 entries.

Parola, who has moved back to Honolulu, says the $500 prize money is going toward a second printing of the book. 

The Writer's Digest competition honors books in several categories for which the authors have paid the full cost of publication. Winners receive assistance in placing their books in libraries and bookstores.

Honorable mention in the cookbook category went to "Delights from the Garden of Eden," a guide to Iraqi cooking by Nawal Nasrallah.

Entries are being taken until Dec. 15 for next year's Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards, which offer a $3,000 grand prize. Entry fee is $100. For information, visit the Web site, www.writersdigest.com/contests

"Remembering Diamond Head" sells for $19.95 at local bookstores, through Diamond Hawai'i Press, 1949 Naiu Place, Honolulu 96822, or online at www.amazon.com. Call 988-8043.

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