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GO, MILKA, GO! - THE LIFE OF MILKA DUNO - WINS AT THE 11TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARDS
Milka Duno's Story Awarded Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book of 2009 

LOS ANGELES (May 29, 2009) - Go, Milka, Go! - the book about the life of IndyCar Series driver Milka Duno, was awarded the Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book of 2009 at the 11th Annual International Latino Book Awards. The ceremony, held in New York City on Thursday, May 28, 2009, took place during BookExpo America, the largest publishing event in North America. The prestigious awards honor literary excellence within the Latino community in a variety of categories. 

In recognition of the many positive contributions being made to Latino literature by publishers and writers worldwide, Latino Literacy Now, created the Latino Book Awards in 1999. Due to the dramatic increase in recent years in nominations of literary works from Mexico, Central and South America and Spain, the title of the awards was changed to the International Latino Book Awards in 2006. Latino Literacy Now is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes literacy and literary excellence within the Latino community.

"Getting the award for this book was a wonderful surprise and a cherished honor," said Milka. “We set out to hopefully tell a story that children would find both entertaining and inspiring. I feel that we accomplished the goal and to have it confirmed with this award is truly fantastic! Bringing the book to fruition was a very creative journey and I'm happy that my first effort has been so well-received.  I am happy as well for those I worked with on this project - Raquel Benatar, Adrian Rubio and all the people at Renaissance House.”

Inspired by Milka’s life, the book was a longtime dream and a true labor of love for Milka, who was involved in every step of the process - from creation to production.

Race car driver Milka Duno is a playful, studious, and mischievous child as she races and competes through the inspiring pages of this children's book. Milka shares her most tender early childhood memories, her desire to learn and achieve, and the dedication necessary to succeed, from the first school days in Caracas, Venezuela, to the competitions at racing circuits all over the world. Through the story, young readers are inspired by Milka's message: the value of education, the pleasure of competing and winning, the importance of a team effort, and that determination, solidarity and generosity are the main ingredients to a successful life. She demystifies popularity as it is understood today in schools; and above all, she supports hard work, discipline, perseverance and self-confidence as the path to fulfilling dreams.

Duno is the first and only Hispanic female driver in the IndyCar Series, competing with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team in the #23 CITGO-sponsored car. Off the track, Duno is a certified Naval Engineer who holds four master’s degrees, earning the last three simultaneously.  Duno is also working through her “Milka Wayprogram to inspire youth to “Aim for the Stars” and achieve academic excellence. Duno appeared in the May 2008 Warner Bros. movie, “Speed Racer.”  For more information, please visit www.milkaduno.com.

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