"Bliss Brain" Wins the Nautilus and American Book Fest Top Awards
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PETALUMA, Calif. - Californer -- The book Bliss Brain by science writer Dawson Church, PhD, was recently awarded two prestigious honors: Gold Winner in the Science and Cosmology category from the Nautilus Book Awards, and Best Book in the Science category in the annual "Best Book" Awards sponsored by American Book Fest. The book was also a finalist in the "Health: General" category of the Book Fest.

Blending cutting-edge neuroscience with the stories of people who've had firsthand experience of brain change, Bliss Brain examines the effects of emotional states on brain structure. Neural plasticity – the discovery that the brain is capable of rewiring itself – is now widely understood. Few people are aware, however, of how quickly the brain can accomplish rewiring, how extensive brain changes can be, and how much control each of us exerts over the process by our thinking.

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Bliss Brain reviews studies that provide remarkable evidence of rapid and radical brain change. In just eight weeks of meditation practice, 12 minutes a day, brain remodeling begins. Over time, these structural changes in brain anatomy make us calmer, happier, and more resilient.

Author Church details the effects on the brain, and consequently on quality of life, of positive and negative thinking. Negative thinking is associated with the activation of brain regions like the mid-prefrontal cortex, the "seat of self" and a "me" orientation. Positive emotions such as altruism and compassion light up the insula, key to social interactions. According to Mary Belknap, PhD, of the Nautilus Book Awards team, the winners comprised highly esteemed authors and publishers from across the USA, and from over 20 nations around the world. She believes the winners can be especially proud of their book's selection, as the competition attracted a record number of entries and included a broad diversity of high-quality books.

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The American Book Fest Awards, presented for titles published in 2018–2020, drew over 2000 entries from both mainstream and independent publishers, which were then narrowed down to over 400 winners and finalists. Winners were selected by a panel of independent publishing industry professionals. Church's earlier book Mind to Matter won the honor of Best Health Book of 2018.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of American Book Fest said, "The 2020 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. Our success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers."

• Book website: www.BlissBrain.com
• Book Fest Awards - http://americanbookfest.com/2020bbafullresults.html
• Nautilus Book Awards - https://nautilusbookawards.com/2020-gold-winners/