Novelist João Cerqueira has just won the 2013 USA Book Award in the category of Multicultural Fiction for The Tragedy of Fidel Castro (River Grove Books, Austin). The Portuguese author, represented by the Kontext Agency, was also a finalist in the categories of Historical Fiction and Literary Fiction. The novel, an “alternative history,” was translated into English by Karen Bennet.

“We published an excerpt from the book in our second issue, before the book even came out,” Mark Spitzer, Editor in Chief of the Toad Suck Review, remarked. “We’re extremely proud to claim this award-winning work in our award-winning literary journal. Also, the fact that João acknowledges the review so prominently in the book and on the back cover brings a lot of currency to us as visionaries who recognize magical talent.”

Toad Suck Review Editorial Assistant Ben Sneyd reviewed the novel for the “Books Received” section of the Toad Suck Review website (toadsuckreview.org), declaring, “Cerqueira’s plot bends and reconstructs the time and dimension of familiar characters, placing them together in a wild and unpredictable interplay . . . It speaks to our time, to real problems, and to the absurdities of the day-in, day-out lives that we live.”

The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is available through and Barnes and Noble, or it can be ordered directly from the publisher at greenleafbookgroup.com. A full list of the other USA Book Award winners is available at usabooknews.com, and more info on Cerqueira can be found at joaocerqueira.com.