This Prize is an international award committed to promoting Anglo-Hellenic cultural exchange through the recognition of an original literary work. The 2023 award is made to the author of a book written, or translated into, English which on a subject relating to, or inspired by, Hellenic civilization, culture, history, or literature first published in 2022.
The author, William Planes (Platanides), is the first generation of a survivor of the burning of Smyrna on September 13, 1922. He is an Archon Notarios of the Great Church of Christ, the recipient of the Gold Metal of St. Paul, and, with his wife Regina, in 2006, was awarded the Gold Seal of the State of Florida for their philanthropic contributions to their community in Pinellas County Florida. He is eighty-one years old and is retired, living with his wife in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
The book, Platanides, is a true story based on the life of the author’s father, Panayiotis Platanides, who was born in Philadelphia (Alasehir) Asia Minor (Turkey) in 1908; escaped Genocide at the hands of the soldiers of Mustapha Kamal, Ataturk, in Smyrna on September 13, 1922; becoming refugees in Greece and America; and having lost their country, homes and history, retained their Greek Orthodox Faith in Christ and established a new life in Crete Greece and the United States; and then suffered the occupancy of the Nazi army in Chania, Crete. William Planes, the author, seeks to codify his families’ history in Asia Minor, Crete and America while encouraging the younger generation to make their Faith in Christ the focus point of their lives and to always work at preserving the rights and freedoms we enjoy in the USA.
Visit the website https://williamplanes.com or Amazon Kindle to buy https://www.amazon.com/
