ASHOK RAJAMANI
pulitzer prize-luminary commended author
"INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR:
ASHOK RAJAMANI"
WINS PEOPLE'S TELLY AWARD
July 22 2014: The 35th Annual Telly Awards has awarded the program “Interview with the Author: Ashok Rajamani," hosted by television personality Leigh Pafford for HomeTowne Television Network, its top prize, the People's “Silver Telly.”
Nearly 12,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries compete for the award. Less than 10% of entries are chosen as Silver Telly winners, the highest honor. Approximately 25% of entries are chosen as Winners of the Bronze Telly.
“ Interview with the Author: Ashok Rajamani” is a sit-down interview with Ashok Rajamani, New York City author, poet, and artist. He discusses The Day My Brain Exploded, his critically-acclaimed memoir of surviving a severe, near-fatal brain hemorrhage. He recounts the details of his tough path to recovery and the challenging life he now faces. The half-hour special is hosted and edited by Leigh Pafford, who anchors news and provides monthly book reviews for HomeTowne TV.
The Telly Awards was founded in 1979 and is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video and films. Winners represent the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable media outlets, and corporate video departments in the world.
For its 35th season, The Telly Awards once again joined forces with YouTube to give the public the power to view and rate videos submitted as part of the People’s Telly Awards. In addition to recognition from the Silver Telly Council, the judging panel that selects the Telly Awards winners, the Internet community helps decide the People’s Telly Awards winners.
An illustrious judging panel of over 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, judged the competition, upholding the historical standard of excellence that Telly represents. The Silver Council evaluated entries to recognize distinction in creative work – entries do not compete against each other – rather entries are judged against a high standard of merit.
“The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video,” said Linda Day, Executive Director of the Telly Awards. “This winning program, ‘Interview with the Author: Ashok Rajamani,’ presents Mr. Rajamani, author of a memoir about amazing survival, in a televised interview that is as not only a testament to his humor and courage, but also to great television and video production.”
“As an author, I’m honored and thrilled to be involved in a program which has been so well-received. The journey of my memoir The Day My Brain Exploded –from writing the first page, to having it in bookshelves worldwide, and now possibly, to witnessing it adapted to the stage and silver screen -- has been an amazing one. Being the subject of this Telly Award-winning program is a wonderful, unexpected add-on to this odyssey,” said Ashok.
2014 PEOPLE'S TELLY AWARD WINNER