Local author Sandra Resnik, writing under the pen name Sandy Pearl, has been awarded the international Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal and a 5-Star Review Seal for her cinematic memoir “Then the Phone Rang: My Journey from Hitchhiking Hippie to the Hollywood High Life.”

The literary accolade is presented by the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest organization.

“Then the Phone Rang” offers a personal slice of Southern California cultural history. The memoir maps Pearl’s life trajectory, tracing her roots from a hitchhiking, counter-culture hippie in the early 1970s to a 23-year career navigating the fast-paced, high-society lifestyle of the Hollywood entertainment industry.

Locally, Resnik has appeared at author events at Chaucer’s Books, Tecolote Book Shop, and the Santa Barbara Woman’s Club.

“In June, I participated in two panels at this year’s 2026 Santa Barbara Writers Conference: the Publishing and Marketing and Authors Roundtable seminar, and the Non-Fiction Author Panel,” Resnik said.

“When asked how long it took me to do this project, I say, ‘It took me 72 years to live it, six months to write it, and six months to get it published,'” she said.

For more, visit https://sandypearlauthor.com.