New York, N.Y. — John B. Born wins first place in one of the most prestigious annual international competitions for close-up magic in the world… the International Brotherhood of Magicians Gold Cups competition, which was held this year in Miami, Florida June 27th-July 1st. This competition is held annually by the International Brotherhood of Magicians — the largest organization for professional and amateur magicians in the world with nearly 13,000 members in over 73 countries (www.magician.org).

The competition took place over a two day period. The first day all competing acts (from over 20 from different parts of the world) performed three shows. That evening the top six acts were selected, and the next day the six acts chosen performed four shows in what is known as the Gold Cups Finals. At the final theater show of the convention, John B. Born was awarded the first place award.

This is not John's only competition achievement this year. In February John won first place at the close-up magic competition at the Magi-Fest in Columbus, Ohio — the largest convention in the Mid-West (approximately 1,000 magicians attend). In late April, John released his second book, Meant To Be… Principles and Techniques for the Sophisticated Magical Artist. This book exemplifies John's eight stage creation process through the analysis of what magicians consider to be the holy grail of card magic: the Any Card at Any Number plot. Not only does John detail his approach to creativity, but also details his award-winning solutions as well as the solutions of some of the greatest minds in the magic community. An instant best seller for 2006, this release will soon be sold out. Click here to read more about Meant To Be... John is currently on a lecture tour across the country. Check the schedule to see if he is coming through your area…