The books are winners of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, a non-profit awards program judged by leaders in the indie book publishing industry to identify indie books that deserve to reach a wider audience.
"We like to think of our awards program as the 'Sundance' of the book publishing world," says Catherine Goulet, chair of the 2009 Indie Book Awards program.
In an article at CNN.com titled "If it's cool, creative, and different, it's indie," journalist Catherine Andrews wrote: "The term 'indie' traditionally refers to independent art -- music, film, literature or anything that fits under the broad banner of culture -- created outside of the mainstream and without corporate financing."
Independent book publishing companies are independent of the major conglomerates that dominate the book publishing industry. The indies include small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors.
According to Goulet, "Like other independent artists, many indie book publishers face challenges that the industry giants don't experience. They typically have to work a lot harder to get their best books into retail stores (or onto Oprah) and ultimately into the hands of readers."
"Authors and publishers who compete in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards are serious about promoting their books," adds Goulet. "They aim to stand out from the crowd of hundreds of thousands of new titles, and millions of other books currently in print."
According to Bowker, publisher of the Books in Print database, preliminary data for 2008 shows more than 560,000 books were published last year alone.
To help Indie authors and publishers reach a wider audience, the top 70 books in the 2009 Indie Book Awards will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen O'Shea Literary Agency or one of Ms. Allen's co-agents for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights.
The top prize winning books in the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards are:
Top Non-Fiction Books
First Place Winner ($1,000 Prize)
Nightshift NYC, by Russell Leigh Sharman and Cheryl Harris Sharman (University of California Press)
Second Place Winner ($500 Prize)
Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World, by Ken Beller and Heather Chase (LTS Press)
Third Place Winner ($250 Prize)
Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering, by Suzanne Kamata (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, Inc.)
Top Fiction Books
First Place Winner ($1,000 Prize)
BUFFALOEed, by Fairlee Winfield (BookSurge)
Second Place Winner ($500 Prize)
Hunter: A Novel, by Campbell Jefferys (Swirl)
Third Place Winner ($250 Prize)
The Misadventures of Oliver Booth: Life in the Lap of Luxury, by David Desmond (Greenleaf Book Group)
Other Winners
A prize of $250 was also awarded for Best Cover Design to Hands at Work - Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands, by Iris Graville and Summer Moon Scriver (Heron Moon Press).
In addition to the grand prize winners, top indie books were named as winners and finalists in nearly 70 publishing categories ranging from Action/Adventure to Young Adult. A complete list of 2009 winners and finalists is available at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards website at www.indiebookawards.com
About The Winning Books
Nightshift NYC, by Russell Leigh Sharman and Cheryl Harris Sharman (University of California Press) is an engaging, insightful, and beautifully written book about the people who keep New York City running after dark.
Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World, by Ken Beller and Heather Chase (LTS Press). Although written for younger readers, this moving book about individuals who have changed the world will inspire readers of all ages.
Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering, by Suzanne Kamata (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, Inc.) is a delightful book offering personal stories from mothers around the globe about the joys and challenges of raising children in two or more cultures.
BUFFALOed, by Fairlee Winfield, is the fascinating story of a young, immigrant Norwegian woman who experiences life in the Wild West as the servant of famed western artist Charles Russell.
Hunter: A Novel, by Campbell Jefferys. The story of a young man who crosses paths with a Nazi solider in Australia 40 years after the war, this book is highly recommended reading.
The Misadventures of Oliver Booth: Life in the Lap of Luxury, by David Desmond, is a witty, urbane tale about a social climber who makes one mistake after another as he tries to worm his way into the inner circles of societal privilege.
About the Literary Agent
Marilyn Allen has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience, including serving as Senior Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Director of Marketing for Harper Collins and directing sales and marketing teams for Simon & Schuster, Penguin Books and Avon Books. Ms. Allen has worked with many best-selling authors including Stephen King, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, John Gray, Mary Higgins Clark, and many more.
About the IBPPG
The aim of the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group is to promote professional standards in independent book publishing (also known as "indie" book publishing), and provide support and recognition for the independent book publishing profession.
2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Entries are now being accepted for the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The awards program is open to fiction and nonfiction books from independent authors and publishers worldwide released in 2009 or 2010 or with a copyright date of 2009 or 2010. Visit the Next Generation Indie Book Awards website at www.indiebookawards.com for more information.
For more information contact: C. Goulet, info@indiebookawards.com
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