2020 Indie Book Award Winners Announced - PRNewswire

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VANCOUVER, Wash., June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG) has named the best indie books of 2020.

/PRNewswire/ -- The books are winners of the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the world's largest book awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors. The winners and finalists will be honored June 26 in an online event which will stream live on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NextGenerationIndieBookAwards at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time) and 5:00 pm (Pacific Time).

Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the world's largest book awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors

This year's awards event was originally planned to take place at Chicago's Newberry Library, to coincide with the American Library Association Annual Conference, but was moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 is the 13th year of the book awards program. Outskirts Press, an independent book publisher which provides services for self-publishing authors, was a Silver Sponsor of this year's awards.

The awards are judged by leaders of the indie book publishing industry, including many with long careers at major publishing houses. Their love of a great read and experience in the publishing arena identify books deserving a wider audience.

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." That definition remains true for book publishing.

Independent book publishing companies are independent of the major conglomerates dominating the book publishing industry. Indies include small presses, larger independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors.

According to Catherine Goulet, Founder and Co-Chair of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, "Like other independent artists, many indie book publishers face challenges that the industry giants don't experience. The indies have to work much harder to get their best books into readers' hands."

"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 millions of books in print."

According to an October 2019 report by Bowker, publisher of the Books in Print database, the number of titles self-published in the United States grew to over 1.6 million in 2018, an increase of 40% over the previous year. "This trend is likely to continue as the quality of many self-published works now rivals that of traditionally published titles," according to the report.

Worldwide, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates more than 2.6 million books are now published in a single year.

Top prize-winning books in the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards are:

Top Non-Fiction Books
First Place Winner ($1,500 Prize)
Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks, by QT Luong (Terra Galleria Press)

Second Place Winner ($750 Prize)
The Chimpanzee Chronicles: Stories of Heartbreak and Hope from Behind the Bars, by Debra Rosenman (Wild Soul Press)

Third Place Winner ($500 Prize)
Feast of the Seven Fishes: A Brooklyn Italian's Recipes Celebrating Food and Family, by Daniel Paterna (powerHouse Books)

Top Fiction Books

First Place Winner ($1,500 Prize)
Lucky-Child: The Secret, by Dr. Chelinay Gates aka Malardy (Tellwell Publications)

Second Place Winner ($750 Prize)
Eve of Snows, by L. James Rice (Twelfth Star Publishing)

Third Place Winner ($500 Prize)
Marlon MacDoogle's Magical Night, by Sean Covel and Diego Velasquez (Baby Buddha Publishing)

Other Winners

Top books were named as winners and finalists in over 70 publishing categories ranging from Action/Adventure to Young Author.

A complete list of 2020 winners and finalists is available at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards website at indiebookawards.com.

Where to Watch the 2020 Book Awards Event

This year's event will be streamed live online and the public is welcome to watch. To see the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Presentation, visit https://www.facebook.com/NextGenerationIndieBookAwards at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time) and 5:00 pm (Pacific Time) on Friday, June 26.

2021 Awards

Entries are now being accepted for the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The awards are open to books released in 2019, 2020, or 2021 from independent authors and publishers worldwide. Visit https://indiebookawards.com for information.

Next Generation Indie Book Awards is affiliated with Next Generation Indie Film Awards, a not-for-profit awards program for short films. To learn more about the 2021 film awards visit https://indiefilmawards.co.

MEDIA CONTACT: Shelley Anderson, 403-873-1018

SOURCE Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group