Independent Publisher Book Awards

The Independent Publisher Book Awards, also known as the IPPY Awards, is an annual book awards contest conducted to honor the year's best independently published titles.^[1][2] The awards are open to independent authors and publishers worldwide who produce books written in English and that are intended for the North American market.^[2] The Independent Publisher Book Award is considered one of the highest honors^[3] for books published by independent publishers.

History

The awards were conceived in 1996 as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry.^[4] Since the creation of the Independent Publisher Book Awards, the contest has expanded in size - today, more than 4,500 "IPPYs" have been awarded to authors and publishers around the world.^[5]

In 2006, regional categories were added to the contest to spotlight the best entries of each area and books written or published with a regional focus.^[6]

In 2012, the awards categories were expanded to include e-book categories in response to the growing use of e-readers. The e-book categories received 390 entries in the first year.

Categories

As of 2013, the Independent Publisher Book Awards accepts entries in 76 national categories, 22 regional categories, and 10 e-book categories. National categories cover different genres, children's books and poetry, among others. For regional categories, gold, silver and bronze medals are given for the best fiction and best non-fiction books in each of the 11 regions. The e-book categories include fiction, non-fiction, children's books and best regional e-book for the east and west of the USA.^[2]

2013 Winners

The 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards awarded 382 medals from a total of 5,300 entries, from 44 states plus the District of Columbia, five Canadian provinces and eight countries.^[7]

2014 Winners

• Most Original Concept – A Life in Books: The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley, by Warren Lehrer
• Most Likely to Save the Planet – Energy: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth, by Tom Butler and George Wuerthner
• Independent Spirit Award – I’m Falling, by Kelly Reemtsen
• Peacemaker of the Year – American Teacher: Heroes in the Classroom, by Katrina Fried
• Independent Voice Award – Little Fish: A Memoir from a Different Kind of Year, by Ramsey Beyer; The Tragedy of Orenthal: Prince of Brentwood, by Michael W. Monk
• Most Outstanding Design – Leaves, by Reese Taylor
• Fine Art – Hopper Drawing, by Carter E. Foster
• Performing Arts – All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release, by Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin
• Photography – Mitakuye Oyasin, by Aaron Huey
• Architecture – Skyscrapers: A History of the World’s Most Extraordinary Buildings, by Judith Dupré
• Popular Fiction – 11 Stories, by Chris Cander
• Short Fiction – Train Shots, by Vanessa Blakeslee; Corporeality, by Hollis Seamon
• Juvenile Fiction – The Boy Who Ran, by Michael Selden
• Science Fiction – Artifact, by Shane Lindemoen
• Historical Fiction – The Kiss, by Scott E. Blumenthal; Anvil of God, Book One of the Carolingian Chronicles, by J. Boyce Gleason
• Biography – John Wayne: The Genuine Article, by Michael Goldman
• US History – Connected: How Trains, Genes, Pineapples, Piano Keys, and a Few Disasters Transformed Americans at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century, by Steven Cassedy
• World History – Père Marie-Benoît and Jewish Rescue: How a French Priest Together with Jewish Friends Saved Thousands during the Holocaust, by Susan Zuccotti
• Travel Essays – The Blind Masseuse by Alden Jones
• Best Regional Fiction – The Biology of Luck, by Jacob M. Appel; Something that Feels like Truth, by Donald Lystra; The Stray Pitch, by Marilyn Bos; Badlands: A Collection of Stories, by Thomas Biel
• Business/Career/Sales – Talent Wants to be Free: Why We Should Learn to Love Leaks, Raids, and Free Riding, by Orly Lobel

2015 Regional winners (Canada)

CANADA–EAST – BEST REGIONAL FICTION

• GOLD: And to Say Hello: Short Stories, by Scott Randall (DC Books)
• SILVER: Deer Eyes, by Sonia Day (Belwood Publishing)
• BRONZE: Every Minute is a Suicide: Stories, by Bruce McDougall (The Porcupine’s Quill)

CANADA–EAST – BEST REGIONAL NON-FICTION

• GOLD: Dreaming in Indian, Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Annick Press)
• SILVER (tie): The Seasons, by Bruce Meyer (The Porcupine’s Quill); Escape From the Bedside, by Dr. Sharon Baltman (CreateSpace)
• BRONZE: Scapegoat, the Extraordinary Legal Proceedings Following the 1917 Halifax Explosion, by Joel Zemel (New World Publishing)

CANADA-WEST – BEST REGIONAL FICTION

• GOLD: Bitter Lake, by Marika Deliyannides (The Porcupine’s Quill)
• SILVER: Burrard Inlet, by Tyler Keevil (Parthian)
• BRONZE: Ride the Lightning, by Dietrich Kalteis (ECW Press, Ltd.)

CANADA-WEST – BEST REGIONAL NON-FICTION

• GOLD: Wood Storms, Wild Canvas: The Art of Godfrey Stephens, by Gurdeep Stephens (D & I Enterprises, Inc.)
• SILVER: The McDonalds: The Lives and Legends of a Kaska Dena Family, by Allison Tubman (Backyard Productions)
• BRONZE (tie): From Miles to Millions, by Bill Grenier (Pagebrook Publishing, Inc.); That Men & Women May Work In Safety: The First 100 Years of the Mine Safety Appliances Company, by Paul McLaughlin (Echo Memoirs Ltd)^[8]

References