Announcing the Winners of the 2023 "IndieReader Discovery Awards"
The Winners of the 12th Annual Awards Are Revealed
MONTCLAIR, N.J., June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Today the winners of the 12th annual “IndieReader Discovery Awards” (IRDAs) were announced virtually to consumers and international media.
IndieReader created the IRDAs to give indie authors access to people who can make a difference in their book’s success. Says Amy Edelman, founder of IndieReader, “With the rush by traditional publishers to sign them and their noteworthy bestselling status, there’s no longer much doubt that indie authors can be both commercially and creatively successful. All that was left to do was create a credible vehicle by which to find them. That’s where the IRDAs come in.”
While writing a great book is the first step, getting it in front of the right people—be they readers or agents—is also a critical part of making an indie book a success. To that end, judges on the IRDA panel include PR and publishing professionals, editors, book designers, professional reviewers and more. Winners will have their titles submitted to Dystel, Goderich & Bourret for representation consideration.
Judging is based on the quality of writing, editing and the originality of the story. This year’s sponsors included Reedsy, Smith Publicity and NY-based literary agents Dystel, Goderich & Bourret,
There was a first, second and third place winner for fiction and non-fiction categories, 52 category winners and two winners each for BEST FIRST BOOK and BEST COVER DESIGN (for fiction and non-fiction).
The winners, judges, the genre and the authors contact information follows below.
FICTION
First Place
Jeff Lanier /For the Minds and Wills of Men
Genre: Historical Fiction
Contact: mailto:[email protected]
Second Place
Tom Pearson / Still, the Sky
Genre: Poetry
Contact: mailto:[email protected]
Third Place
Danielle M. Wong/ Last Liar Standing
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Contact: mailto:[email protected]
NON-FICTION
First Place
Christopher Nelson/The C.R. Patterson and Sons Company
Genres: History, Biography
Contact: mailto:[email protected]
Second Place
Adira James/ What They Couldn’t Take
Genres: Inspirational/Spiritual, Memoir
Contact: mailto:[email protected]
Third Place
LaNysha T. Adams/ Me Power
Genre: Self-Help
Contact: mailto:[email protected]
CATEGORY WINNERS
Best First Book (Fiction) – Lynda Wolters/ The Placeholder
Best First Book (Non-Fiction) – Liza Laird/ Yoga of Yarn: A Knitter’s Handbook for Self-Discovery
Best Book Cover (Fiction) – Susan Kraus/ When We Lost Touch
Best Book Cover (Non-Fiction) – K. C. Sanford/Storked!
Action/Adventure – Pete Clements/The Latitude
Aging/Death & Dying – Jason Fisher/To Where You Are
Anthology – Leah Parker et al/Letters to a Future Nurse
AUDIO BOOK (Historical Fiction) – Sean Mahoney/Fenian’s Trace
Biography – Anne K Howard/Escape from Mariupol: A Survivor’s True Story
Business – Harvey Goldstein/Business Finance Was Never This Easy
Chick Lit – Amanda Quisenberry/The Accidental Virgin
Children’s (Board books and Pre-reading) – T.I. Frazier/Lauren The Cow
Children’s (Early to intermediate readers) – Amy Flanagan/Mrs. R. Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law
Children’s (Early to intermediate readers) – Heather Vina/Augie the Therapy Doggie
Coming of Age – Tyler Beauchamp/Freeze Frame
Dark Fantasy – Liv Strom/The Last Spiritwalker
Education – David D. Moon/Carbon Dating, Cold Fusion, and a Curve Ball
Entertaining – C.J. English/ Rescue Matters
Environment – Jeff Golden/ Reclaiming the Sacred
Fantasy – Darius Ebrahimi/ Till Myth Do Us Part
Finance/Investment/Economics – V. Thomas George/ Health in Flames
Gift/Holiday/Specialty – Michelle E. Villalobos/But I Want To Fly
Graphic Novel – Alex Grand & Joshua S. Berman/ Hashman
Health/Medicine/Nutrition – Lucas Ramirez/ Simplify Your Health
Historical Fiction (tie) – Monica Brillhart / The Rape of Persephone
Historical Fiction (tie) – Juhi Ray/ The Final Puzzle
Home & Garden – Romana King/ House Poor No More
Horror – John Gray/ The Desecrated
Humor (Fiction) – T.L. Bequette/ Blood Perfect
Inspirational/Spiritual – Lorraine Nilon/ Spirituality, Evolution & Awakened Consciousness
Kids – Melanie Joy Mezzancello/Love Snaggs: A Little Dog’s Courageous Journey
LGBTQ+ (Fiction) – Rob Loveless/ Eleftheria
LGBTQ+ (Non Fiction) – Craig Greiwe/ Chasing Normal
Literary Fiction – Ed Davis/ The Last Professional
Memoir (tie)- Ashe and Magdalena Stevens/ Lost in Beirut
Memoir (tie)- Kristine McGuire/ Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
Middle Grade – Elizabeth M Grieco/ Paws in Paris
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller – Courtney Lochner/ The French House
New Adult – Lloyd Raleigh/ Welcome to the Free World
Paranormal – MC Hunton/ Resurrection
Parenting (Child Care/Family) – Anya Dunham, PhD/ Baby Ecology
Photography – David R. Day, BoiseDev/Boise: City of Trees
Poetry (Non-Fiction) – Sabrina Simon/Violet
Politics/Current Events – David J. Stewart/ A Short Primer on Why Cancer Still Sucks
Popular Fiction – Karen E. Osborne/ Reckonings
Psychology/Mental Health – Michael J. Scholtes/ Darkwater
Religion – Susan R. Dolan/ Mass Confusion
Romance – Reenita M. Hora/ Operation Mom – My Plan to Get my Mother a Life & a Man
Science Fiction – JJ Cook, AJ Cook, MD/ Percivious Origins
Self-Help – Sandy Gerber/ Emotional Magnetism
Sexuality/Relationships – Cristen Dalessandro/ Intimate Inequalities
Short Stories (Fiction) – Barbara Black/ Music from a Strange Planet
Sports/Fitness/Recreation – Alan Corcoran/ Marathon Man
Travel – Mary Anne Mercer/ Beyond the Next Village
True Crime – Alex Cody Foster/The Man Who Hacked the World
Women’s Fiction – Linda Hughes/ The Burly-Q Girls: The 6
Women’s Issues- Deborah K Irving/ Dear White Woman, Please Come Home
Young Adult (Fiction)– Dani Hall/ A Cage for Angels
Young Adult (Non-Fiction) – Natalie Grand/Cult Girls
2023 PANEL OF JUDGES
Agent
The top 6 winning titles will be submitted to Dystel, Goderich & Bourret for representation consideration
IRDA Winning Authors
A.S. Drayton, 2022 Winner for Are You Okay?: The Carryover of Kindness
Lilianne Milgrom, 2021 Winner for L’Origine
Vivian M. Lumbard, 2021 Winner for Outside Looking In
Marketing/Editorial
Felicia Bengtsson, Head of Community, REEDSY Discovery
Photographers (judged cover design category)
Phil Leo, PM IMAGES
Mike Denora, PM IMAGES
Publicists
Jessie Glenn, Director, MINDBUCK MEDIA BOOK PUBLICITY
Sandra Smith, President, SMITH PUBLICITY
Thanks to our 2023 SPONSORS
Dystel, Goderich & Bourret
Smith Publicity
Reedsy
Featherlite
Media Contact
Amy Edelman, IndieReader, 1 9738655368, [email protected]
SOURCE IndieReader
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