Winners of the the 13th Annual Awards Announced Today
MONTCLAIR, N.J. , May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today the winners of the 13th 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
Daniel Babka / Lightning Bugs And Aliens
Genre: Coming of Age
Contact: [email protected]
Second Place
Thomas Holland / Vessels of Wrath
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Contact: [email protected]
Third Place
Genevieve Morrissey / Marriage and Hanging
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Contact: [email protected]
NON-FICTION
First Place
Erin Eby / The Santa Book
Genre: Gift/Holiday/Specialty
Contact: [email protected]
Second Place
Heidi Schauster / Nurture
Genre: Parenting (Child Care/Family)
Contact: [email protected]
Third Place
Mark Steven Porro / A Cup of Tea on the Commode
Genre: Aging/Death & Dying
Contact: [email protected]
CATEGORY WINNERS
Best First Book (Fiction) - Barbara Cottrell / Darkness Below
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Horror
Best First Book (Non-Fiction) - Allyson Letteri / Standout Startup
Genre: Business
Best Book Cover (Fiction) – Jeffrey M. Feingold/ There Is No Death in Finding Nemo
Best Book Cover (Non-Fiction) - Sheryle Gillihan/ The World We Know
Action/Adventure - John Winn Miller / The Hunt for the Peggy C
Anthology - Diane Gottlieb (editor) / Awakenings
AUDIO BOOK (Romance, New Adult) - Evie Alexander / Love ad Lib
AUDIO BOOK (Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure) - Susan Rogers, John Roosen/ Cobra Pose
Biography - Barbara Bergren / Witness For My Father
Business - Pete Kusiak/ Drop The F-Bomb In Your Business
Chick Lit - Erin Bell/ Don't F*CK With Narcissists
Children's (Board books and Pre-reading) - Sheryl Bass/ Baby Dragon's Big Sneeze
Children's (Early to intermediate readers) - Kay Jones , Peter Trimarco/ The Cousins Are Coming
Coming of Age - Lily Foster/ When the Night is Over
Cooking/Baking - Lana Taylor Stuart/ My Southern Table
Dark Fantasy - Michael Karolewski/ The Soul Sector
Dystopian - Lena Gibson/ Switching Tracks: Out of the Trash
Education - Amnon Kabatchnik/ Horror on the Stage
Environment - Zaayin Salaam MD/ With Love, From Planet B
Erotica - L.M. Mountford/ Give Us Bad Boys & Billionaires
Fantasy - Alison Levy/ Magic By Any Other Name
Graphic Novel - Sam Torode/ The Dirty Parts of the Bible
Health/Medicine/Nutrition - PL Bandy MD/ Rehabit Your Life
Historical Fiction - SL Beaumont/ The War Photographers
History (tie)- Tae-hyok Kim and Nicole Kim Rogers/ Beyond the Border
History (tie) - K.A. Nelson/ Killing Shore
Horror - Christopher Hawkins/ Downpour
How To - Dominic McLoughlin/ Be a Better Manager in Five Minutes a Day
Humor (Fiction) – Andrew Diamond/ The Sellout
Inspirational/Spiritual - Cornelia E Davis/ Disrupter
Kids (Fiction)- Stephen B. Haunts/ Diary of a Martian: The Discovery
Kids (Non Fiction) - Kim Carr/ Dandelion: my house chicken
LGBTQ+ (Fiction) - Bill VanPatten/ Refuge
LGBTQ+ (Non Fiction) - Lori Horvitz/ Collect Call to My Mother
Literary Fiction - Josh Green/ SECRETS OF ASH
Memoir (tie)- Blue Butterfield/ Maine, A Love Story
Memoir (tie)- Elisabeth Haggblde/ Trauterose: Growing Up In Postwar Munich
Middle Grade - Mark Cheverton/ Facing the Beast Within
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller - Mel Harrison/ Spies Among Us
New Adult - Audrey Auden/ The Voice in All
Paranormal - MC Hunton/ Conviction
Parenting (Child Care/Family) - Shawn Elliot/ A Busy Parent's Guide to Preventing Childhood Obesity
Poetry (Non-Fiction) - Ebenezer O. Makinde/ Worth of Diamonds
Poetry (Fiction) - James Victor Anderson/ An Occasional Damage of Roses
Politics/Current Events - Bill Herrington/ The Green Real Deal
Pop Culture - Matt Ingwalson/ The Nihilisticats
Popular Fiction - Fiona Graham/ The Chancer
Psychology/Mental Health - Danuza Aquino/ Healing All Homes
Religion - Theodore Orenstein/ Awaken Your Soul
Romance - Sarah Lahey/ Louie the Lynx and Ryan the Lion
Science Fiction - Avi Datta/ The Movement (Time Corrector Series Book 2)
Self-Help - Craig Cooke/ Business Kung Fu
Short Stories (Fiction) - Michael Glenn/ Selected Stories
Socially Conscious (Fiction) - Susan Kraus/ When We Lost Touch
Spiritual - S. Sky/ Sage and the Crystal Bot: Telepathy Tide
Sports/Fitness/Recreation - John Blossom/ The Last Football Player
Travel - Marc-David Munk/ Urgent Calls from Distant Places
Women's Fiction - Jacqueline Boulden/ Family Ties Family Lies
Women's Issues- Jackie Lewis/ Tessa's Heart: A Texas Story
Young Adult (Fiction)– Hayley Reese Chow/ Odriel's Heirs
Writing/Publishing - Joshua Lisec/ So Good They Call You a Fake
2024 PANEL OF JUDGES
Agent
The top 6 winning titles will be submitted to Dystel, Goderich & Bourret for representation consideration
A.S. Drayton, 2022 Winner for Are You Okay?: The Carryover of Kindness
Felicia Bengtsson, Head of Community, REEDSY Discovery
Phil Leo, PM IMAGES
Mike Denora, PM IMAGES
Jessie Glenn, Director, MINDBUCK MEDIA BOOK PUBLICITY
Sandra Smith, President, SMITH PUBLICITY
Thanks to our 2024 SPONSORS
Dystel, Goderich & Bourret
Smith Publicity
Reedsy
Featherlite
Media Contact
Amy Edelman, IndieReader, 1 9738655368, [email protected] , www.indiereader.com
SOURCE IndieReader
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