Bringing readers and books together.
Once upon a time, before I redesigned a book awards program, I was (among other things) a teacher, a mentor, a writer, an editor. Some of the highlights of those years . . . I taught Latin to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. I taught rhetorical grammar through a UC Extension program. I edited and ghostwrote for an arts and theatre journal. I ghostwrote for busy execs, for folks in need, and for professionals who knew their subject areas but not how to get around successfully on the page. I developed an editing department for a young arts and culture publication, one intended to mentor new editors and new writers, as well as to support those with more experience. I helped corporate types find and work with creatives. I worked with and edited many, many writers on works long and short. In time, I found my way to book reviews and to judging for several awards programs.
And then I had the opportunity to reenvision one such program.
. . .
Once the new IPNE website comes together, you can find the whole cycle of book awards pages there: the program info, and the winners and finalists of recent years. For a preview of the program pages, you can view or download the PDF packet.
We’re in the process of tallying the 2024 results now. The 2023 awards cycle was a banner year for debut authors: eleven winners, four finalists. View or download the lineup of debut books and their write-ups. View or download the entire lineup of awards that year.
You might also be interested in this: What to look for in a book awards program.
“The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity.”
“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.”