Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group has named the best indie books of 2014.
The books are winners of the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, a non-profit awards program judged by leaders in the indie book publishing industry to identify indie books that deserve to reach a wider audience.
"We like to think of our awards program as the 'Sundance' of the book publishing world," says Catherine Goulet, Chair of the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards program.
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."
Independent book publishing companies are independent of the major conglomerates that dominate the book publishing industry. The indies include small presses, larger independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors.
According to Goulet, "Like other independent artists, many indie book publishers face challenges that the industry giants don't experience. They typically have to work a lot harder to get their best books into retail stores and ultimately into the hands of readers."
"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 Bowker's Books in Print database, more than 1.7 million books were published or distributed in the United States alone in 2012. A majority of these were "non-traditionally" published books, including print on demand and self-published titles. The number of self-published titles produced annually in the U.S. has increased dramatically, growing 422% since 2007.
To help Indie authors and publishers reach a wider audience, the top 60 books in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen O'Shea Literary Agency or one of Ms. Allen's co-agents for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights.
The top prize winning books in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards are:
Top Non-Fiction Books
First Place Winner ($1,500 Prize)
The Boy Who Lived With Ghosts, by John Mitchell (Inclusic)
Second Place Winner ($750 Prize)
Explosion Green, by David Gottfried (Morgan James Publishing)
Third Place Winner ($500 Prize)
The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love, by Dianne Maroney (Yampa Valley Publishing)
Top Fiction Books
First Place Winner ($1,500 Prize)
A True Novel, by Minae Mizumara (Other Press)
Second Place Winner ($750 Prize)
The Translator, by Nina Schuyler (Pegasus Books)
Third Place Winner ($500 Prize)
Head Long, by Ron MacLean (Last Light Studio)
Other Winners
In addition to the grand prize winners, top indie books were named as winners and finalists in 60 publishing categories ranging from Action/Adventure to Young Adult.
Headline Books was honored as Outstanding Publisher of the Year, with the award accepted by President Cathy Teets.
A complete list of 2014 winners and finalists is available at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards website.
2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Entries are now being accepted for the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The awards program is open to fiction and nonfiction books from independent authors and publishers worldwide released in 2013, 2014, or 2015 or with a copyright date of 2013, 2014, or 2015.
www.indiebookawards.com
