Winners
Fiction: General
2024 WINNERS - FICTION: GENERAL
See below for the list of 2024 winners in the FICTION: GENERAL category, for books with a copyright date of 2023.
The Truth About Horses: A Novel
2024 Gold Winner
Author: Christy Cashman
Publisher: SparkPress
ISBN: 9781684632121
Fourteen-year-old Reese’s dream of winning the Black Elk race is shattered when her beloved horse, Trusted Treasure, falls at the last jump. While still reeling from that loss, her family suffers a second tragedy - one that results in the end of their family business, the sale of Trusted Treasure, and irreparable damage to Reese’s relationship with her father. Through heartaches and triumphs, Reese must prove her worth if she wants to heal her family and show everyone that some dreams are worth fighting for.
Because I Loved You: A Novel
2024 Silver Winner
Author: Donnaldson Brown
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781647422981
From the remote ranchlands of East Texas to New York City’s downtown art scene, BECAUSE I LOVED YOU explores the pain and enduring power of first love, the consequences of following—or abandoning—one’s dream, and the shadow a secret casts across generations. A sweeping tale of love, ambition, loss and redemption.
Those People Behind Us: A Novel
2024 Silver Winner
Author: Mary Camarillo
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781647425654
Those People Behind Us is set in the summer of 2017 in a suburban coastal town increasingly divided by politics, protests, and escalating housing prices. These divisions change the lives of five neighbors as they search for home and community in a neighborhood where no one can agree who belongs.
2023 WINNERS - FICTION: GENERAL
See below for the list of 2023 winners in the FICTION: GENERAL category, for books with a copyright date of 2022.
The Lives of Diamond Bessie: A Novel
2023 Gold Winner
Author: Jody Hadlock
Publisher: SparkPress
ISBN: 9781684631179
A 19th-century demi-mondaine suffers the ultimate betrayal but doesn’t let her story end there. Inspired by true events and set amid the burgeoning women’s rights movement, The Lives of Diamond Bessie is a haunting tale of revenge and redemption that “leaves a lasting impression.” Publishers Weekly
Attribution: A Novel
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Linda Moore
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781647422530
Cate leaves her grieving family to complete her doctorate in art history. She struggles to impress her sexist adviser and despairs she will fail until she discovers a painting, possibly a masterpiece. She flees New York to consult experts in Spain where she discovers the importance and power of truth.
The Moments Between Dreams: A Novel
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Judith F. Brenner
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
ISBN: 9781626349339
A captivating story of a 1940s housewife who conforms to the rulebook of society until her husband pushes her too far. Along a risky escape path, Carol empowers her daughter to know no limits and teaches her son to stop the cycle of violence and gender discrimination.
2022 WINNERS - FICTION: GENERAL
See below for the list of 2022 winners in the FICTION: GENERAL category, for books with a copyright date of 2021.
My Good Son
2022 Gold Winner
Author: Yang Huang
Publisher: University of New Orleans Press
ISBN: 9781608012015
My Good Son explores the deep power and profound burdens of parental love through the story of Mr. Cai, a tailor in post-Tiananmen China, and Jude, a gay American ex-pat. Their friendship exposes the parallels and differences of American and Chinese cultures—father-son relationships, familial expectations, sexuality, social mobility, and privilege.
Paper Airplanes: A Novel
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Tabitha Forney
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781647421779
When Erin loses her husband on September 11, she thinks her life is lost, too. She surrenders to fate by diving into a cocktail of grief, guilt, and substance abuse. But when the road to destiny presents a twist, she has one more chance to decide whether marriage means forever, or if there’s life after happily ever after.
Sunshine Chief
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Eric Peterson
Publisher: Huckleberry House
ISBN: 9780982486085
In Tucson to co-chair a charity fundraiser, legendary food writer Horace Button finds himself in a unique position to solve the lethal crime he’s convinced has occurred.
2021 WINNERS - FICTION: GENERAL
See below for the list of 2021 winners in the FICTION: GENERAL category, for books with a copyright date of 2020. Click here to watch the Gold and Silver winner speeches.
Valiant Savage: A Peter Savage Novel
2021 Gold Winner
Author: Dave Edlund
Publisher: Light Messages Publishing
ISBN: 9781611533620
When a routine demonstration of Peter Savage’s cutting edge weapon turns deadly and his friend James Nicolaou is framed for murder, Peter finds himself in a race against time to save his friend and avert a political coup the likes of which haven’t been witnessed since the Lincoln assassination plot.
The Moon Always Rising: A Novel
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Alice C. Early
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781631526831
A moving and lyrical novel that transports readers from lush tropics to rugged highlands and back again, The Moon Always Rising by Alice Early explores how the power of forgiveness can help even the most damaged person fix whatever is broken.
Treasure of the Blue Whale
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Steven Mayfield
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
ISBN: 9781646030040
In the midst of the Great Depression, young Connor O’Halloran offers to share a treasure he’s discovered on the beach, then conspires with a handful of town leaders to save their sleepy, seaside village from financial ruin when it turns out that the treasure is not real.
2020 WINNERS - FICTION: GENERAL
See below for the list of 2020 winners in the FICTION: GENERAL category, for books with a copyright date of 2019.
Give
2020 Gold Winner
Author: Erica C. Witsell
Publisher: BQB Publishing
ISBN: 9781945448348
A fractured family leaves two sisters struggling for belonging. One gift could change everything.
Emily, Gone
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Bette Lee Crosby
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
ISBN: 9781542044929
A frenzied night. A desperate act. A town forever changed when a missing child sets the lives of three women on a collision course.
Lethal Savage: A Peter Savage Novel
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Dave Edlund
Publisher: Light Messages Publishing
ISBN: 9781611533132
Two men, one driven to the edge of sanity by heart-breaking losses, the other craving revenge, conspire to reshape America in an unprecedented bioterrorism attack.
Shrug: A Novel
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Lisa Braver Moss
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781631526381
It's 1960s Berkeley, and Martha Goldenthal's home life is a cauldron of kooky ideas, impossible demands, and explosive physical violence. Can she make her way?
About the
Independent Book Publishers Association
Founded to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,200 members, IBPA is the largest independent publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry.
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