Printed Word Reviews Independent Press Award 2025

Submit your book on any subject for the 2025 NYC Big Book Award! That’s right, no limitation on where the author is located or the topic of the book. WHO CAN ENTER? Print and audiobooks can be submitted by: independent publishers hybrid publishers self-published authors university presses association presses small, medium and big house presses * including any of the big five publishing houses and their imprints Outside of the big five publishing houses, any publisher or author may submit to both competitions, IndependentPressAward.com (every spring); and NYCBigBookAward.com (every fall). See webpages for complete details. WHEN CAN I ENTER the NYC Big Book Award? We are on a rolling submission, approximately every two and a half months, with two hard deadlines:(1) September 1, 2024 to December 30, 2024 (2)…

Dear Readers, Authors, Publishers and Publishing Enthusiasts, It is with immense pleasure and excitement that we unveil the distinguished recipients of the 2025 Independent Press Award. In a year marked by extraordinary literary talent and a vibrant independent publishing scene, we've had the privilege of witnessing the power of storytelling in its most authentic form. The Independent Press Award celebrates the dedication, creativity, and unwavering spirit of independent publishers and authors. In 2025, we received a record number of submissions, each showcasing the unique voices and perspectives that enrich our literary landscape. The Independent Press Award is faced the challenging task of selecting the best of the best across 12 main categories, and over 100 subcategories, and the final decisions reflect the remarkable quality of the works submitted. In a…

Unpacking the Attic, A Path to Healing Your Inner Child was written by Ann M. Mracek. She is an author, storyteller, illustrator, composer, singer, dancer and speaker. The book is a 2025 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite in the Self Help Motivational category. Ann is also the author and illustrator of the children’s book Friendship Flies the Sun: The Ancient Egyptian Legend of Scarab Beetle and the novel for young readers: My Best Friends Live in the Forest: The Adventures of Albert which she narrates on YouTube. She is currently working on an adult novel, Through Eternal Time. Ann earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music theory composition from the University of Kansas, where she also studied painting and silversmithing. Ann teaches private piano, voice and music composition.…

A healthy teenage passion for romance novels, Angela Harris began writing at 13. Yet, as pages turned and stories unfolded, a glaring absence became impossible to ignore: where were the stories that reflected her community? Where were the tales of love and desire that resonated with women of color? This question, posed in the heart of a young writer, would shape a lifelong mission. Early attempts to bridge this gap were met with a disheartening response. A major publishing house, Harlequin, in a moment that would define her path, asserted “that Black women were content reading about white women but the reverse wasn't true” Harris expressed, “so they didn't see a need for a novel that looked like other communities.” That dismissal, rather than extinguishing the flame, ignited a fire.…

Action/Adventure Flares Up: A Story Bigger Than The Atlantic by Niamh McAnally Against the Wind by A.W. Baldwin Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger by KC Grifant Addiction & Recovery Unhooked: Free Yourself from Addiction Forever by Adi Jaffe PhD Curious: A Foster Mom's Discovery of an Unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction by Christina Dent Recovering Out Loud by Kristy Henderson UnLoaded by Jamie Weatherly African American Fiction No One Will Save Us: A novel by Julie L. Brown When It All Falls Down by Chinedu Achebe African American Nonfiction Perseverance a Memoir: One Woman's Journey from Ghana to the United Nations by Emelia Timpo, Ph.D. Alternative Medicine On Healing: Finding Wholeness Beyond the Limits of Medicine by Amitha Kalaichandran Animals/Pets Ode to a Pug by…

Franke James never envisioned herself as a writer. With an MFA and a passion for fine art, her path seemed clear: to express herself through visual mediums. However, a growing unease about the world's apathy towards climate change shifted her focus, leading to an unexpected literary journey. James was deeply concerned about climate change, and “in 2006, I was writing long, well-researched articles," James recalls, but “I was getting zero response." Frustration mounted, until a breakthrough moment in January 2007. Her first illustrated essay, "A Green Winter: Will Global Warming Be Good for Canada?", a true story about climate change, resonated powerfully. Suddenly, the silence was broken. "The response was instantaneous," she says. "An outpouring of comments, magazine articles, a request to publish the essay in an anthology, and even…