2,000,000 new books are published each year (UNESCO estimate—Google it!). That translates to a lot of noise and short attention spans. So, much as I might prefer to stay in that dark comfy cave where I spent 10 enjoyable years writing Remembering Shanghai, when I’m blessed with third-party recognition, I must … go to the COPACABANA?!
Yes—that’s where, in the heart of New York’s Times Square, the Independent Publisher Book Awards stages an annual event akin to the Oscars of independent publishing, and where I received three medals for Best First Book, Best E-Book Design and Cover Design 2nd place.
The IPPY Awards are now in their 23rd year, and in 2019 attracted over 4,000 entrants from all over the world. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting fellow authors Dena Moes (The Buddha Sat Right Here), Victoria Lansford (Giving Voice), and Daniel Clarke and William Clarke (Tears in the Jungle).
Simone Biles, eat your heart out.