Award Wins Help Authors Reach New Levels of Recognition

Traverse City, MI, July 2023 — The Independent Publisher Book Awards (known as the IPPYs) were established in 1996 and have been awarding the best in independent, small press, and academic publishing for almost 30 years.

In a world that welcomes millions of new book titles annually, winning an award such as an IPPY can open doors and give authors much-deserved recognition, says IPPY Awards Director Amy Shamroe. 

“In the over 15 years I have been working for the IPPY Awards, the one thing that strikes me is the impact being a medalist winner can have on the authors,” Shamroe said. “Every year we hear stories from the winners about publishing deals with large companies, increases in sales, more opportunities to sell in bookstore chains, more interviews/press attention, and even just the benefits of networking with other winners and picking up tips from them.”

Among the oldest awards for independent presses, the IPPY Awards are open to independent publishers, university presses, self-publishers, and independent authors throughout North America, as well as overseas publishers and authors who publish books intended for an English-speaking audience. 

With 90 general categories and 10 eBook categories, plus regional awards, the IPPYs offer opportunities for every type and genre of book and recognize hundreds of outstanding authors every year. 

Ed Spivey, author of A Hamster is Missing in Washington D.C., and IPPY Gold Medalist said, “It's made a huge difference in my sales, and was the key factor in convincing me to go to a second printing. The IPPY gold seal looks great on the new cover, and I think it's opening some doors to publication reviews.”

The Jenkins Group/the IPPYs have now added the eLit Awards to their family of awards and made some changes to recognize all the ways people talk about and interact with books today. The eLits will now celebrate book-related digital content and creators in categories like Audiobooks, Social Media, Author websites, Podcasts, and more.  

Submissions are currently open for both the 2024 IPPY and eLit Book Awards. For more information and complete entry guidelines, please visit www.ippyawards.com or www.elitawards.com. Follow the IPPY Awards on Instagram at @ippyawards and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IPAwards. To hear interviews with past winners, visit www.behindthecoverpodcast.com. 

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