TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan: June 14, 2019—Foreword Reviews, a book review journal focusing on independently published books, announced the winners of its INDIES Book of the Year Awards today. The awards recognize the best books published in 2018 from small, indie, and university presses, as well by self-published authors. You can view all of the winners here:

https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/winners/2018/

“Being surrounded by the year’s best books from independent writers and publishers is a humbling and invigorating experience that we take seriously at every step of the judging process,” says Managing Editor Michelle Anne Schingler. “As the INDIES progress, our editors, and our librarian and bookseller judges, have the honor and the privilege of discovering and rediscovering independent titles that give us hope about the future of publishing and that, at their best, make us consider the world around us anew.”

Over 2,000 entries were submitted in 56 categories, with Foreword’s editors choosing approximately 10 finalists per genre. Those finalists were then mailed to individual librarians and booksellers charged with picking the Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners.

Foreword editors also selected Editor’s Choice winners in nonfiction and fiction. The Very Marrow of Our Bones, an ECW Press title by Christine Higdon, was named the fiction honoree; and Call Them by Their True Names—by Rebecca Solnit, Haymarket Books—was honored as the winner in nonfiction.

Tin House was named the INDIES’s Publisher of the Year. “Traditional publishers forget to prioritize new, exciting, and diverse voices,” says Schingler. “For the past twenty years, Tin House has helped to fill that gap, publishing brilliant works from an array of daring literary voices. We were stunned by their releases this year, from thrilling debut science fiction titles to boundary-breaking poetry collections, and we can’t wait to see what they produce next.”

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Since 1998, Foreword Reviews has provided trade book reviews of the best titles from independent presses. In print, and online, its FOLIO: award-winning design and editorial content makes the magazine a favorite among librarians, booksellers, and readers—an excellent resource when it comes to purchasing books. Foreword INDIES and the fee-for-review Clarion service complement our online content and print magazine, helping to showcase diverse independent presses and their authors for over 26 years.
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