2021 IPPY AWARDS

Congratulations and sincere thanks to the independent authors and publishers who participated in our 25th annual, 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards contest. It's been a challenging year for all of us, and we appreciate and applaud your efforts!

Here are the listings of the gold, silver and bronze medalists in General categories 1-28.

CLICK HERE for General categories 29-59

CLICK HERE for General categories 60-86

CLICK HERE for Audiobook and Ebook categories

CLICK HERE for Regional categories

CLICK HERE for the Outstanding Book of the Year 

CLICK HERE for the IPPY Medalist & Press page

(Attention IPPY Medalists: if you'd like a change to your title info or cover scan, please contact Awards Director, Jim Barnes - jimb (at) jenkinsgroupinc.com)


GENERAL MEDALISTS

1. FINE ART

GOLD:

James Prosek: Art, Artifact, Artifice

by James Prosek

(Yale University Art Gallery)

 

 

SILVER (tie): 

A Like Vision: The Group of Seven & Tom Thomson 

by Ian A.C. Dejardin and Sarah Milroy

(McMichael Canadian Art Collection/Goose Lane Editions)

 

 

SILVER (tie): 

Jacob Lawrence: Lines of Influence 

by SCAD Museum of Art

(SCAD Museum of Art/Verlag Scheidegger & Spiess)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

The Art of Symeon Shimin

Edited and curated by Tonia Shimin

(Mercury Press International)

 

 


2. PERFORMING ARTS (MUSIC/DANCE/CINEMA/THEATER)

GOLD (tie): 

John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life 

by Kenneth Womack

(Omnibus Press)

 

 

The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma

by Ben Sidran

(Nardis Books)

 

 

 

 

SILVER: 

The Decade That Rocked: The Photography of Mark “Weissguy” Weiss

by Richard Bienstock

(Insight Editions)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

The Creative Spark: How Musicians, Writers, Explorers, and Other Artists Found their Inner Fire and Followed their Dreams

by Michael Shapiro

(Solas House)

 

 


3. PHOTOGRAPHY

GOLD (tie):

American/True Colors

by Stephen Marc

(George F. Thompson)

 

Refuge: America’s Wildest Places - Exploring the National Wildlife Refuge System

by Ian Shive

(Earth Aware Editions)

 

 

SILVER: 

Maya Ruins Revisited: In the Footsteps of Teobert Maler

by William Frej

(Peyton Wright Gallery Press)

 

 

BRONZE: 

To Make Their Own Way in the World: The Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes

Edited by Ilisa Barbash, Molly Rogers and Deborah Willis

(Peabody Museum Press/Aperture)

 

 


4. ARCHITECTURE

GOLD: 

The Modern Architecture of Hugh Michael Kaptur

by Steven Keylon

(Palm Springs Preservation Foundation)

 

 

SILVER: 

City Hall

by Arthur Drooker

(Schiffer Publishing)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

The Arts & Crafts Houses of Massachusetts: A Style Rediscovered

by Heli Meltsner

(Bauhan Publishing)


5. COFFEE TABLE BOOKS

GOLD: 

Mississippi River: Headwaters and Heartland to Delta and Gulf

by David Freese

(George F. Thompson)

 

 

SILVER: 

Wine and the White House: A History

by Frederick J. Ryan, Jr.

(The White House Historical Association)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Captivated: The Art of Ikki Matsumoto

by Steve Saari

(Sandpiper Press)

 


6. POPULAR FICTION

GOLD: 

A Single Tear

by Nemo James

(Derek Newark Publishing)

 

 

 

SILVER:  

A Rainbow Like You

by Andréa Fehsenfeld

(Free Form Productions)

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Finding Hemingway

by Ken Dortzbach

(Cloister Inn Publishing)

 

 

 


7. LITERARY FICTION

GOLD: 

Unseen City

by Amy Shearn

(Red Hen Press)

 

 

 

SILVER: 

Renato!

by Eugene Mirabelli

(McPherson & Company)

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Even As We Breathe

by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

(Fireside Industries)

 

 

 


8. SHORT STORY FICTION

GOLD: 

Where You’re All Going: Four Novellas

by Joan Frank

(Sarabande Books) 

 

 

 

SILVER (tie): 

Girl on a Float

by Brian Bedard

(North Dakota State University Press)

 

 

 

You Want More: Selected Stories

by George Singleton

(Hub City Press)

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE (tie): 

What Nell Dreams

by Anne Leigh Parrish

(Unsolicited Press)

 

 

 

 

A Small Thing to Want: Stories

by Shuly Xóchitl Cawood

(Press 53)

 

 

 

 

 


9. POETRY- STANDARD

GOLD (tie): 

The Rented Altar

by Lauren Berry

(C&R Press)

 

 

Mustard, Milk, and Gin

by Megan Denton Ray

(Hub City Press)

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER (tie): 

White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia

by Kiki Petrosino

(Sarabande Books) 

 

 

 

Fractures

by Carlos Andrés Gómez

(University of Wisconsin Press)

 

 

 

 

BRONZE:

The Ghosts of Lost Animals

by Michelle Bonczek Evory

(Gunpowder Press)

 

 


10. POETRY - SPECIALTY

GOLD: 

Stay Inspired: Shelter in Place 2020

Edited by Lisa Dolby Chadwick & Sierra Nguyen

(Dolby Chadwick Gallery)

 



SILVER: 

Listen to the Trees

by Sean Petrie & Southwest Seattle Historical Society

(Documentary Media)


 

 

BRONZE: 

The Witch Tells the Story and Makes It True: Poems

by Liz Kay; illustrated by Devin Forst

(Quarter Press)

 


11. ANTHOLOGIES

GOLD: 

River Teeth: 20 Years of Creative NonFiction

Edited by Joe Mackall and Daniel W. Lehman

(University of New Mexico Press)

 

 

 

SILVER (tie): 

BIG: Stories about Life in Plus-Sized Bodies

Edited by Christina Myers

(Caitlin Press)

 

 

 

 
The Best of Brevity: Twenty Groundbreaking Years of Flash Nonfiction

Edited by Zoë Bossiere and Dinty W. Moore

(Rose Metal Press)



 

 



BRONZE: 

Knowledge For Justice: An Ethnic Studies Reader

Edited by David K. Yoo, Pamela Grieman, Charlene Villaseñor Black, Danielle Dupuy & Arnold Ling-Chuang Pan

(UCLA - Chicano Studies Research Center Press)

 


12. JUVENILE FICTION

GOLD: 

Now and at the Hour

by Bess Kercher

(Warren Publishing)

 

 

 


SILVER: 

The Kids of Widney Junior High Take Over the World!

by Mathew Klickstein illustrated by Michael S. Bracco

(Schiffer Kids)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

The Hairy Farmer’s Daughter

by Todd R. Gunderson

(wee b. books)

 

 

 

 


13. YOUNG ADULT FICTION

GOLD (tie): 

Surrender Your Sons

by Adam Sass

(Flux)

 

 

 

 

Winter Light

by Martha Engber

(Vine Leaves Press)

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: 

Watermark: Book One of the Broken Bell Series

by Elise Schiller

(SparkPress)

 

 

 

 

BRONZE (tie): 

Crank Palace: A Maze Runner Novella

by James Dashner

(Riverdale Avenue Books)

 

 

 

 

Speak No Evil

by Liana Gardner

(Vesuvian Books)

 

 

 


14. FANTASY
 

GOLD: 

Dragon Mage: An Epic Fantasy Adventure

by ML Spencer

(Stoneguard Publications)

 

 

 


SILVER: 

Of Silver and Shadow

by Jennifer Gruenke

(Flux)

 

 

 

 

Bronze (tie):

Road Seven

by Keith Rosson

(Meerkat Press, LLC) 

 

 

 

Asperfell

by Jamie Thomas

(Uproar Books, LLC)

 

 

 


15. SCIENCE FICTION
 

GOLD: 

Gravity Is Heartless

by Sarah Lahey

(She Writes Press)






SILVER: 

Taking Time...A Tale of Physics, Lust and Greed

by Mike Murphey

(Mike Murphey Books)

 

 

 


BRONZE: 

Edge of Light

by Jay Antani

(Bandwagon Press)

 

 

 

 


16. LGBT+ FICTION

GOLD: 

The Redshirt

by Corey Sobel

(University Press of Kentucky)

 

 

 

 

99 Erics: A Kat Cataclysm Faux Novel

by Julia Serano

(Switch Hitter Press)

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes

by Evan J. Corbin

(Atonement Book)

 

 

 


17. EROTICA

GOLD: 

Initiative: Tales of Erotic Boldness

by Emerald

(Midnight Gleam Press)

 

 

 

SILVER:

Assist

by L.A. Witt

(Self-Published)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Step Darkly

by Luna Kayne

(Luna Kayne)

 

 


18. HISTORICAL FICTION
 

GOLD: 

A Ritchie Boy

by Linda Kass

(She Writes Press)

 

 


 

SILVER: 

Estelle: A Novel

by Linda Stewart Henley

(She Writes Press)

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Katherine Mansfield

by Joanna FitzPatrick

(La Drome Press)

 

 


19. MILITARY/WARTIME FICTION

GOLD: 

Have Snakes, Need Birds

by Travis Klempan

(Köehler Books)

 

 

 


SILVER: 

Breaking Point

by John Rhodes

(Roundel House)

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Flower of Iowa

by Lance Ringel

(Distant Mirror Press)

 

 

 


20. HORROR

GOLD: 

The Taxidermist's Lover

by Polly Hall

(CamCat Publishing, LLC)

 

 

 


SILVER: 

Lacrimore

by SJ Costello

(Self-Published)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Rare Birds: Stories

by L.S. Johnson

(Traversing Z Press)

 

 

 


21. MULTICULTURAL FICTION
 

GOLD: 

Inconvenient Daughter

by Lauren J. Sharkey

(Akashic Books)

 

 

 

SILVER (tie):

Subduction

by Kristen Millares Young

(Red Hen Press)

 

 

 

 

Beginning with Cannonballs

by Jill McCroskey Coupe

(She Writes Press)

 

 

 

 

Bronze: 

First Among Nations

by Ira Mosen

(Olive Blossom Press)

 

 

 


22. MULTICULTURAL FICTION – JUV-YOUNG ADULT
 

GOLD: 

A Jibaro’s Miracle

by Marisa de Jesus Paolicelli; illustrated by Susan E. Daly

(A Caribbean Experience Con Amor)

 

 

SILVER: 

The Knockout

by Sajni Patel

(Flux)

 

 

 


BRONZE: 

The Dreamer’s Stage

by Joanne Vassallo Jamrosz

(Wasteland Press)

 

 

 


23. MYSTERY
 

GOLD: 

Spider Lake: A Northern Lakes Mystery

by Jeff Nania

(Little Creek Press)

 

 

 

SILVER: 

Crime Beat Girl

by Geri L Dreiling

(Self-Published) 

 

 

 

BRONZE (tie): 

Maximum Rossi

by Paul W. Papa

(HPD Publishing)

 

 

 


Point Roberts

by Alexander Rigby

(Alden Press)

 

 

 


24. SUSPENSE/THRILLER

GOLD: 

The Wayward Spy

by Susan Ouellette

(CamCat Books)

 

 

 

SILVER: 

Nuclear Option

by Dorothy Van Soest

(Apprentice House Press)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

An Improbable Spy

by David Paul Collins

(iUniverse Rising Star)

 

 


25. RELIGIOUS FICTION
 

GOLD: 

The Mulberry Leaf Whispers

by Linda Thompson

(Mountain Brook Ink)

 

 

 

SILVER: 

Lost Down Deep

by Sara Davison

(On the Edge Suspense)

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

Shadow in the Dark

by Antony Barone Kolenc

(Loyola Press)

 

 

 


26. ROMANCE

GOLD: 

Highland Lioness

by Kristin Gleeson

(An Tig Beag Press)
 

 

 

 

SILVER:

Promise of Spring

by T.K. Conklin

(Butterfly Shadow Publishing)

 

 

 

 

BRONZE:

When the Wind Chimes

by Mary Ting

(RoseWind)

 

 

 


27. URBAN FICTION

GOLD: 

The Talking Drum

by Lisa Braxton

(Inanna Publications)

 

 

 


SILVER:

Fair

by Ed Seaward

(The Porcupine’s Quill)

 

 

 


BRONZE:

A Cerebral Offer

by Ken Janjigian

(Livingston Press)

 

 

 

 


28. VISIONARY/NEW AGE FICTION

GOLD: 

Water

by Caroline Allen

(Art of Storytelling)

 

 

 

 

SILVER: 

Who Cries for Mother Earth

by Margaret Hines

(Brings Good)

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: 

I Can Still Hear You

by Nicole Black

(Whole Beauty Press)

 

 

 

 

Click Here to continue to category 29