Outskirts Press self-publishing authors continually impress the judges at the annual CIPA EVVY Awards and this year is no different. In fact, our authors garnered 23 spots as finalists for the 2019 awards and we couldn’t be prouder!
Now in its 25th year, the EVVY Awards, sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) and the CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation (ELF), recognize the works of independent authors in dozens of book categories.
First-, second- and third-place winners will be revealed and recognized at an awards banquet on Saturday, Aug. 17, in Denver, Colorado. Outskirts Press would love to see as many of these amazing authors at the ceremony as possible. If you can’t make it, no worries: Outskirts Press executives will be on hand to accept the awards on behalf of authors not able to appear in person.
At last, here are the Outskirts Press books that have been selected as finalists in the 2019 EVVY Awards:
Congratulations to all our EVVY Award finalists! We are so proud of your impressive achievements in this awards cycle.
Have you published a book this year, or are you getting ready to? Let Outskirts Press show you how to produce an award-worthy work! Follow the link below to learn more about our book publishing and marketing services.
This year, Outskirts Press has an impressive 79 EVVY Award nominees to thank for their dedication and high-quality work as self-published authors. The EVVYs are an acclaimed annual book award program sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers’ Association (CIPA), which recognizes superior independently published books. The EVVYs are judged by a panel of professionals on a qualitative scale of merit in dozens of distinct book categories.
Each year, Outskirts Press nominates a small percentage of the books published during the year for submission to the EVVY Awards. Since a nomination is the first step toward the Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award, the standards are high and these nominations represent the very best of our publications as determined by our executives and members of our production teams.
Outskirts Press official nominees and winners receive additional exposure for their books in featured Outskirts Press marketing channels, including our blog, social media networks, nationally distributed press releases and in our email newsletters. The finalists will be announced July 31, 2019, and award winners will be announced during a ceremony hosted by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association in August, 2019.
Congratulations to this year’s Official Outskirts Press EVVY Award nominees, presented here in no particular order:
Congratulations to the authors of these 79 amazing works!
What’s next?
As a result of being nominated for the EVVY Awards, these Outskirts Press authors have taken the first step toward the coveted Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award. Three of the nominees above who subsequently win an EVVY Award during the CIPA banquet will be selected as semi-finalists for our annual Best Book of the Year Award and its $1,500 Grand Prize. Visit the blog often for updates.
All of these books, along with other Outskirts Press titles, are available from the major online book retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, Books-A-Million and others, and from the Outskirts Press bookstore. To learn more about our products and services, as well as upcoming and current promotions, visit our website or call us at 1-888-672-6657 to speak with a Publishing Consultant.
It’s the season of thanks, so we would like to take a moment to acknowledge a handful of our authors with a heartfelt thank you for all they accomplished in 2018. We publish over a thousand books every year and have hundreds upon hundreds of successful authors worthy of commendation. But that would make this article hundreds of pages long, so if we’re not able to mention you personally, please know our thanks and appreciation extend to you, as well. Keep up the great work in 2019!
January
In January, the spotlight was on Katherine S. Egan, author of Genetics Isn’t Everything. She went on to win a first place EVVY Award in August, which she was able to accept in person at the banquet in Denver, Colorado. She subsequently became one of three finalists in the 2018 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Awards. Thank you, Katherine!
February
In February, Jackie Fischer won first place (and a new laptop computer) in our annual “Show Us Your Love” video contest, which celebrates both Valentine’s Day and self-publishing. Not only is she the author of The Lost Branch but, as she demonstrates in her video, she’s quite adept at rhyme, as well! Thank you, Jackie, for the fantastic video and the fantastic book!
March
Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Wineberg hit our Top 10 Bestsellers List in March with her inspiring and triumphant autobiography, Unwavering Perseverance. Even more impressive, she earned a Gold Medal in the 2008 Olympic Games in the 4×400 relay after overcoming obstacle after obstacle. “Always strive for your dreams,” she encourages. Thank you for the words of motivation, Mary! You’re a true inspiration!
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April
The Annual Benjamin Franklin Awards are notoriously competitive, so it was no small feat when Dr. Jeanne Blanchet won a Silver Medal Award for Historical Fiction in April with her novel Man at the Cross Road. Proving herself to be anything but a one-trick pony, she quickly followed that up with an EVVY Award for her following book, Cursed. Thank you, Jeanne, for making the trip to Denver to accept your award in person and meeting some of our executive team.
May
We acknowledged the writing career of one of our most prolific authors in May when Jerry Snodgrass stepped into our monthly spotlight. Jerry has published 10 books with Outskirts Press (so far!) and was born in Butler, Missouri, in 1938. He was raised and went to school in Indianola, Iowa. He entered the military after graduating from high school in 1957 and fulfilled his dreams of serving in the military and traveling to exotic locations. He married Elizabeth Fleming in the 1960s and they had two children. The family traveled extensively during his military career before settling down in Killeen, Texas, in 2002. Thank you, Jerry, for your service and your books of valor.
June
Kevin I.J.A. Barnett Sr. went on a whirlwind virtual book tour in June for his debut book, a provocative and autobiographical examination of the United States Foster Care and Adoption System. As the author of Living My Shadows, Kevin is a retired, noncommissioned officer in the United States Army. He has served in Germany, Afghanistan and in many stateside tours during his career. He is married to Sharon F. Pelham and does motivational speaking when time permits. Thank you, Kevin, for your service and for having the courage to share such significant moments of your life for the assistance of others.
July
In July, prolific novelist Gabriel F.W. Koch learned that he was once again a finalist in the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Awards. He walked away with a Second Place EVVY Award a couple years ago for his science fiction novel Paradox Effect (not to mention an Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year nomination). This year he picked up an EVVY Merit Award for Emma and the Dragon Tooth Sword. He has published four books thus far with Outskirts Press, including his latest: And Come Day’s End. Thank you, Gabriel, for all your wonderful, award-winning books.
August
Speaking of science fiction, C.R. Norris discovered that she won First Place in the Science Fiction category, for her book Wasp on the Wind, when the EVVY Awards Banquet took place in Denver on August 25, 2018. Wasp on the Wind is Book 2 in her Wasp Chronicles Series. She subsequently was nominated to be one of three finalists in the highly coveted Best Book of the Year Awards. C.R. Norris is a perpetual student of science and mathematics. Born in Salina Kansas, her varied career has included experience as a musician, a blood banker, and an electrical engineer in the semiconductor industry. She currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she indulges her passions for green chile, playing music and writing.
September
And it all led up to this, when the 2018 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year was announced. This year, the honor, the award and the $1,500 Grand Prize went to T.D. Arkenberg for his biographical take on the events leading up to, and following in the shadows of, September 11. Two Towers is his fourth book but his first memoir. Thank you, T.D., for letting us experience this tragic event from such an unfiltered perspective.
October
In October we recognized our 50 bestselling authors for 2018. It takes more than a marvelous literary work to achieve success as an author; it takes the gumption and drive to promote that work to readers! To you, we extend not only our congratulations but our thanks for allowing Outskirts Press to help you reach this successful milestone!
Kevin Muldowney
Aage Nost
Will Kautz
Rasha Pecoraro
Michael McNamara
Tui Rose
Lisa A. Romano
Mohamed Elgendy
Mary Casey
Asif Anwar
Vil Mirzayanov
Brian Petit
L. Veach
Bill McClain
Mike Gillette
Tom Bisio
Mirtha Castro
Mary Allison
Matthew DiGeronimo
Rebecca Janes
Amy Pierotti
Halo Lewis
Jane McConnell
Jane Ostrow
Jill Jackson
Bernard Nebel
Don Petterson
Alex Cuoco
Ed Robinson
Adrienne Anderson
Scott Imhoff
Diana Arcieri
Patrick O’Connor
Tiffany Anderson
Joseph Adegboyega-Edun
Kathryn M. Mora
Bernard Nebel
Jeffrey Howe
Magdaline DeSousa
Steve Kelley
Michael Goodroe
Hal Perkins
Jokima Hiller
Rodney DuBose
Lisa Cicero
Amy Meadows
Heidi Herman
Paul Kotz
Luis Roman
Seth Spreiter
And the year isn’t over yet. November and December are the biggest months of the year for book sales, so keep those marketing efforts going! And “Thank You” to all our amazing authors for making 2018 another banner year for self-publishing.
Want your book to be the next big prize-winner? Find out more about marketing, promoting and submitting your book for awards and reviews.
The Annual Benjamin Franklin Awards are notoriously competitive, so it was no small feat when Dr. Jeanne Blanchet won a Silver Medal Award for Historical Fiction in April with her novel 
We acknowledged the writing career of one of our most prolific authors in May when Jerry Snodgrass stepped into our monthly spotlight. Jerry has published 
