The 27th Annual Colorado Independent Book Publishers Association EVVY Awards Banquet took place virtually last night, and as often happens, Outskirts Press demonstrated that award-winning writers publish an unparalleled number of award-winning books at Outskirts Press. We are proud to announce that Outskirts Press authors took home a total of 23 impressive 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place awards.
Winning an EVVY Award is a prerequisite to winning the coveted Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award and its $1,500 Grand Prize. Stay tuned to find out which three authors from the winners below will be the finalists for that prestigious prize! The Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award will be determined by the readers of our blog, Self-Publishing News, in an open, public vote.
Here are our 2021 EVVY Award winners. Congratulations to them all!
FIRST PLACE WINNERS
Non-Fiction
Academic/Educational
1st Place – Profiles in Kindness: Stories of Inspiration & Everyday Leadership by Paul E. Kotz
Cultural Studies/Social Issues
1st Place – Trump, Tamales and the American Family by Margaret Donnelly
Spiritual/Religion
1st Place – Seeking God’s Righteousness by Diane M. Neumann
Fiction
Mystery/Crime/ Detective
1st Place – The Tontine Murders: A Veronica Howard Vintage Mystery by E. J. Gandolfo
Young Adult (Ages 14 – 18)
1st Place – In the Black by ANDREW CERONI
Non-Fiction
Academic/Educational
2nd Place – Applied Beekeeping in the United States by David MacFawn
2nd Place – Finding Meaning Beyond Death: A Reflective Memoir by Livinus Ibok Anweting
Cultural Studies/Social Issues
2nd Place – Beyond Pipe Dreams and Platitudes by Geraldine K. Piorkowski, Ph.D.
Spiritual/Religion
2nd Place – Angels Watching Over Me by Pam Ware & Linda Dipman
Fiction
Juvenile Fiction—Middle Grade (Ages 10 – 14)
2nd Place – A Little Noble by Janet R. Macreery
Science Fiction—Hard Sci-Fi/Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopia/ Military Sci-Fi/Alternate History/Cyberpunk/ Steampunk
2nd Place – The Masada Affair by Michael J. Metroke
Westerns
2nd Place – Levi Sawyer: The Convict Train by Larry A. Bieghler
Young Adult (Ages 14 – 18)
2nd Place – Mission Proxima b by Scion Fra
Non-Fiction
Academic / Educational
3rd Place – Compleat Ambler: A Hiker’s Notebook about the Flora, Fauna and Fungi of a Healthy Mind and Body by William Donald Needham
Biography/Autobiography/Memoir—General/Historical
3rd Place – The Other Side of Nam by Ike Travis
Cultural Studies/Social Issues
3rd Place – The Hidden Voice of Africa by Sebastian Joseph
Health/Fitness/ Medicine/Sports
3rd Place Road Warriors: From Worst to First by Terrieic Robbins with Teneeka Robbins
Narrative
3rd Place – The Road Death Traveled by Jason Patt
Parenting & Family
3rd Place – Just a Piece of Me by Diana McIntyre
Self Help—General/Relationships
3rd Place – Navigating Life’s Journey: Common Sense in Uncommon Times by Richard V. Battle
Spiritual/Religion
3rd Place – OH, To Be 108 Again by James K. Wagner
Congratulations to all of our EVVY nominees, finalists, and winners!
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.
Each year, the EVVY Awards recognize excellence in independently published books. Sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, the EVVY Awards are judged by a 3rd-party panel of professionals on a qualitative scale of merit in nineteen different categories.
All Colorado publishers are eligible to enter their books for recognition and awards. In the past, first, second, and third place winners in each category have received a framed award recognizing their accomplishment, along with award-winning stickers to affix to their book covers.
For the past several years, Outskirts Press has officially nominated approximately 5% of the books they publish each year for submission to the annual EVVY Awards. These Official Outskirts Press nominations represent the very best of our publications as determined by Outskirts Press executives, members of the production teams, and marketing department. As such, only books published with the Diamond and full-color Pearl packages are considered.
Potential nominees are notified via email in the fall of each year. There is no obligation to accept the nomination; just being recognized is a great accomplishment. Outskirts Press official nominees and winners typically receive additional exposure of their books on the Outskirts Press email newsletters and blogs.
Select nominees and winners in the past have also been invited to be featured in full-page ads within the pages of national writing magazines like Writer’s Digest, Poets & Writers, and The Writer. These invitations are sent to select authors at Outskirts Press’s sole discretion and there is no additional cost to participate in the advertisement (nor is there any obligation to).
If a nominated author accepts the nomination, Outskirts Press submits the nominated book to the annual EVVY Awards contest. Outskirts Press takes care of all the details. Winners are announced each spring
during a ceremonial banquet dinner celebration in Denver, Colorado, which in the past has been hosted by Dom Testa of Denver’s #1-rated Dom & Jane Morning Show.
Like all book contests, the EVVY Awards are very competitive and only the highest-caliber books are recognized from the publisher’s submissions across the state. Unlike other book contests, fewer than 500 total entries are submitted, increasing the statistical odds that an Outskirts Press Official Nominee will be recognized as an award-winning publication. For the past several years, Outskirts Press has received the most awards among all participating publishers.
Publish with either the Diamond package (for b/w books) or the Pearl package (for full-color)
Strongly consider the optional copyediting and custom cover options. With over 2,000 published books each year, competition to be nominated is fierce. These optional services will help your book meet the highest quality standards.
Keep an eye on your copyright date. For example, books with a 2007 copyright date were nominated in the fall of 2007. Books with a copyright date of 2008 will be nominated in the fall of 2008. Books with a copyright date of 2009 will be nominated in the fall of 2009, etc. Once the calendar year has expired, books featuring that year’s copyright date are no longer eligible for nomination.
Market, market, market. Promote, promote, promote. Bring your successes to the attention of the Outskirts Press Author Support department. Winning awards in other contests helps tremendously; we like nominating award-winning books!
Are you ready to publish an award-winning book?
To see past winners from 2005, 2006, and 2007, click here.