2024 Indie Book Award Winners Announced

San Diego, CA - Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG) has named the best indie books of 2024.

The books are winners of the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the largest international book awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors. The winners and finalists will be honored Friday, June 28th at a gala event at the US Grant Hotel in San Diego, CA, coinciding with the American Library Association Annual Conference.

Organizers of this year's gala hope to livestream the awards presentation on Facebook, commencing at approximately 5:00 pm Pacific Time at facebook.com/NextGenerationIndieBookAwards. Videos of the 2022 and 2023 events have been viewed more than 100,000 times.

2024 is the 17th year of the largest international book awards program. This year's Platinum Sponsor is FabJob, a leading publisher of dream career guides with over half a million satisfied customers over 6 continents. IAP Career College, which offers online certificate courses in more than 100 career fields including book editing and book publishing, returns as a Gold Sponsor of this year's awards.

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards are judged by leaders of the indie book publishing industry, including many with long careers at major publishing houses. Their love of a great read and experience in the publishing arena identify books deserving a wider audience.

In an article at CNN.com titled If it's cool, creative, and different, it's indie, journalist Catherine Andrews wrote: "The term 'indie' traditionally refers to independent art – music, film, literature or anything that fits under the broad banner of culture – created outside of the mainstream and without corporate financing." That definition remains true for book publishing.

Independent book publishing companies are independent of the major conglomerates dominating the book publishing industry. Indies include small presses, larger independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors.

According to Catherine Goulet, Founder and Co-Chair of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, "Like other independent artists, many indie book publishers face challenges that the industry giants don't experience. The indies have to work much harder to get their best books into readers' hands."

"Authors and publishers who compete in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards are serious about promoting their books," adds Goulet. "They aim to stand out from the crowd of millions of books in print."

According to recent statistics collected by Zippia.com, the U.S. book industry made $28.1 billion in revenue in 2022. Over 4 million new books were published in 2022 alone, with 2.1 million of those being self-published. Romance is the most popular genre of books sold in the U.S., achieving over 32 million print copies sold in 2022.

To help indie authors and publishers reach a wider audience, the top 80+ books in the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency (formerly the Allen O'Shea Literary Agency), or one of Ms. Allen's co-agents, for possible representation in areas such as: distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights.

The top prize-winning books in the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards are:

Top Fiction Books

First Place Winner ($1,500 Prize)
Good Night, Good Night, Victoria Beach, by Rae St. Clair Bridgman (FriesenPress)

Second Place Winner ($750 Prize)
Country of Under, by Brooke Shaffner (Mason Jar Press)

Third Place Winner ($500 Prize)
All Battles End at Sunset, by Jared Acuña (Hilt & Arrow)

Top Non-Fiction Books

First Place Winner ($1,500 Prize)
Crossing Borders: The Search For Dignity In Palestine, by Christa Bruhn (Little Creek Press)

Second Place Winner ($750 Prize)
Beyond the Border: A Korean's Journey Between the North and South, by Tae-hyok Kim and Nicole Kim Rogers (Independently Published)

Third Place Winner ($500 Prize)
Unrestricted: How I Stepped Off the Tightrope, Learned to Say No, and Silenced Anorexia, by Dawn Brockett (Harridan & Strumpet)

Other Winners

Top books were named as winners and finalists in over 80 publishing categories ranging from Action/Adventure to Young Author.

A complete list of 2024 winners and finalists is available at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards website at www.indiebookawards.com.

About the Grand Prize-Winning Fiction Books

Good Night, Good Night, Victoria Beach, by Rae St. Clair Bridgman (FriesenPress)

This wonderful picture book shows how delightful it can be to learn the alphabet while enjoying marvelous illustrations. Many of the illustrations celebrate nature with colorful depictions of birds and mammals. I must wonder from my own enjoyment of this book if this isn't as much for adults as children. Certainly, those of us who have had to read the same book many times to a child will find this book a happy experience to read again and again.

Country of Under, by Brooke Shaffner (Mason Jar Press)

Books that open our eyes to the experiences of others, especially those who are marginalized and outcast, are necessary reads. When that reading experience is done as well as it is here, we must celebrate the story, writing and author who has given us such a treasure.

All Battles End at Sunset, by Jared Acuña (Hilt & Arrow)

The publishers Hilt & Arrow write that "history should never be boring". This a compelling first-person account of the French Wars of Religion. The "hero" is a young boy who discovers the sanctity of life and of free worship. Any (young) reader would find this a compelling read that will indeed give history a memorable experience for them.

About the Grand Prize-Winning Non-Fiction Books

Crossing Borders: The Search For Dignity In Palestine, by Christa Bruhn (Little Creek Press)

Crossing Borders is essential reading for anyone seeking to gain insight into the cultural richness and resilience of the Palestinian people, while also shedding light on the urgent need for justice and dignity in the region. Bruhn's blending of personal experience, historical fact, political context and Palestinian voices makes for an impactful and important read.

Beyond the Border: A Korean's Journey Between the North and South, by Tae-hyok Kim and Nicole Kim Rogers (Independently Published)

Beyond the Border's exploration of identity, freedom, and the enduring human spirit in the face of adversity unimaginable for most of us is deeply moving. An incredible testament to Tae-hyok's resilience and hope, and a completely engrossing way to learn about Korea's "Forgotten War".

Unrestricted: How I Stepped Off the Tightrope, Learned to Say No, and Silenced Anorexia, by Dawn Brockett (Harridan & Strumpet)

Whether you love someone with an eating disorder, have struggled with one yourself, or are simply curious about Brockett's experience, this book will move you, and you'll be glad that it made its way into your life. Equal parts moving memoir and crucial challenge to the underlying ethos of eating disorder treatment today, Unrestricted is an absolute must read.

About the Literary Agent

Marilyn Allen has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience, including serving as Senior Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Director of Marketing for Harper Collins and directing sales and marketing teams for Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins and many divisions of the Penguin Random House Publishing Group. Ms. Allen has worked with many best-selling authors including Stephen King, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, John Gray, Mary Higgins Clark, and many more.

About IBPPG

The aim of the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group is to promote professional standards in independent book publishing (also known as "indie" book publishing) and provide support and recognition for the independent book publishing profession.

2025 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Entries are now being accepted for the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The awards are open to books released in 2023, 2024, or 2025 from independent authors and publishers worldwide. Visit indiebookawards.com for information.

Next Generation Indie Book Awards is pleased to introduce the Next Generation Short Story Awards, a not-for-profit awards program for authors of short stories. To learn more visit shortstoryawards.com.