It is good to be acknowledged.
It is even better when that acknowledgement vindicates what you have personally known for years. And I knew, from its earliest beginnings, that Secret Sky: The Young Universe was an exceptional book—one with the same caliber of writing you would expect to see from a bestseller. I know a lot of people have yet to discover this book, but everyone who gets a taste of it is astonished by its quality.
And so it should come as no surprise that this book can turn the heads of not only layman readers, but contest judges as well. Followers of this blog will remember that Secret Sky: The Young Universe won gold TWICE at the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Book Awards (formerly the Ben Franklin awards. One of the categories was Science Fiction—which is an adult category at the IBPA awards, and Secret Sky is a Middle-Grade book).
But it pleases me to announce to you that the accolades do not end there.
Readers’ Favorite
The Readers’ Favorite Book Awards differ from the IBPA Book Awards in a number of respects. The IBPA awards are just one branch of the IBPA’s overall mission to assist small and independent publishers. Whereas Readers’ Favorite is, as far as I can tell, strictly an awards organization.
And, unlike the IBPA Book Awards, Readers’ Favorite is open to books from publishers large and small.
It also gives out more awards than the IBPA. Every category can have as many as two silver medalists and two bronze medalists, as well as two honorable mentions, and one “finalist” designation for the lowest award. As such, a lot of books have Reader’s Favorite medals on their covers. A cursory search on Amazon will lead to hundreds of titles.
But gold is a different matter. Each category only gets one gold winner. And this year, in the category of “Young Adult – Adventure”, a particular science fantasy novel caught the judges’ eyes.
What an Honor!
Winning gold in the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards is another feather in my cap.
Even if they’re not the most famous of book awards, they are—in some ways—a bigger deal than the IBPA. For this award, my book was contending against a much larger pool of candidates, including a lot of traditionally published novels. The contest has had a few high-profile winners in the past, as well.
And the award seal will look good on the cover of Secret Sky: The Young Universe, provided I can find space for it.
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