Winners
Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book: Nonfiction
2024 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION
See below for the list of 2024 finalists in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2023.
Broken: The Suspicious Death of Alydar and the End of Horse Racing's Golden Age
2024 Finalist
Author: Fred M. Kray
Publisher: Live Oak Press
ISBN: 9798987213810
One part true-crime investigation, one-part history of horse racing's golden age, BROKEN follows Alydar's rise to fame and then dives into the tragic details of the end of his life. The book investigates the $41.5 million insurance payout and unravels the mystery of the facts surrounding his death.
Financially Capable: A Friendly Guide to Building Whole-Health Wealth
2024 Finalist
Author: Matt Paradise
Publisher: Vernon Street Publishing
ISBN: 9798987943700
Face your financial stress head-on with this game-changing guide! Get expert tips and strategies from a financial education specialist on budgeting, saving, managing debt, and more — so you can enjoy a healthier, wealthier future. “A knowledgeable and upbeat overview of everyday money matters.” Kirkus Reviews
Kansas is Beautiful
2024 Finalist
Author: Mickey Shannon
Publisher: Mickey Shannon Photography
ISBN: 9798987165201
For almost 15 years, photographer Mickey Shannon has been photographing his home in Kansas, taking him to all corners of the state and everything in between. This 144 page coffee table book contains his finest Kansas photographs, showcasing both the well known and the hidden gems of the Sunflower State.
2023 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION
See below for the list of 2023 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2022.
The Answers Are There: Building Peace from the Inside Out
2023 Gold Winner
Author: Libby Hoffman
Publisher: Blue Chair Press
ISBN: 979-8-9862030-1-0
The Answers Are There shows how a nation healed after war and what the world has to learn from it. Weaving powerful stories of transformation—from individual to communal, local to global—Hoffman forges a new architecture of peace, inspiring and equipping readers to build it…from the inside out.
Breath is Life: TAKING IN and LETTING GO: How to Live Well, Love Well, BE Well
2023 Silver Winner
Authors: Laurie Ellis-Young with George T. Ellis PsyD
Publisher: Breathe the Change Press
ISBN: 978-1-7375842-0-9
Breath Is Life combines real-life stories, ancient wisdom, leading-edge neuroscience, and simple/powerful breathing strategies for reduced stress, enhanced sleep, lowered blood pressure and increased energy. Laurie was drawn to breath through yoga, meditation and trekking in the Himalayas and Andes. George was attracted by scuba diving and neuroscience research.
Stay: My Forever Friendship with an Aging Dog
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Lisa Rimmert
Publisher: On the Nose, LLC
ISBN: 9781736830406
After a slew of untimely goodbyes to childhood pets, Lisa’s first act as an adult is to adopt a dog of her own. Thirteen years later, when Dakota shows signs of aging, Lisa must navigate her role as caretaker and discover how best to show up for her best friend.
2022 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION
See below for the list of 2022 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2021.
Cold Mountain Path: The Ghost Town Decades of McCarthy-Kennecott, Alaska
2022 Gold Winner
Author: Tom Kizzia
Publisher: Porphyry Press
ISBN: 978-1-7367558-1-5
In this history of a town lost in the snows of the Wrangell Mountains, bestselling Alaska author Tom Kizzia unfolds a saga of abandonment, renunciation, and renewal. Beyond the whimsical reminiscing of old-timers, the book is a serious environmental history: a meditation on ghost towns, modern Alaska, and the battle to create the country's largest national park.
Love's Legacy: Viscount Chateaubriand and the Irish Girl
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Daniel Fallon
Publisher: Amazonas Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1-7359996-0-9
Love’s Legacy is a suspenseful detective story, an intimate biography of French literary giant Chateaubriand, a story of forbidden love fraught with innocence, passion and tragedy, a genealogical quest, and a meditative memoir of ancestry propelling over two centuries a powerful legacy birthed in hopes of reconciling an ill‑fated relationship.
Safe, Wanted, and Loved: A Family Memoir of Mental Illness, Heartbreak, and Hope
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Patrick Dylan
Publisher: Snow Anselmo Press
ISBN: 978-1736417218
When a sudden mental illness struck his wife, Patrick Dylan found himself living with an eerie stranger. Scared and unprepared, he began a desperate battle to protect her from a mysterious disease, shelter their children from her bizarre behavior, and recover the woman he loved.
2021 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION
See below for the list of 2021 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2020. Click here to watch the Gold and Silver winner speeches.
Brothers in Arms: Remembering Brothers Buried Side by Side in American World War II Cemeteries
2021 Gold Winner
Author: Kevin M. Callahan
Publisher: Brothers in Arms Press LLC
ISBN: 978-0-578-46885-3
Artfully designed with over 700 original photographs, Brothers in Arms tells the stories of brothers buried side by side in American World War II Cemeteries. The book takes the reader on a journey of the war, of America, and of these inspiring cemeteries, all through the stories of these heroic brothers.
The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens
2021 Silver Winner
Authors: Chrysta Castañeda and Loren C. Steffy
Publisher: Stoney Creek Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-7340822-0-3
A high-stakes courtroom drama told through the eyes of the solo attorney who found herself representing the famous oil tycoon in a dispute over one of the biggest deals of his storied career. Their unlikely friendship would endure for the remainder of Pickens’ life.
Minghui Report: The 20-Year Persecution of Falun Gong in China
2021 Silver Winner
Author: The Minghui Group
Publisher: Minghui Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-7334819-0-8
This milestone work presents firsthand accounts of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s systematic imprisonment, torture, and killing of Falun Gong practitioners for their faith, as well as the CCP’s extension of the persecution abroad through intimidation of political, civic, and business leaders around the world.
2020 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION
See below for the list of 2020 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: NONFICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2019.
Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change
2020 Gold Winner
Authors: Rob Badger and Nita Winter
Publisher: WinterBadger Press
ISBN: 978-1-7331044-0-1
Art and science are seamlessly woven into a stunning coffee table book inspiring hope and action. A thoughtful collaboration of many hearts and minds dedicated to protecting Nature’s beauty.
Norton Buffalo: Band Brother
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Kim Smith Miller
Publisher: Turn Point Press
ISBN: 978-1-945448-34-8
Norton Buffalo: Band Brother documents celebrated harmonica player Norton Buffalo. Author-photographer Kim Smith Miller brings Norton alive through her photographs and remembrances by other musicians.
Reframing Poverty: New Thinking and Feeling About Humanity's Greatest Challenge
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Eric Meade
Publisher: Canyon House Press
ISBN: 978-0-578-42692-1
A provocative book that forces the reader to think deeply about what poverty is, why some people are poor, and what to do about it.
To Imogene, a Flagstaff Love Letter: One Town's Long-Distance Romance with an Iconic Trail Run
2020 Silver Winner
Editors: Myles Schrag and Julie Hammonds
Publisher: Soulstice Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1-7331887-0-8
More than 70 contributors from “the running nation” of Flagstaff, Arizona, confide their entertaining, poignant, and transformative encounters with Colorado’s Imogene Pass Run.
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Independent Book Publishers Association
Founded to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,200 members, IBPA is the largest independent publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry.
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