Appreciative of independent community bookstores that support independent local authors! Thank you, Salt Spring Books

 I'm so pleased that The Road to Keringet is one of three  finalists for a creative non-fiction award for independent authors.  And it's good news that self-published authors have been included in a literary festival. Appreciation to the Whistler Writers Festival for hosting this contest and bringing visibility to independently published work. Here's a little bit about the award, from the Whistler Writers Festival website:

This year’s Whistler Writers Festival, October 13–16, will include the presentation of the inaugural Independent Book Awards. The Whistler Independent Book Awards will be open to Canadian authors or permanent residents who have independently published a book or books in the last five years. There will be a single winner, with two additional finalists, in each of four categories: fiction, non-fiction, crime fiction and poetry.

The shortlist will be selected by the Canadian Authors Association (Vancouver) and the three finalists in each category will be independently judged by a panel including a respected Canadian author or poet and an appointee of the Whistler Writing Society. Judging the Fiction category will be author and translator Genni Gunn, whose most recent novel, Solitaria, was nominated for the 2011 Giller Prize. JJ Lee, whose debut book, The Measure of a Man, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, will judge the Non-Fiction category. Crime novelist, journalist and publisher Linda L. Richards will judge the Crime Fiction category, while former Vancouver Poet Laureate Evelyn Lau will judge the Poetry category.

Jointly produced by the Whistler Writing Society and Vivalogue Publishing, the Whistler Independent Book Awards mark the evolution of independent publishing. While the industry has grown dramatically in the last decade, there have been no juried Canadian awards recognizing exceptional quality in these titles—until now. “These awards reflect our ongoing commitment to inclusiveness,” said festival organizer Stella Harvey. “We are proud to welcome accomplished independent authors to the Festival and to celebrate their work.”