Apologies for my absence, brace for my presence!
Touching base and tripling down. Why not tell stories here?
Ahoy, reader! It’s been some weeks since my latest installment and I’m long overdue for my “weekly-ish” newsletter. In my defense, I’ve been quite distracted with book, magazine, and more shenanigans. My life is undergoing a sort of structural, positive metamorphosis. While it’s exciting, there is also a dose of intimidation of the unfamiliar and an ongoing search for the new equilibrium. But enough throat clearing! Herein are a few important updates.
Salmon in the Seine Hot Streak
Off the top, my book Salmon in the Seine has enjoyed an incredible run of critical success in the form of book awards over the last month:
Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs), 1st Place in Journey Category: My book won First Place (a shared prize, for the record) at the CIBAs ceremony in the Journey category (“overcoming adversity in nonfiction”). This was especially delicious because the ceremony was in Bellingham, Washington, a three-ish hour drive for me, and I got to attend in-person at the beautiful Bellwether Hotel. I also participated in the Chanticleer author’s conference as a sort of local literary vacation.
Bottom line, I had a truly fantastic time with the B-Ham Book Baddies of Chanticleer. I’ll give the conference and book award experience a proper entry soon. Based upon my first impressions, the conference experience, and the award ceremony, Chanticleer and its people are great! Drinking too much with inspiring fellow authors into the nights was the cherry on top. The official announcement link is available here.
Here is a part of their online mission statement so you can get a taste: “Chanticleer Reviews was founded in 2011 as a response to the growing need for a company invested in the success of authors, whether they were independently or traditionally published. Today’s authors are independent entrepreneurs–even if they are represented by a publisher–and it is crucial they become proactive in their own success. Chanticleer offers an array of services and tools to authors, which can help authors achieve their publishing goals.”
Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs), Bronze in Best Regional E-Book Category: The IPPYs are a big deal in the indie book scene from what I’ve been told, and I was delighted to see that Salmon in the Seine took home a bronze podium win in the Best Regional E-Book category. My win is announced here.
What the IPPYs are in their words: “The Independent Publisher Book Awards were conceived in 1996 as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry, and are open to independent authors and publishers worldwide who produce books intended for an English speaking audience…
…The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles published each year. Since the inaugural contest in 1996, over 5,500 books have received “IPPY“ Awards…
…The IPPY Awards reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing. Independent spirit and expertise comes from publishers of all sizes and budgets and books are judged with that in mind.”
They had a few delays behind the scenes over there with their judging and official announcements, but I’m glad to see the results are up. I look forward to learning more about the award ceremony details and what’s to come. They used to have their event as part of BookExpo, which has not been revived from the Pandemic Era from what I know.
Next Generation Indie Book Awards (NGIBAs), Finalist in E-Book (Non-Fiction) Category: I was honored to receive word that Salmon in the Seine pulled in a Finalist win in the E-Book (Non-Fiction) category of the NGIBAs. This is especially awesome because the word is that NGIBAs is the largest international indie book award program. My source? The NGIBAs folks, of course!
According to their website: “The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the largest International awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. In its seventeenth year of operation, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in 80+ different categories, for the year, and is presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group in cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency (formerly the Allen O'Shea Literary Agency).”
The award ceremony is set for Chicago and coincides with the American Library Association Annual Conference in late June. I think I’m going to go, why not!? The winners for this year are displayed here.
Norris Note Evolution Announcement - Why not tell stories here?
This newsletter started about a year ago as a way for me, a new author and working writer mostly covering the Cascadian sea salty beat, to stay in touch readers and keep those interested in the book progress and my magazine articles informed. Thank you for sticking around!
I’m very excited to announce that I will be attempting to elevate Norris Note to the next level by telling/breaking stories right here as a central component of what I do. While I continue to have excellent working relationships with great magazines like Power & Motoryacht, Pacific Yachting, Passagemaker, Fishermen’s News, Pacific Maritime, SAIL, and more, I’ve come to a realization. The world is brimming with so many stories both of the literary and journalistic varieties that The People would love to read. But these stories simply don’t have homes within the editorial confines of our contemporary publication landscape. Some of these stories are, dare I say, even important.
I will be tripling down on Norris Note from here on out, seeking to provide bespoke, meaty writing on a regular basis for your enjoyment. I don’t want to overpromise anything at this juncture, we are still in aspirational territory. But saying something aloud and writing it down is a first step, no?
Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I am.