Dear friends,
One other aspect of this writer’s journey is drawing to a close, as the results from the last book award competition (where my book was an entry) was announced. Unfettered Journey was the Winner in the Science Fiction category for the 2023 Book Excellence Awards.
I’m pleased that in total, Unfettered Journey has won fourteen minor book awards. Some of those are particularly gratifying, in particular the Eric Hoffer awards, in honor of that American philosopher, because my main objective has been to bring certain philosophical and spiritual ideas to the forefront. The Wishing Shelf awards from the UK are also well-respected and it is nice to be recognized outside the U.S. The National Indie Excellence Awards were also fun to receive, as a leading award for publishing outside the mainstream.
There now are lots of book awards, with varying levels of editorial review and independence, and it is difficult to sort through how noteworthy many are. That is also true among the book awards that the mainstream publishers have limited to their published books. We can name the major such awards – the Nobel Prize in Literature, the National Book Award, the Booker Prize, the Pulitzer Prize. The list continues, with names that less jump to mind. Yet how many awards go to books that readers truly remember and love? I think ultimately that is the test of a book’s worth. The true measure lies with our readers, always.
Thanks for following my journey.
Gary
We all have many journeys. Gary’s began in a small Midwest town, where he could play unfettered in the woods, finding an early love for nature and learning self-reliance. The space program and the night skies hooked him on astronomy. After finishing college, the wide world beckoned, and his fascination with science drew him to California to participate in the booming tech industry. Now he still stares upward, wondering what it all is about.