The most recent set of winners posted here is for 2019. Romance-Historical: Awaken My Heart by Christine Wissner, Christine Wissner, MaBest Indie Book Award Mystery/Suspense-Historical: A Child Lost: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox, She Writes Press, April 28, 2020 Historical Fiction: The Takeaway Men by Meryl Ain, Sparks Press, August 4, 2020Īdventure-Historical: Northern Blood (Northern Wolf Series, Book 3) by Daniel Greene, Rune Publishing, March 31, 2020įantasy-Historical: The Winter Sisters by Tim Westover, QW Publishers, LLC, August 6, 2019

So I’ve included the 2020 award winners for all the relevant categories. These awards have categories both for Historical Fiction and for the adjacencies discussed in my August article, “When is it Historical Fiction and when is it something else?”.

In any event, here’s wishing all historical fiction writers a brighter year and lots of success, no matter where you are in your publishing journey. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to submit your own indie-published book for consideration. Perhaps you’ll discover indie writers who fuel your own WIP. Perhaps you’ll find something for your TBR list. Finalists and honorable mentions are also listed on many of the award websites. These are by no means all the awards out there, but they are some of the best known. To that end, I’ve compiled a list of winners and runners-up of a number of highly-respected book awards that focus on the Indie publication sphere. So, as we celebrate the arrival of 2021 and of Covid vaccines and look forward to the time when we can get back “out there” with our readers, it occurred to me that another thing worth celebrating is the success of Indie writers in our genre. And for indie writers who don’t have the marketing machine of one of the Big Four publishers behind them – whether they’re self-published or published by an independent publishing house – it may feel like it’s harder to draw attention to your work without those familiar venues. For authors, the traditional ways we’ve engaged with readers – book fairs, bookstore signings, book club gatherings, Renaissance festivals, historical re-enactments, libraries, craft fairs, community center activities – have mostly been on hiatus. The challenges brought to all of us by MMXX have been unprecedented. I’m writing this as 2020 draws to a close – and you’ll be reading it with 2020 firmly in the rearview mirror.

Across a Broken Shore by Amy Trueblood