Winners
Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book: Fiction
2024 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION
See below for the list of 2024 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2023.
No Lifeguard on Duty: a novel
2024 Gold Winner
Author: Paul C. Bomba
Publisher: Bumper Car Books
ISBN: 9798988113409
In July of 1970, the decaying beach town of Asbury Park, New Jersey erupts with racial unrest that launches three unlikely teenage friends into turmoil. Adam, Mollie and Howard struggle with family conflicts and their racial, cultural and class identities in the midst of the chaos. Town and teens will never be the same.
Half a Cup of Sand and Sky
2024 Silver Winner
Author: Nadine Bjursten
Publisher: Alder House Books
ISBN: 9789198861617
One woman's journey of self-discovery and resilience unfolds against the backdrop of a nation's struggle for identity. Half a Cup of Sand and Sky transports readers to the heart of the Middle East, weaving together a tapestry of historical upheaval and intimate introspection that will captivate the heart.
The Price We Pay
2024 Silver Winner
Author: Nikki T. Anthony
Publisher: PTP Press
ISBN: 9781636270012
Zenetta has lost faith in humanity. It’s worsened when her father, the only Black policeman in their town, chooses to act against his community. This is just one of the events that teaches Zenetta about the price paid by those who choose to remain silent and those who choose to speak up.
2023 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION
See below for the list of 2023 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2022.
Ellis River: A Novel
2023 Gold Winner
Author: Nicki Ehrlich
Publisher: Bay Feather Books
ISBN: 979-8-9859974-0-8
“An earnest and poignant bildungsroman.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A moving story of determination and grit…” —Publishers Weekly Booklife
“An enthralling novel…absolutely brilliant.”—Mary’s Bookcase, NetGalley
The Civil War scattered her family. Disguised, and with her spirited horse, a young woman journeys across war-torn country to collect what’s left of her life.
Dark Obsessions
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Marie Sutro
Publisher: Pismo Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-7357488-1-8
Reeling from the trauma of her last case, SFPD Detective Kate Barnes heads to the Olympic peninsula hoping to heal the present by resolving the past. When the ravaged corpse of an unidentified teen is discovered, her search for personal peace takes a back seat to the quest for justice.
Glory Grove: A Novel
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Gary Bye
Publisher: Granite Point Publishing
ISBN: 979-8-9867002-0-5
Life should be simple for a Seattle football coach who returns to his tiny hometown to be with his mother as she reaches the end of her life. However, he finds the past can never be forgotten or ignored. The game of life is more challenging than the game of football.
2022 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION
See below for the list of 2022 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2021.
Driftwood: Stories from the Margarita Road
2022 Gold Winner
Author: Anthony Lee Head
Publisher: Luna Blue Books
ISBN: 978-1-7352781-0-0
American runaways fleeing the rat race land in a small Mexican beach town where they find the unpredictable, hedonistic world of the tropics. The adventurous expats encounter love, loss, vicious drug dealers, charming rogues, a devastating hurricane, and encroaching civilization—all as they search for a place to call home
The Big Empty
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Loren C. Steffy
Publisher: Stoney Creek Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-7340822-4-1
In a small West Texas town on the cusp of the new millennium, a lifelong cowboy wonders if a new semiconductor plant will ensure a future for his son or eliminate the only way of life he's ever known.
Chateau Laux: A Story of Colonial America
2022 Silver Winner
Author: David Loux
Publisher: Wire Gate Press
ISBN: 978-1-954065-01-7
Inspired by a true story, a young entrepreneur in the early 18th century American frontier falls in love with the daughter of a French aristocrat, only to find that his gift of a hand-built chateau sets in motion a series of devastating events destined to end in tragedy.
2021 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION
See below for the list of 2021 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2020. Click here to watch the Gold and Silver winner speeches.
A Noble Calling: An FBI Yellowstone Adventure
2021 Gold Winner
Author: Rhona Weaver
Publisher: Two Oaks Press
ISBN: 978-1-7347500-0-3
A Noble Calling is pure fiction, but it could be pulled from today's headlines. A rookie FBI agent battles adversity and danger to find redemption. The book transports you to Yellowstone National Park where FBI agents and park rangers face a murderous militia, a determined assassin, and a self-styled prophet.
Megge of Bury Down: The Bury Down Chronicles, Book One
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Rebecca Kightlinger
Publisher: Rowan Moon
ISBN: 978-1-7343168-0-3
In medieval Cornwall, young Megge has come of age to be apprenticed to the healer of Bury Down. But first, she must summon the courage to accept and vow to protect The Book of Seasons, which holds life-sustaining power harnessed centuries earlier by Murga, the first seer of Bury Down.
West of Sin: A Thriller
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Wesley S. Lewis
Publisher: Red Granite Press LLC
ISBN: 978-1-7340157-1-3
Jennifer Williams is running from heartache when she stops for directions and inadvertently interrupts a robbery in progress. A handsome bystander steps forward to protect her, but she soon learns that the robbery wasn't what it appeared and that this small town west of Sin City hides a big secret.
2020 WINNERS - BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION
See below for the list of 2020 winners in the BILL FISHER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST BOOK: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2019.
Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor
2020 Gold Winner
Author: Rebecca Rosenberg
Publisher: Lion Heart Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-578-42779-9
1878. Abandoned, pregnant and running a gold mine alone, Baby Doe gains the admiration of Silver King Horace Tabor. Scandal, economic ruin, and painful choices.
Different
2020 Silver Winner
Editor: Datta Groover
Publisher: Deep Pacific Press
ISBN: 978-0-9832689-4-9
Young Sam MacBride doesn't speak, yet appears to be aware of things he should have no way of knowing. His increasingly unsafe behavior causes his parents great distress.
A Man of Honor, or Horatio's Confessions
2020 Silver Winner
Author: J.A. Nelson
Publisher: Quill Point Press
ISBN: 978-1-7333475-0-1
A commoner’s oath to tell his friend’s true story launches his journey through war, love, and dishonor. How does Horatio create the legend of Hamlet?
About the
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.
For more information, visit www.ibpa-online.org.
