Alongside New England’s record seasonal rainfalls, this spring and early summer have brought showers of recognition for The Answers Are There, with the book winning several major book awards. The Nautilus Awards, the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Nonfiction Authors Association, the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and Indie Excellence have all awarded it top honors, with several in more than one category. See below for more information on the individual awards.
With my son Gabe at the IBPA awards in San Diego in May
It is humbling, and of course incredibly gratifying, to have the book recognized this way. The totality of it all has left me giddy and in rather unceasing wonder. Writing a book, especially one like this, is as much a soul venture as an intellectual one. It has required leap after leap for me into new levels of courage and vulnerability. The challenge of that is eased somewhat when I remind myself that these stories and ideas spring from some of my deepest encounters with beauty and power and love. They represent the ideas I most want to see grow in others’ hearts (and heads and hands and souls) too. With each new award, I imagine new readers gathering around the metaphoric dinner table for a cozy and deep engagement with the people and stories in the book, and I get even more excited to see what new imaginings might get sparked from those conversations.
I am deeply grateful to those who have honored me and the book with these awards. And of co
urse, I feel ever more indebted to the large and vibrant community of support of those who helped me write and publish it, and especially to my companions in the living of it in the world and those whose stories I share. You continue to showme in very present and embodied ways how so much more good is possible in the world than I might even be able to imagine, and you remind me to continue to be open to seeing, receiving and experiencing it.
In our work space in Washington, DC, there is a framed calligraphy by Vietnamese monk, peacemaker and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh – “I have arrived, I am home.” One of his mantras, these words feel simultaneously true and aspirational. Every time I read them, I am reminded that no matter where we are on our journey, we can claim the presence and power of the home for our soul, the home for the way we most want to work in the world. Writing and publishing and sharing about The Answers Are There has been my word-by-word way of living that out in my own life. Of knowing, even as I journey – I have arrived, I am home.
Yours in gratitude,
Libby
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE AWARDS:
The Nautilus Awards
Nautilus Gold Winner: Memoir and Personal Journey (Small Press)
The Nautilus Award recognizes books “that make a difference and inspire.” It is a special honor to be in the company of the authors of some of my favorite books. Current and past Nautilus Winners include:
Neil deGrasse Tyson • Harvey Cox • Temple Grandin • Deepak Chopra • Thich Nhat Hanh • Marianne Williamson • Caroline Myss • Charles Eisenstein • Lynne Twist • Lynne McTaggart • Matthew Fox • Eckhart Tolle • Joan Borysenko • His Holiness, The Dalai Lama • Hedrick Smith • Andrew Weil • Robin Wall Kimmerer •
Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Benjamin Franklin Awards
Winner Gold: Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book (Nonfiction)
Winner Silver: Body, Mind & Spirit; Multicultural; and Cover Design Small Format Nonfiction
The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards are regarded as one of the highest national honors for indepen
dent publishers.
Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards)
Winner: Peacemaker of the Year Award
The IPPY Awards reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing.
Nonfiction Author Association Awards
Winner: Biography and Memoir, General; Personal Transformation; and Women in Business
The Nonfiction Authors Association is committed to honoring excellence in nonfiction books, from independently published and traditionally published authors alike.
Indie Excellence Awards
Winner: New Nonfiction and Autobiography
NIEA is proud to be a champion of self-publishing and small independent presses going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect.
