Xlibris Authors Bag Honors in USABookNews.com’s National Best Books 2007 Awards

A total of 21 Xlibris authors have bested others in over 140 categories covering print, audio books & courses, e-books, and interactive CD-ROMs, garnering recognition for their self-published books in the recently-concluded USABookNews.com National Best Books 2007 Awards.

Taking the only award in the General History Category was Frank Durr with his book, In the Shadow of the Sphinx: A New Look at the Bay of Pigs and JFK Assassination. Meanwhile, bagging the first finalist slots in their respective categories were the members of First Baptist Church of Melbourne and their Anthology of Praise (Poetry: Anthologies), Robin M. Coons and her The Truth About Motherhood (Parenting/Family: Pregnancy and Childbirth), Lester Fulford Kramer and his Pioneer Lady (Fiction and Literature: Western), and Phyllis Ann Mariani and her And Baby Makes a Family (Children’s Picture Book: Hardcover Non-fiction).

Earning the second finalist slots in their respective categories were the following: P.J. Finer’s The Applica-Phobia of College Admissions: Why "Getting In" Starts With Your Resume (College Guides); Gina E. Jones’ Flying Between Heaven and Earth (Fiction and Literature: New Age Fiction); Debra Coleman Jeter’s "Pshaw, It's Me Grandson": Tales of a Young Actor (History: Media/Entertainment); and Herbert B. Rothschild Jr.’s Profoundly Entertaining: An Introduction to Shakespeare Artistry (Theater Arts: General).

Other Xlibris finalists include Blaka Y. Abee’s My Dad, The Folk Potter: A Picture Book of Pottery Making From Beginning to End (Children’s Picture Book: Paperback Non-fiction) and Albert Russo’s Shalom Tower Syndrome (Fiction and Literature: Gay/Lesbian Fiction) at the third finalist slot; Janet Spann-Walton’s Monique "Sweetie Pie" Walton (Children’s Non-fiction), Antonia Casey’s Resonance (Fiction and Literature: Visionary Fiction), Thomas D. Sharts’ The American Deception (Religion: Christianity), and Kevin M. Thomas’ Tao Te Ching De-Coded: Book of Wisdom, Path of Virtue (Religion: Eastern Religions) at the fourth finalist position; Kathryn M. Hilton’s Artificial Intelligence is Fun!: Conversations with a Computer (Science: General) at the fifth finalist slot; Donald Alan Straub III’s Outside the Inner Dialogue (Poetry: General), Hannah Bonsey Suthers’ Not by Force but by Good Will: The Odyssey of a Runaway Slave at the Time of Constantine the Great (Fiction and Literature: Historical Fiction), and Richard Corwin’s Midnight Gates: An Anthology of Short Stories (Fiction and Literature: Short Story Fiction) at the sixth finalist slot; and at the seventh position in their respective categories are Harley W. Watkins III’s Reflections (Religion: Christian Inspiration) and Jerrold Eastman Johnson’s Horse and the Little Girl (Health: Death and Dying).

The strong showing of Xlibris authors in the Best Books Awards underscores the rising credibility as well as the undeniable quality of books released by the said self-publishing company. This recent windfall of Best Books winners with Xlibris titles has placed the company alongside publishing giants like Simon & Schuster, Penguin-Putnam, HarperCollins, Random House, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Co., and John Wiley & Sons who also have winning entries under their names.

Jeffrey Keen, president and CEO of JPX Media — parent company of USABookNews.com – notes that results of the 2007 Best Books Awards “represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States.” He also emphasizes: “BBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

The National Best Books Awards is already on its fourth year of giving recognition to quality books published and distributed in the US within the year. For this year, the Awards were presented for titles published between 2007 and late 2006. Honoring books made within the year instead of months after their original launch will benefit winning authors in their marketing strategies by a hundredfold. Keen further explains: “With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of BBA, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”


About Xlibris
Xlibris was founded in 1997 and, as the leading publishing services provider for authors, has helped to publish more than 20,000 titles. Xlibris is based in Philadelphia, PA and is a strategic partner of Random House Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Random House, Inc. Xlibris provides authors with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound, and full-color formats.