COVID-19 Anthology by NY, NJ Writers and Photographers Wins Awards, Donates Prizes to Hunger Relief

ALLENDALE, N.J., June 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lorraine Ash Literary Enterprises and Magic Dog Press announced today that their collaborative project Corona City: Voices from an Epicenter, an anthology of COVID-19 stories and photographs, won two categories in the international 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards -- Best Anthology and Best COVID-19 Pandemic Book. All proceeds and prizes go to feeding the hungry across the country.

Dubbed a "surreally beautiful anthology" by judges, Corona City: Voices from an Epicenter features first-person writings and photographs that chronicle life in New York and New Jersey at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak from March through June 2020. Readers hear from more than 60 frontline workers, business owners, mask makers, journalists, survivors and many others. Photographs show the challenges, fears, losses and triumphs of real people.

"This is a stunning and important book, a tribute to the courage of people who did their best during the scariest four months of a scary year," says Martha Kennedy, a judge for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the largest international book awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors. The contest draws thousands of entries from 40 countries. Six finalists trailed Corona City: Voices from an Epicenter in both categories it won. The anthology's updated cover dons the winners' gold seal.

"I'm delighted the Next Generation Indie Book Awards has recognized the massive effort it took to produce this anthology," says Lorraine Ash, a veteran New Jersey journalist and book editor who voluntarily compiled and edited the anthology. "Most importantly, this honor makes all the more visible the fear we all experienced and the sheer heroism it took to rise to the COVID challenge."

Ash and Sherry Wachter of Magic Dog Press initiated the project to create a grassroots history of an unprecedented time and to address a societal issue that worsened due to the economic hardship that many faced during the pandemic. Contributors also volunteered their time and talent.

All proceeds and prizes go directly to a nationwide network of food banks. The e-book, released earlier this month, provides 70 meals for every copy sold; each paperback provides 13 meals. Both can be purchased here. To date, the project has made 7,226 meals possible. The anthology's creators ask for help reaching their goal of donating 25,000 meals by Thanksgiving 2021.

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards ceremony, scheduled for Friday, June 25 at 7 p.m. EST., will be livestreamed here.

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Amanda Staab
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SOURCE Lorraine Ash Literary Enterprises