MONTCLAIR, N.J., June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, May 31, CJ Lyons, New York Times and USA Today bestselling indie author of twenty-one novels and the first indie named to the Authors Guild, and Amy Edelman, founder of IndieReader (www.indiereader.com), announced the winners of the 2014 "IndieReader Discovery Awards" (IRDA) at BEA in New York City.

IndieReader, the essential consumer guide to self-published books and the people who write them, created the IRDAs to give indie authors access to people who can make a difference in their book's success.  With the rush by traditional publishers to sign them and their noteworthy bestselling status, there's no longer much doubt that indie authors can be both commercially and creatively successful. All that was left to do was create a credible vehicle by which to find them. That's where the IRDAs come in.  And while writing a great book is the first step, getting it in front of the right people—be they readers or agents or traditional publishers—is also a critical part of making an indie book a success.  To that end, judges on the IRDA panel included publishers, PR professionals, top reviewers and more.  Top winners will have their titles submitted to agents Dystal & Goderich for representation consideration.  Judging was based on the quality of writing and the originality of the story. 

There is a first, second and third place winner in each of the fiction and non-fiction categories , in addition to 29 titles in 32 sub-categories, indicating that each book has received at least a 4-5 star review (out of 5 stars).

The winners, judges, the genre and the authors contact information follows below.

Fiction

First Place

Will Summerhouse/Orion Poe and the Lost Explorer
Middle Grade Fantasy
Contact: willsummerhouse@gmail.com

"The writing was superb, but also nailed the voice in a spot-on way that never faltered in consistency. I'm thrilled that this is a series, because it means there will be more of them." – Mercy Pilkington, The GoodeReader

Second Place

Tracy E. Banghart/ The Shattered Veil 
YA/Sci Fi
Contact: tracythewriter@me.com

"…the author handles every aspect with a very new take on a popular theme, along with stellar and highly descriptive writing." -- Mercy Pilkington, The GoodeReader

Third Place

Ylleya Fields/ Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu
Kid's Fiction
Contact: princesscupcakejones@gmail.com

"Beautifully produced, delightful storyline delivered in rhyme about the life lessons of cleaning up. Love the diversity that Princess Cupcake is African American." –Sandra Poirier Diaz, President, SMITH PUBLICITY, INC.

Non-Fiction

First Place

Joe Cottonwoods/99 Jobs
Memoir
Contact: joecottonwood@gmail.com

"With an Ian Frazier-like sense of humor, general contractor and author Joe Cottonwood reveals a lot about human nature via the sometimes short-lived, sometimes years-long relationships he forms with those who hire him. Flooded with detail of Cottonwood's work (noting the durability of a spider web, getting a face full of sewage, falling off a roof), it's a well-written voyeur's delight." –Karen Schechner, Senior Indie Editor, Kirkus Reviews

Second Place

Monica Emmons/Quotable: 20 Years of Black and White
Inspiration, Spiritual
Contact: monica@quotablecards.com

"These quotes can be taken to mean many different things and offer a chance for reflection and thought that is hard to find in our modern, busy society." –Samantha Coville, Sammy the Bookworm

Third Place

Marcia Riefer Johnston / Word Up! How to Write Powerful Sentences and Paragraphs
Writing/Publishing
Contact: Marcia_r_johnston@me.com

"Marcia's book promises what she says. 'How do you get people to want to read your words? Know your subject. Know your audience. And write powerfully.' She walks readers through real life writing exercises as she shows, rather than lectures, on techniques." -- Sandra Poirier Diaz, President, SMITH PUBLICITY, INC.

CATGEORY WINNERS/Fiction

Chick-Lit/Tie

Diane V. Mulligan/The Latecomers Fan Club
Contact: dvmulligan@gmail.com

Chick-Lit/Tie

Kari Aguilar/Women's Work
Contact: khetchme@gmail.com

Children's/Tie

Camille Matthews/Quincy & Buck
Contact: pathfinder1908@gmail.com

Children's/Tie

Cameron Stelzer/Pie Rats: Forgotten Map
Contact: Cameron@daydreampress.com.au

Fantasy

Shannon Phillips/ The Millennial Sword
Contact: shannon@sonic.net

Historical Fiction

Julian David Stone/ The Strange Birth, Short Life, and Sudden Death of Justice Girl
Contact: sayheypa.com

Horror

L.C Barlow/Pivot
Contact: lindsey47162@hotmail.com

Humor

Howard Crum/An Animal Life
Contact: hkrum@me.com

Literary Fiction

Alan Bray/The Hour of Parade
Contact: karenpeterson@chinabluepublishing.com

Memoir

John Mitchell/The Boy Who Lived With Ghosts
Contact: john@onejohnmitchell.com

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller - Tie

John Kenny/The Spark
Contact: the spark@rogers.com

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller - Tie

Ronan Cray/Red Sand
Contact: ronancray@gmail.com/sethbscott@hotmail.com

Poetry

Amy Billone/The Light Changes
Contact: abillone@gmail.com

Popular Fiction

Rose Senehi/Dancing on Rocks
Contact: daniel.schill@gmail.com

Science Fiction

Martin Kee/Bloom
Contact: marlanlike@gmail.com

Short Stories

James McAllen/Split Rock Road
Contact: jimmcallen@aol.com

Women's Fiction

Kathleen Bracy/That Crazy Little Thing
Contact: riverladee@yahoo.com

Young Adult

D. Hart St. Martin/ Tainted
Contact: dhstmartin@msn.com

NON-FICTION

Aging/Death & Dying

Diane Burnside Murdock /The New Art of Dying
Contact: dianemurd@gmail.com

Business

William F. Brandt Jr./ COMPASS, Creating Exceptional Organizations
Contact: porterbookpromotions@gmail.com

Cooking/Baking

Joe Famularo/Crazy for Italian Food
Contact: jjfamularo@cs.com

Gift/Holiday/Specialty

Valentine D'Arcy Sheldon/ The Christmas Tree Elf
Contact: valentinedarcy@gmail.com

History

Robert H. Sholly/Young Soldiers Amazing Warriors
Contact: rsholly@usa.net

How-To

Len Napolitano/ Nose, Legs, Body! Know Wine Like The Back of Your Hand
Contact: lsnapoli@earthlink.net

Inspirational

Jesse Gros/ Your Wild and Precious Life
Contact: Alexandra.zech@gmail.com

Kid's

Katherine Escovitz +Amanda Miller/To Keep My Body Safe I have a Plan
Contact: amanda@littleblueprint.com

Self-Help

Sheri Bloom/Out of the Rabbit Hole
Contact: sheribernstein@me.com

True Crime

Tom Wescott/ The Bank Holiday Murders
Contact: tomwescott73@gmail.com

Women's Issues

Debra Rogers/He Did You a Favor
Contact: Janay@sparkpointstudio.com

2014 PANEL OF JUDGES

Agent

All titles will be submitted to Dystal & Goderich for representation consideration

Bloggers

Mercy Pilkington, editor, GoodeReader
Samantha Coville, Sammy the Bookworm

Publishers

Amy Pierpont, Executive Editor and Editor-in-Chief, Forever, Grand Central Publishing
Janteigh Kupihea, Editor at Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster
Lauren Plude, Associate Editor, Forever Romance, Grand Central Publishing
Leah Hultenschmidt, Editorial Director, Forever & Forever Yours, Grand Central Publishing

Publicists

Sandra (Sandy) Poirier-Diaz, President, SMITH PUBLICITY
Jessica Glenn, owner, MindBuck Media

Reviewers

Karen Schechner, Senior Indie Editor, Kirkus Reviews
Ryan Leahey, Indie Editor, Kirkus Reviews 

SOURCE IndieReader