Nita’s First Signs has been named a winner in the 21st annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.

Foreword Reviews, a book review journal focusing on independently published books, announced the winners of its INDIES Book of the Year Awards earlier this month. The INDIES recognize the best books published in 2018 from small, indie, and university presses, as well as self-published authors. You can view all of the winners here.

“Being surrounded by the year’s best books from independent writers and publishers is a humbling and invigorating experience that we take seriously at every step of the judging process,” says Managing Editor Michelle Anne Schingler. “As the INDIES progress, our editors, and our librarian and bookseller judges, have the honor and the privilege of discovering and rediscovering independent titles that give us hope about the future of publishing and that, at their best, make us consider the world around us anew.”

Nita’s First Signs, written by Kathy MacMillan, illustrated by Sara Brezzi, published by Familius Press is the 2018 Silver Winner in the category Picture Books, Early Reader.

Over 2,000 entries were submitted in 56 categories, with Foreword’s editors choosing approximately 10 finalists per genre. Those finalists were then mailed to individual librarians and booksellers charged with picking the Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners.

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Founded in 1998, Foreword Magazine, Inc. is the publisher of the only review journal completely devoted to independent publishing: Foreword Reviews, a Folio: award-winning bimonthly print review journal. Foreword exclusively covers university and independent (non “Big 5”) publishers, the books they publish, and their authors. Foreword is based in Traverse City, Michigan, with staff based worldwide.