On June 11, 2024, bestselling sci-fi/fantasy novel “Belly of the Beast: Sorce Book One” received its third Book of the Year award, the latest in a string of recent independent publishing competition wins for the book. These include the 26th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards (Gold for Best Fantasy Book), the 2024 Independent Publisher Book Awards (Gold for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror eBook), and the 2024 IBPA Book Awards (Silver for Best Fiction Audiobook).
Author Charles Armstrong is a Google-acquired product leader. With an eye towards AI’s integration into our lives, Armstrong uses the SORCE series to pose questions about the cost of opaque technologies. “The boundaries between science and fiction are quickly disappearing,” says Armstrong. “As magic finds its place in the real world, we must all be looking for the wizard’s curtain.”
“Belly of the Beast: Sorce Book One” is an illustrated, middle-grade sci-fi/fantasy, led by a coming-of-age faun. In Sera’s guarded, imaginative core, fauns have rejected the Royal Coven, their “magick,” and the immoral trades made for it. One day, her quest for answers unearths a dark family secret. With the help of a cavalier classmate and a shapeshifting deadringer, Sera embarks on a journey that will change her world forever.
Award details and at-cost pricing information for libraries and schools are available at www.SorceBooks.com
Foreword Reviews is a book review journal focusing on independently published books, bestows the INDIES Book of the Year Awards. The winner is chosen over 2,400 entries submitted across 55 categories. Foreword’s dedicated editors carefully selected approximately 12 finalists per genre, which were then presented to individual librarians and booksellers entrusted with the challenging task of determining a single gold winner per category.
The Independent Publisher Book Awards were conceived in 1996 as an unaffiliated awards program that recognizes the best independently published books. “IPPY Awards reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing. Independent spirit and expertise comes from publishers of all sizes and budgets, and books are judged with that in mind,” said Amy Shamroe, IPPY Awards Director. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to winners in national subject categories, regional categories, and e-book categories.
The IBPA Book Awards (formerly the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards) program is the oldest, most recognized national honor in independent publishing. The awards are unique in that verbatim judging forms are returned to all participating publishers, providing entrants with direct feedback on each submission. “IBPA has a long history of promoting excellence in independent publishing,” said IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet. “No program better showcases the quality of books that indie publishers produce than the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award. We are proud of this award’s enduring and prestigious legacy and congratulate all of the finalists.”
