EPIC Announces 2005 EPPIE Winners

List of winners
List of finalists

   The EPPIE Awards are the planet's most prestigious contest for electronic books.

   Each year there are more entries, the quality of books is better, judging is more and more difficult. I know, for I have been a judge for the past four years, and this time was on the organizing committee. In the category I judged, all but two entries were good enough to have won... but of course the judges' job is to ensure that there is only one winner. Even so, as you'll see below, two categories had a tie for first place.

   Electronic books are the only part of publishing that is growing, and there are good reasons for this. Once upon a time, critics could say that only rubbish that can't make the 'real world' get electronically published, but, patently, this is no longer so. Buy a few of these books and see for yourself. You CAN afford to do so: electronic books are typically half or less the cost of a paper book, and again there are very good reasons for this.

   If you are a fan of electronic books already, you can't go past the winners, and you'll find the finalists to be better than much you find on bookshelves. And if the idea is new to you, what better place could you start?

   Here is the official press release from EPIC:

   The Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC) is proud to present the sixth annual EPPIE Awards. These awards, which honor the finest electronically published books of the year, were presented at a gala affair on Saturday, March 12, 2005 in Long Beach at the EPPIE Banquet during EPICon 2005.

   "Spotlighting excellence in electronic publishing, the EPPIES are the premiere award in the e-publishing industry," says Jane Bierce, EPIC president. The longest-standing award of it's its type, the EPPIE has continued to flourish as the market makes gains every year and has grown in esteem throughout the publishing world. As cutting-edge as the industry itself, the EPPIE has come to exemplify the best books coming out of small press. Open to all e-published books, written by EPIC members or not, and in a variety of genres, it is the most inclusive award of its type.

   "Film has Cannes and the Oscars. The stage has the Tonys and television has the Emmys," said Micqui Miller, Vice President of EPIC. "We're still a fledging industry, but in ten years, when PDAs are an accepted part of everyone's life like cell phones and e-mail, you'll see our EPPIEs right up there with Oscar and Tony. I've garnered some prestigious awards and critical praise for my writing over the years, but none I cherish more than finaling in last year's EPPIEs. Our peers are our toughest critics, so their acclaim means the most."

   Finalists were selected from 457 entries in 19 categories -- a significant number of entries for a six-year-old competition in a young industry. The judging was done by EPPIE members, all published authors or publishing professionals. The 86 finalists were sent to another panel for final judging.

   In addition to the EPPIE, each year EPIC presents the Ariana Best in Category Cover Awards and the Quasar Award for superior achievement in cover art, along with the Patricia White Service Award to one individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to EPIC and the Friend Of E-Publishing Award to an individual who has made a contribution to e-publishing as a whole.

   According to the head of Epic's Publisher Coalition, Karen Syed, "When a publishing company steps into the electronic arena, EPIC is a must. The EPPIE Awards offer those publishers an opportunity to showcase their best titles and gain accolades and credibility in a highly competitive industry."

   In contrast to the pomp and circumstance of the EPPIE banquet, an event marked this year by authors and industry professionals in gowns worthy of the Queen Mary's opulence and history, EPICon boasts three tracks of educational programming that attendees claim are second to none. PR co-chair Brenna Lyons comments, "Our second place standing as a writers' resource in the 2004 P&E Polling says it all. If you are e-published or only interested in the market, there is no better place to learn about e-publishing or to network with the established names in the business. When you attend EPICon, you will meet the best in the field, people who are willing to share their knowledge and experience. That is how an industry grows, and EPIC will stand the test of time as the first and best resource for the e-publishing industry."

The winners

Awarded Saturday night, March 12, 2005, in Long Beach, California:

The Patricia Lucas White Service Award is for a person who made extraordinary contributions to the cause of electronic books. This year, there was a tie between Betty Kasischke and Daniel J. Reitz, Sr.

The Quasar Award for Best Cover Art went to Holly Smith for the cover of Death Rides a Pale Horse (Treble Heart Books)

Action-Adventure: Kally Jo Surbeck: For the Love Of... Book One, 'Luck of the Irish' (Loose ID)

Anthology: Daniel J. Reitz, Sr. (ed.), Nick Aires, Nick Andreychuk, June Avila, Michele R. Bardsley, Margaret L. Carter, Lawrence Crossett, Frances Evlin, Sharon K. Garner, Robert L. Hecker, Linda Hope Lee, Carrie S. Masek, L.B. Milano, Carolyn Russell,Terry Sheils, Eolake Stobblehouse, Jeff Strand, C.J. Winters: Beyond the Mundane: Unravelings (Mundania Press)

Children's: Tie between: