2024 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite

2024 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite

Author Loring Walawander

AS SEEN IN the NYC Big Book Award 2024 Announcement Issue

A 2024 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite

BROOKLYN, NY, UNITED STATES, October 9, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — The NYC Big Book Award recognized “What Not To Forgive” in the category of Literary Fiction as a distinguished favorite.

The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, designers, booksellers, librarians and professional copywriters. Winners and distinguished favorites are based on overall excellence.

“What Not To Forgive”

This dramatic exploration of trauma, redemption, and the complexities of human relationships is set against a backdrop of poignant and often harrowing experiences. The primary characters, Chase and Tekla, journey through personal growth and forgiveness in unexpected and moving ways. Chase’s struggle with the loss of his wife, JoAnn, and his attempt to scatter her ashes in a symbolic final goodbye in the Swiss Alps provides a raw and emotional pulse. Tekla, a veteran grappling with PTSD, exposes her scars of war, and her struggle for normalcy and love amidst mental and physical trauma. Walawander’s prose is both robust and nuanced, with a delicate balancing of toughness and vulnerability. The characters and narratives skillfully intertwine personal and emotional journeys.

Those who appreciate stories that explore the depths of human resilience and the painful yet transformative process of healing will find this a meaningful read. After all, forgiveness is a difficult thing.

“’What Not to Forgive’ is the novel I’ve been awaiting eagerly since Loring Walawander’s ‘Montana Epiphany: One Man’s Journey to Wisdom.’

With Montana in his heart in this book as well, ‘What Not to Forgive’ delivers on that memoir’s promise.

It, too, is disarmingly honest and by being so becomes the moving, engaging and relevant story it is. It is a portrait of ordinary people, yes, and yet Walawander’s characters are, unlike many, trying to do the best they can. They are, as William Faulkner put it in his famous Nobel Prize acceptance speech, characters that will, because the human spirit is real and needs our celebration, ‘not merely endure, but prevail.’

‘What Not to Forgive’ is a wonderful book.”

—BRUCE MCALLISTER, author of Dream Baby and The Village Sang to the Sea

NYC Big Book Award received book submissions worldwide. Journalists, well established authors, small and large press, and first time indie authors participated in record numbers. Entries this year were received from the United States as well as countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Cities represented among the entries were Asheville, Beijing, Colorado Springs, Dublin, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Singapore, Tel Aviv, and Vancouver.

Publishers included Atmosphere Press, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Beaufort Books, Beyond Words Publishing, Blackstone Publishing, Familius Publishing, Flatiron Books, Hachette Go, HarperCollins Leadership, Oceanview Publishing, Old Stone Press, Rowman & Littlefield, Simon & Schuster, Ulysses Press, Watkins Publishing, Westminster John Knox Press to name a few. “We were delighted to see so many quality publishers and authors from around the world participate this year. I can’t wait to share these books with a global readership,” said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.

About the author

Loring Walawander has lived in Montana since 1976, when he discovered how the state touched his soul as he dreamed it would as a young boy. He writes about characters who’ve been touched the same way.

His extensive travels to new places helped him learn how other people live and discover what is good about the world and humanity. He holds a degree in Forestry from the University of Tennessee and has worked as a cowboy, logger, carpenter, forester, and postmaster.

Now retired, he no longer looks for the next mountain to climb or wild river to raft. He now writes, using the Montana landscape as his canvas. In his heart, he will always be a forester and currently spends most days maintaining the trees, shrubs, and grasses around his Missoula property.

If not writing, he can be found driving with his wife, Jacque, on the back roads of Montana.

To learn more about Loring Walawander, please visit https://livelargebooks.net/  

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To view the list of NYC Big Book winners and distinguished favorites, please visit: https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/ YouTube Channel http://youtube.com/c/IndependentPressAwardSpringNYCBigBookAwardFall

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The Independent Press Award announces every spring and is open to independent authors and publishers.  Visit us at https://independentpressaward.com/ 

The fall book competition, NYC Big Book Award, https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/ allows all authors, publishers, and includes submissions from the big five publishers.

Join us at the BookCAMP event, a three day trade show for authors and publishers, https://www.independentpressaward.com/ipabookcamp 

Gabby Olczak
Independent Press Award
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