NDSU Press announced one of its books, “Derby Girl: A Memoir” by Sammi Jones, has been recognized as a finalist in the 20th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.

“We are ecstatic that Sammi Jones’s debut work, ‘Derby Girl: A Memoir,’ has been named a finalist in two categories – Autobiography/Memoir and LGBT,” said Suzzanne Kelley, editor-in-chief at NDSU Press. “The announcement follows news that Jamie Hohnadel Trosen has won two awards—the 2017 Silver ADDY and the 2017 Hermes Creative Awards Gold—for her ‘Derby Girl’ cover design.”

Independent media company Foreword Magazine Inc. hosts the annual awards program. Finalists represent the best books from university and independent publishers and authors published in 2017. After more than 2,000 individual titles spread across 65 genres were submitted for consideration, the list of finalists was determined by Foreword’s editorial team. Winners will be decided by a team of booksellers and librarians, representing Foreword’s readership, from across the country.

“Choosing finalists for the INDIES is always the highlight of our year, but the job is very difficult due to the high quality of submissions,” said Victoria Sutherland, founder/publisher of Foreword Reviews. “Each new book award season proves again how independent publishers are the real innovators in the industry.”

Winners in each genre, along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s INDIE Publisher of the Year, will be announced June 15.

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