Our new book The King and the Beggar Lady (written by Wim, illustrated by Pat) is an announced Category Finalist for this year’s Eric Hoffer Book Awards! One of the largest international book awards for small, academic, and independent presses, the Hoffer Awards honor “freethinking writers and independent books of exceptional merit.“ According to the Hoffer Awards website,

The commercial/political environment for today’s writers has all but crushed the circulation of ideas. It seems strange that in the Information Age, many books are blocked from wider circulation, and powerful writing is barred from publication or buried alive on the Internet. Furthermore, many of the top literary prizes will not consider independent books, choosing instead to become the marketing arms of large presses.… The Hoffer will continue to be a platform for and the champion of the independent voice.

The awards are given every year in memory of Eric Hoffer (1902-1983), the American moral and social philosopher who never turned his back on his working-class roots. Dubbed “the longshoreman philosopher,” Hoffer once said …

My writing is done in railroad yards while waiting for a freight, in the fields while waiting for a truck, and at noon after lunch. Towns are too distracting.

Only 10% of entries reach the Category Finalist stage for this prestigious award. The King and the Beggar Lady was in competition with books from smaller traditional publishers, including university presses and well-known literary houses, as well as a multitude of other independently-published books. So we are deeply honored! A hearty thank-you to the Eric Hoffer judges for this affirmation of our work, and also the work of all independent writers, publishers, and thinkers. It means a lot to us.

Our work has a distinguished history with the Hoffer Awards. For example, our Young Adult Novel Anna’s World was 1st Finalist in the Young Adults category of the Hoffer Awards.

And our new edition of our groundbreaking experimental novel The Jamais Vu Papers received an Honorable Mention in the Spiritual category of the Hoffer Awards. The Jamais Vu Papers was also on the short list for the Montaigne Medal, given by the Hoffer Awards for “the most thought-provoking titles … books that either illuminate, progress, or redirect thought.”