Independent Booksellers Name Down East Publisher of the Year

Authors Alice Hoffman, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Tomie DePaolo among winners

The New England Independent Booksellers Association, the largest regional bookselling organization in the United States, has named Down East among the winners of its 2008 Book Awards.

Other winners include Alice Hoffman, fiction; Nathaniel Philbrick, non-fiction; and, Tomie DePaola, children's books.

Since 1977, Down East Books has published more than 775 books by the region’s best authors, illustrators, and photographers. Current titles include A Passion for Sea Glass by C.S. Lambert, Great Gardens of the Berkshires by Virginia Small, and At Home by the Sea: Houses Designed for Living at the Water’s Edge by Bruce Snider, with photos by Brian Vanden Brink. New children’s books include The Dump Man’s Treasures by Lynn Plourde and The Train to Maine by Jamie Spencer.

Down East Books is a division of Down East Enterprise – a multimedia company based in Rockport, Maine. Founded in 1954, the company’s flagship publication Down East: The Magazine of Maine ranks as Maine's premier magazine with more than 270,000 readers around the world. The company also publishes books under the imprints Shooting Sportsman Books and Fly Rod & Reel Books. The company’s website, offers information about the company’s books and authors, travel tips, videos, pictures, blogs, real estate listings, an on-line store, and more.

Established in 1990 by The New England Independent Booksellers Association, the awards serve to promote New England authors and publishers who have produced a body of work (not just a specific title) that stands as a significant contribution to New England's culture.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Thursday, September 18, 2009 at the 35th Annual New England Independent Booksellers Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show in Boston, Massachusetts. This year’s event will be attended by all of the recipients, a tradition that has taken place every year since the Award’s inception in 1990. The ceremony remains one of NEIBA’s signature, best attended events of their three-day long trade show.

Nominations are solicited from over 300 New England bookstores and publishers. A committee of booksellers, appointed by the New England Independent Booksellers Association, selects the winners. Many of the New England and Eastern New York booksellers affiliated with NEIBA will feature the works of the winners and related promotional materials in a series of in-store promotions including windows displays and prominent front-of-store table displays.

Each author award is accompanied by a $500 grant from NEIBA to a literacy or other charitable organization chosen by the winner.

Previous Award-winners include Richard Russo, Jodi Picoult, Richard Ford, Elizabeth Berg, Roy Blunt Jr., Simon Winchester, Tracy Kidder, Julius Lester, Lois Lowry, Shambhala Publications, Storey Publishing and Candlewick Press.

Today's:

Our New Books
	The Maine Lobster Book \| This fun, fact-filled book brings the reader on the lobster’s journey from ocean floor to plate, stopping along the way to get to know the people and places of Maine’s iconic industry.
	Maine Beaches \| This handy guide makes 20 of the state’s favorite beaches easy to find and includes loads of useful information so you can make the most of your time at the shore.
	Maine ABC \| Illustrated with distinct Maine icons, such as moose, lobster, and Katahdin, this book has a rhyming verse that will have children singing the words, asking for it to be read again and again, and learning the alphabet in no time.
	Wild Fox \| This is Cherie Mason’s touching story of how she befriended a wild creature, knowing that his instincts would soon lead him away forever. Suffused with gentle wonder, Wild Fox speaks to the deep human longing to span the gulf between species.