Mind

The Year Time Stopped: The Global Pandemic in Photos curated by Christina Hawatmeh & Nour Chamoun (HarperOne)

COVID-19 has ravaged the lives and health of millions of people for over two years. The Year Time Stopped really struck our judges though for how it documented the psychological effect it has had, especially during lockdown. The visual documentation from all over the world resonated with them—the images of loneliness, community, getting back to nature, returning to “normal” but distanced. We continue to learn about the long term effects of the virus, but we are only starting to collectively look at the ways it has changed us mentally. 

 

 

Body

My Pain-Body Solution by Michael J. Murray (River Grove Books) 

My Pain-Body Solution makes clear the inextricable yet oft-neglected link between physical and mental health. Murray tells stories of his chronic pain and the psychological and medical steps he takes to recover and regain a sense of wellness for body and mind.

 

 

 

Spirit

Needle & Thread by David Pinckney, illustrated by Ennun Ana Iurov, lettered by Micah Myers (Maverick)

Navigating the space between childhood and becoming an adult, Needle & Thread chronicles the heart, determination, and spirit one must hold closely to as we move through one of life’s greatest adventures—becoming who we are meant to be. With engaging graphics and endearing characters, David Pinckney, Ennun Ana Iurov, and Micah Myers bring to life the beauty of staying true to oneself and in doing so has captured the spirit of the human experience. 

 

 

1. cookbooks - general

GOLD: The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles by Rinku Bhattacharya (Hippocrene Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. cookbooks - holiday/specialty

GOLD: Free The Pizza! by Blaine Parker (Slow Burn Marketing LLC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. gift/keepsake/coffee table

GOLD: Guard Your Heart & Home by Victoria Duerstock (End Game Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Animal Prints on My Soul by Candace Gish (Absolute Love Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Rabbit at the Sliding Door: Chloe's Story by Denise Lee Branco (Strolling Hills Publishing, LLC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. journal/coloring book

GOLD: Just Rest by Melanie Redd (End Game Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: The Joy of Writing Journal: Spark Your Creativity in 8 Minutes a Day by Lisa Tener (Prosperity House Media)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Relax & Puzzle Romance Puzzle Book, Volume 1 by Mina Faraway (Potential Press, LLC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. animals/pets

GOLD: What the Pet Food Industry is Not Telling You, Developing Good Practices for a Healthier Dog by Dr. Stephanie Krol (Riley Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Terriers in the Jungle: A Novel by Georja Umano (Atmosphere Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Everyone Needs a Little Hope by Karen Nicksich (Palmetto Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. green living 

GOLD: Freeing Energy: How innovators are using local-scale solar and batteries to disrupt the global energy industry from the outside in by Bill Nussey (Mountain Ambler Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Sincerely, Little Fox by Mr. Noun, illustrated by Ali Elzeiny, translated by Ghenwa Yehia (Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Youth Activism: Teens Against E-waste and Our Quest to Collect 1 Million Batteries to Save the Planet by Joshua E. Lou (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. family/parenting

GOLD: How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes by Melinda Wenner Moyer (Putnam/Penguin Random House)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Raising Humans With Heart: Not a How-To Manual by Sarah MacLaughlin (Isabella Media Inc)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Inside Fatherhood: A Guide for Becoming the Dad God Created You to Be by Dr. Roy Smith & Robert Amaya (LiveUp)

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. social activism/charity

GOLD: CALLED by Marlena Fiol & Ed O'Connor (JRS Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Truth is Indestructible by Stuart Nagero (Anaphora Literary Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Unity In Crisis by Jerome Roth (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. personal growth - self-help

GOLD: An Overachiever's Guide To Breaking The Rules: How To Let Go Of Perfect and Live Your Truth by Heather Whelpley (Wise Ink)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: The Zen Executive: Gems of Wisdom for Enlightened Leadership by Jim Blake (Unity Books) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Trauma's Labyrinth: Reflections of a Wounded Healer by Laura K. Kerr (LK Kerr Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. motivation - improvement

GOLD: Don't Just Sit There, Do Nothing by Jessie Asya Kanzer (Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: World Class by Jay Sandlin, illustrated by Patrick Mulholland, colored by Rebecca Nalty, lettered by Justin Birch (Maverick)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction: A Guide to Coping with the Grief, Stress, & Anger That Trigger Addictive Behaviors by Rebecca E. Williams, PhD & Julie S. Kraft, MA, LMFT (New Harbinger Publications)

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. sexuality/femininity

GOLD: Good Game, Well Played by Rachael Smith, illustrated by Katherine Lobo, lettered by Justin Birch (Maverick)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Sidelined: How Women Manage and Mismanage Their Health by Susan Salenger (She Writes Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Sex Matters: How male-centric medicine endangers women's health and what we can do about it by Dr. Alyson J. McGregor (Quercus Editions Ltd)

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. relationships/marriage

GOLD: Fifty First Dates After Fifty: A Memoir by Carolyn Lee Arnold (She Writes Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Untangling You: How can I be grateful when I feel so resentful? By Dr Kerry Howells (Major Street Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Emotional Magnetism - How to Communicate to Ignite Connection in Your Relationships by Sandy Gerber (Page Two)

 

 

 

 

 

 

13. memoir - male

GOLD: Alabama Grandson: A Black, Gay Minister’s Passage Out of Hiding by Cedrick D. Bridgeforth (Precocity Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: A Fraction Stronger by Mark Berridge (Major Street Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: John Guillermin: The Man, The Myth, The Movies by Mary Guillermin (Precocity Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14. memoir - female

GOLD: Wisdom Keeper: My Extraordinary Journey to Unlock the Sacred Within by Chloe Kemp (Awaken Your Divine Path)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: My Race for Life: finding new strength after tragedy by Alison J. Delgado, MD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies by Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop (Regal House Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15. enlightenment/spirituality

GOLD (tie): Practically Pagan - An Alternative Guide to Magical Living by Maria DeBlassie (Moon Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred by Victoria Loorz (Broadleaf Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Be a Buddha: Humanistic Buddhism's Hsing Yun Theory and Practice by Venerable Man Yi (Buddha’s Light Publications)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Artist by Jocelyn Jones (Goodspeed Press) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16. metaphysical/exploring consciousness  

GOLD: Tarotpy — It's All in the Cards by Lauren Z. Schneider MFT (New Insights Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Drawn into the Dream: How Drawing Your Dreams Can Take You to the Land of Awes by Walter Berry (Precocity Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE (tie): Destination New Earth: A Blueprint to 5D Consciousness by Alex Marcoux (616 Editions)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One with Life: Insights to Spiritual Enlightenment by George Tsiattalos (Austin Macauley Publishers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17. exercise/fitness/yoga

GOLD: Martial Arts and Your Life by Lawrence Kane and Kris Wilder (Stickman Publications, Inc.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: The Esoteric Science of Restorative Yoga: Lost Technology of Consciousness by Paul Archer (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Stroke Recovery, Regaining Arm Movement by Tracy L. Markley (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18. health/wellness

GOLD (tie): Type One Determination; Transforming type 1 diabetes through scientific evidence, personal experience, and a dash of disobedience by Lauren Plunkett (Wise Ink)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off Our Chests: A Candid Tour Through the World of Cancer by John Marshall & Liza Marshall (Ideapress Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Resilience Recipes – Making Space for Wellbeing that Works by Fleur Heazlewood (Major Street Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: The Healer's Path to Post-COVID Recovery: A Restorative Journey for Healthcare Workers by Katherine T. Kelly, PhD, M.S.P.H. (Soul Health Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

19. relaxation/mindfulness

GOLD: Cracking the Stress Secret by Amir A Rashidian (Greenleaf Book Group)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Moonlight Serenade: Embracing Aging Mindfully by Gordon Wallace, Ph.D (FriesenPress)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Joy Of Being Daily Moments Of Becoming Present by Kristin Larsen (Gatekeeper Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20. mature living/caregiving

GOLD: American Dementia: Brain Health in an Unhealthy Society by Daniel R. George, PhD, MSc, and Peter J. Whitehouse, MD, PhD (Johns Hopkins)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Mother Lode: Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver by Gretchen Staebler (She Writes Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Navigating the Caregiver River: A Journey to Sustainable Caregiving by Theresa Wilbanks (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

21. aging/death & dying

GOLD: Feeling Fate by Joni Sensel (She Writes Press) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: On the Other Side of Terminal: Take Back Your Life from Cancer Now by Allen Chankowsky (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE (tie): Find a Place for Me by Deirdre Fagan (Pact Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living Grieving by Karen V. Johnson (Hay House)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22. how-to (relationships/self)

GOLD: The Call of the Triple Spiral by Lisa Saffron (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: The Adventures of Women in Tech Workbook by Alana Karen (Ideapress Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Unmuted - How to Show Up, Speak Up and Inspire Action by Heather Hansen (Bloomsbury)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23. general fiction

GOLD: Waterbury Winter by Linda Stewart Henley (She Writes Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Swish’s Mobile Dilemma by Matthias Krug, illustrated by Nikos Yanopulos (Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Dr. Altman and the Concubines by Jacqueline Shortell-McSweeney (Archway Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24. romance fiction

GOLD: Hey Jude by Kathleen Stone (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Secrets in the Palazzo by Kathleen Reid (Koehler Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Constellations by Patricia Leavy (Brill Sense)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25. children’s inspirational picture book

GOLD: The Great Inventor of the Stars by Avery Davis, illustrated by Luo Xi (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Dachshund Through the Snow by Michelle Medlock Adams, illustrated by Ana Sebastián (End Game Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: What If There Was No School! by Andalous Ibrahim, illustrated by Zahra Amini, translated by Ghenwa Yehia (Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

26. digital media

GOLD: A Given Grace: An Anthology of Christian Poems edited by Desmond Francis Xavier Kon (Zhicheng-Mingdé) & Eric Francis Tinsay Valles (Squircle Line Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Far Right Media Is Making The World Chaotic by David Jeremiah (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: No Regrets Parenting, Updated and Expanded Edition by Harley Rotbart (Andrews McMeel Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

evergreen categories

eb1 - world peace

GOLD: The Upshift: Wiser Living on Planet Earth by Ervin Laszlo (Waterside Productions)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Maximum Impact Potential by Alok Appadurai (WorldChangers Media)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Dear Dana: That time I went crazy and wrote all 580 of my Facebook friends a handwritten letter by Amy W. Daughters (She Writes Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

eb2 - health & wellness

GOLD: Boundaries for Women Physicians: Love Your Life and Career in Medicine by Tammie Chang, MD (Visionary Women Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Butter Side Up: How I Survived My Most Terrible Year & Created My Super Awesome Life by Jane Enright (She Writes Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: Beware False Tigers by Frank Forencich (Exuberant Animal)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

eb3 - personal growth

GOLD: Always Eat Left Handed: 15 Surprising Secrets For Killing It At Work And In Real Life by Rohit Bhargava (Ideapress Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Find The Seeker!: The pathless path to fulfillment and happiness by Genro Xuan Lou Laoshi and Clifford Stevens (Gatekeeper Press) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: You-phoria: The Art of Authenticity by Gina Haines (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

eb4 - spiritual leadership

GOLD: Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways To Build A More Inclusive World by Jennifer Brown and Rohit Bhargava (Ideapress Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Clarity to Make Your Mark - 12 steps to discovering your vision, being your best self and leaving a legacy by Jessica Ritchie (Transformational Brand Lab)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE (tie): First Serve Yourself by Vik Kapoor (New Degree Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Noble Edge by Christopher Gilbert, PhD (Morgan James Publishing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

eb5 - nature conservation

GOLD:  A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans (Mariner Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Live in a Home that Pays You Back, A Complete Guide to Net Zero and Energy-Efficient Homes by Anna DeSimone (FriesenPress)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: One Green Deed Spawns Another: Tales of Inspiration on the Quest for Sustainability by David C. Mahood (Self-Published) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

eb6 - fiction 

GOLD (tie): In the Indian Night Sky by Reshma Sapre, illustrated by Jayne Robinson (Hathi Chiti Books for Kids)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandpa's Lessons on Fishing and Life by Ruthie Godfrey (Self-Published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER: Orange and Ginger Soapy Shampoo: A Bubble's Story by Pamela James (Caterpillar Butterfly)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRONZE: When Lions Roar by Karen Leigh Gruber (Silk Dragon Press)