DALLAS, TX (June 1, 2009) –The Via Crucis took home the Bronze medal in the Inspirational/Spiritual category at the thirteenth annual Independent Publisher Book Awards. The Independent Publisher Book Awards, also known as the “IPPY” Awards, recognize authors who exhibit the courage, innovation and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing.  This year’s awards were presented at BookExpo America 2009 in New York City. “I honestly cannot believe The Via Crucis won an IPPY.” said Shawn Small, who is also the Executive Director of Wonder Voyage Missions in Dallas, TX.  “The Via Crucis has been a part of the last 7 years of my life and writing alone was the greatest reward.  But to be a winner amongst such a fantastic group of creative writers is pretty cool.” This year, 4,090 titles worldwide were entered from over 2,000 publishers from 44 U.S. states and seven foreign publishers.  The Inspirational/Spiritual category was the largest of the 65 categories with 185 nominations. Shawn Small accepted the Bronze Medal on Friday, May 29 during a gala awards ceremony.  As a winner, The Via Crucis can also place foil seals of the medal image on their book covers. The IPPY Awards, launched in 1996, by Independent Publishers, the “voice of independent publishing”, are designed to bring recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers.  The largest writing contest in the world, the IPPYs were established as the first awards program open exclusively to independents, university and self-published titles. The other winners in the Inspirational/Spiritual category were: Stay for Lunch, Pleasurable Pause Press which took the Gold; a tie for Silver were Extraordinary Healers, Vol. 2, CURE Media Group and Take the Walk, 3CG Books.

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