Award Season

Spring is independent book award season, and as I mentioned in my last post, this year I entered my novel in a number of them on the off-chance that last year’s recognition from the International Book Awards wasn’t a fluke.

Well, the results are (almost) all in and I couldn’t be happier!

Winners and finalists for the Eric Hoffer Awards were announced on May 10, and The Perpetual Now did not go unnoticed. It was named a Winner in the category of Commercial Fiction, with an Honorable Mention placing it within the top five of that category!

In addition, it was named as a Finalist for the First Horizon Award (Best Work by a Debut Author) and was even Shortlisted for the Grand Prize! Check out their website for the complete list of winners and finalists: http://www.hofferaward.com/

The 15th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards also announced their winners and finalists in late May, and The Perpetual Now was named a Finalist in the Cross Genre category, along with just 3 other novels! Complete list of finalists is here: https://www.indieexcellence.com/15th-annual-finalists

Last but not least were the IndieReader Discovery Awards, announced in early June. While The Perpetual Now — facing stiff competition in the Literary Fiction category — came away without any formal recognition, it was provided with a more-the-satisfying critical blurb: 

Jerome J Bourgault’s THE PERPETUAL NOW is a gripping and very well-detailed story that stands on the intersection of science fiction, mystery, the supernatural, and a coming-of-age drama. Set in a small town in Canada, the characters are rendered with great care. A highly engrossing and very accessible read.

You can find a complete list of entrants from all categories here (my novel is on Page 8): https://indiereader.com/2021-discovery-awards-entrants/

Overall, not a bad haul for a first-timer! Now I just need to find space for all the stickers…