Official Awards Day!
Today, we issued our official press release about how Purple Leaves, Red Cherries won two international book awards.
Congratulations to everyone involved in creating Purple Leaves, Red Cherries!
Self-Publishing Mom Joins Ranks of Top New York Publishing Firms by Winning Prestigious Nautilus Book Award
Purple Leaves, Red Cherries – an Inspiring Gift Book for New Moms, Self-Published by Tania Elfersy and her Solopreneur Firm, Flower Cap Press – Picks Up Two International Book Awards.
Providence, RI, May 3, 2012 — The critically-acclaimed book Purple Leaves, Red Cherries: A Gift for Mothers with Short Stories, Journal & Toolkit, which is co-authored by Tania Elfersy and Andrea Katzman, illustrated by Nomi Melul Ohad and published by Elfersy’s solopreneur firm, Flower Cap Press, has won two international book awards: a 2012 Nautilus Silver Award and a 2012 Silver Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
The beautifully illustrated, full color hardback book, Purple Leaves, Red Cherries, reveals how becoming a mother impacts women’s lives and provides tools to help women cope with the early years of motherhood. The book is designed to be an inspiring gift for new moms and mothers of young children – a book “to embrace new mothers” and help them feel “they are not alone,” explains Tania Elfersy in the book’s Preface.
Elfersy was a stay-at-home mom of three young children when in 2009, she developed the idea for Purple Leaves, Red Cherries. Without approaching a single publishing firm or agent, Elfersy held on tight to her vision of the book and hand-picked her winning book team. Maximizing her background in marketing, Elfersy self-published the book (her first) within 18 months of commencing the project.
Recent changes in the publishing industry (the introduction of eBooks, Print on Demand and online book stores) have meant that traditional publishing firms no longer act as gatekeepers of the industry.
“Today anyone with a computer and access to the Internet can start selling their own books online. That’s a revolution in of itself,” explains Elfersy. “And when self-published books, such as Purple Leaves, Red Cherries, win awards alongside the largest publishing houses in the world, it is evidence that this revolution is good for writers and readers alike.”
Purple Leaves, Red Cherries is available online and in baby boutiques in the US and Canada. In 2011, Elfersy also signed a strategic partnership agreement with Aerbook, an eBook and native app developer, for the development of a range of eBooks, the first of which are available on Amazon and iTunes.
The full list of this year’s Nautilus awards will be announced in late May, but last week Elfersy was informed that Purple Leaves, Red Cherries had won a 2012 Nautilus Silver Award in the Gift/Specialty category. Last year, the same award was won by the publisher Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin.
On the same day, Elfersy was also informed that her book had won a 2012 Silver Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Gift/Specialty/Journal category.
“Self-publishing is an exciting opportunity for moms, dads or any entrepreneur who wants to work from home. However, self-publishing is not for the faint-hearted or for writers who don’t have an appetite for marketing and sales, and an absolute dedication to their project. I’ve started a long journey and even with these two wonderful awards, I feel I am still at the beginning. I have a lot more to accomplish with Purple Leaves, Red Cherries and these awards provide a tremendous boost to help me move forward,” Elfersy says.
Download two free chapters from Purple Leaves, Red Cherries Read book reviews
Watch the Purple Leaves, Red Cherries Book Trailer
Download photos of Purple Leaves, Red Cherries and the authors and illustrator
View examples of Nomi Melul Ohad’s illustrations from the book (hi-res images available on request) For additional information contact:
Tania Elfersy
About the Nautilus Book Awards
The Nautilus Awards recognizes books and audio books that promote spiritual growth, conscious living and positive social change, while at the same time stimulating the imagination and offering the reader new possibilities for a better life and a better world. Previous winners of the awards include Deepak Chopra, M.D., Caroline Myss, Thich Nhat Hanh and Eckhart Tolle. http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/
About the Independent Publisher Book (IPPY) Awards
The “IPPY” Awards were conceived as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry, and are open to authors and publishers worldwide who produce books written in English and intended for the North American market. “Independent” is defined as 1) independently owned and operated; 2) operated by a foundation or university; or 3) long-time independents that became incorporated but operate autonomously and publish fewer than 50 titles a year. http://www.independentpublisher.com
About Flower Cap Press
Flower Cap Press is a solopreneur publishing firm established by Tania Elfersy. Flower Cap Press is the publisher of the award-winning book “Purple Leaves, Red Cherries: A Gift for Mothers with Short Stories, Journal & Toolkit.” The symbol of Flower Cap Press is of a woman swimming in style – a hopeful image for women striving to maintain balance and happiness in their lives. http://www.flowercappress.com
