BOOK OF THE YEAR CONTEST

MERIDIAN Wins Recognition In “Book Of The Year” Contest.

June 10, 2003 - The Writing Shop, a Ventura based publishing and web design firm, is pleased to announce that Meridian, by owner and author John Schettler, was the Silver Medal Winner for Science Fiction in the 2002 ForeWord Magazine “Book of the Year” competition. Honoring excellence in independent publishing, the ForeWord Magazine Awards were established in 1998 and the program has become one of the most prestigious honors for independent presses and their authors.

   The Writing Shop entry, entitled “Meridian – A Novel In Time,” was recognized by a jury of professional librarians, booksellers, editors, reviewers and other industry professionals who were selected to judge the categories.

With over a thousand entries, each category is pared to a pool of 8-10 finalists. From that pool, the judges select the top three entries based on editorial excellence and professional production, as well as the originality of the narrative and the value the book adds to its genre.

‘These carefully chosen titles affirm the notion that the best ideas in written form are coming from the independent press community, and that with further distinction, they will find a broader audience among the reading public.’ (ForeWord Magazine)

Background:

The Writing  Shop was established in Ventura in 1991 as a professional writing and editing service for business and personal applications. With the advent of the Internet, the shop extended its operations into web design and recently became Ventura’s first digital publisher, utilizing new emerging technologies to produce quality trade paperbacks or hardback editions for aspiring writers.

Often called “Print on Demand” the technology stores the entire book, with full color cover, as a digital file. It then prints one copy or more at a time after the book is sold. The technology offers writers a chance to present their material to a reading audience in book form. The shop assists authors by offering editorial support, book cover design and the creation of an Internet web showcase to help them get more recognition. The Writing Shop Press now has a small selection of book titles available, and it is hoped that recognition by other industry professionals will help new authors of merit that are often overlooked by the large commercial publishers.

Shop owner, John Schettler, took the plunge himself and published “Meridian” in November of 2002, just in time to make the ForeWord Magazine competition deadline. He was pleased to be named the silver medal winner for Science Fiction that year.

This was the second honor received by the book in two tries! Meridian was also entered in the annual ‘Writers Digest Book of the Year’ competition where it again received Honorable Mention with a score of 9.5 out of 10.