What do you get when you cross a bunch of great self-published books with eighteen extraordinary publishing industry professionals? IndieReader’s first annual “Discovery Awards” (IRDAs), where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.

With the rush by traditional publishers to sign them (Louise Voss and Mark Edwards with HarperCollins, Amanda Hocking with St. Martins Press) and their noteworthy bestselling status (John Locke recently sold his millionth Kindle book), there’s no longer much doubt that indie authors can be both commercially and creatively successful. All that was left to do was create a credible vehicle by which to find them.

What makes the IRDA’s so unique is their extraordinary panel of judges, including Jennifer Bergstrom, VP, EIC of Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster; Clay Ezell, Kristyn Keene and Kari Stuart, agents at ICM; Jocelyn Kelley, partner at Kelley & Hall Publicity; Perry Crowe, editor at Kirkus Reviews and; Marilyn Dahl, book review editor for Shelf Awareness; along with author and MEWS founder Pamela Redmond Satran.

The IRDA’s are open to all self-published books with a valid ISBN. Judging will be based on the quality of writing and the originality of the story with the goal of finding talented writers and great books. Entries will be accepted from July 18th, 2011 through February 29th ,2012 and winners will be announced on June 18th, 2012.

Also setting the IRDA’s apart is the absence of prizes like cash awards and fancy dinners. Says IRDA Program Director, Izzy Ackerman, “While all the gold foil stars, cash prizes, trophies and awards ceremonies might be fun, the difference between a successful book and a non-successful book (self or traditionally pubbed) is the exposure it gets to people who can help make it a success.”

Brenda Blackmon, anchor for My9 TV News, will receive the Women Who Will Award from the Association for Women in Communications-New Jersey Chapter (AWCNJ), at the organization’s third annual “Moving Forward by Giving Back” recognition and education breakfast. The event will be held Monday, April 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Newark Museum, 49 Washington Street in Newark, NJ.

The Women Who Will Award is presented each year to a communications professional who demonstrates continuing commitment to the personaland professional advancement of women. Brenda Blackmon is co-anchor of My9 News, WWOR-TV’s 11:00 pm newscast. Her community involvement dates back to her early days in television, giving her time to the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon and the Lou Rawls Telethon. Today, she continues to volunteer for special events with SHARE (Self-Help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer) and the Bergen Volunteers.

Blackmon’s professional achievements have been recognized through her many honors and awards including 4 Emmy Awards, 15 Emmy award nominations, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Broadcast Excellence.

The breakfast will begin at 8:30 and will include a keynote presentation by Blackmon. Afterwards, a private docent tour of the Newark Museum’s top exhibitions will be offered for those interested.

To learn about sponsorships to the event, please email awcnjorg@awcnj.org.

Admission, which includes a full breakfast, is $50 for AWCNJ members and full time students through April 8. Thereafter the price is $75 for all. A portion of proceeds will support the AWCNJ scholarship fund for students in communications. For more information and to register online, visit http://awcnj.org/.

To register by mail, please send a check, made out to AWCNJ, to Leslie Cifelli, 11 Villa Pl., Nutley, NJ 07110.

The New Jersey authors’ awards were instituted in 1994 to encourage and celebrate books about New Jersey.  Awards are considered in five categories:

• non-fiction popular
• non-fiction scholarly
• fiction & poetry
• reference
• reproduction of primary resources

Works nominated should reflect a new understanding of New Jersey’s history and culture, evidence original research in the application of New Jersey resources and/or reveal new insights into a topic.  They must have appeared in the previous two calendar years:  2009 or 2010.  There is no in-state residency requirement for
authors/editors/compilers.

Nominations will be accepted from January 15, 2011 through April 30, 2011.  The nomination packet must include an explanatory cover letter (stating for which category the work is nominated) and the nominee’s resume.  These should be e-mailed to cleinaweaver@npl.org with “NJSAA Author Award” in the subject line.  In addition, five copies of the publication or web address/text proposed for the award must be
mailed to the NJ Authors’ Awards Committee, c/o Chad Leinaweaver, Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library, PO Box 630, Newark, NJ 07101-0630. All materials must be received by April 30, 2011

Additional information on the award (including past winners) and the Academic Alliance may be found at:  http://www.njsaa/org.

Former Star Ledger reporter and New Jersey native Brad Parks has won the Shamus Award for Best First Crime Novel.

The Shamus Awards, named after a slang term for a private detective, honor the very best in crime fiction and are given annually by the Private Eye Writers of America. Parks received his honor at a banquet held last weekend during Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention. Past winners of the award, now in its 29th year, include Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly and Harlan Coben.

Parks was selected for the prestigious award in the “Best First Crime Novel” category for his book, “Faces of the Gone,” which features the exploits of Carter Ross, a Newark-based newspaper reporter.

“Faces of the Gone” was named one of the best debuts of 2009 by The Chicago Sun-Times and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Library Journal called it “the most hilariously funny and deadly serious mystery debut since Janet Evanovich’s ‘One for the Money.’”

Parks has also been nominated for the Nero Award, named after the legendary Nero Wolfe and presented by the Nero Wolfe Society to an author for literary excellence in the mystery genre. The winner will be announced in December.

A career journalist turned fiction author, Brad Parks worked at The Washington Post and The Star-Ledger as a sportswriter and news feature writer. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he lives with his wife and two small children and is currently working on the next Carter Ross adventure. More about his writing can be found at www.BradParksBooks.com.

The next book in Parks’s mystery series, “Eyes of the Innocent,” will be published in February.

New Jersey native Brad Parks has been nominated for the Shamus Award, one of the most prestigious honors in crime fiction.

Parks is one of five finalists in the “Best First Novel” category for his book, “Faces of the Gone,” which features the exploits of a Newark-based newspaper reporter. The Shamus is given annually by the Private Eye Writers of America, with the winner scheduled to be announced at a banquet to be held in San Francisco this October during Bouchercon, the world mystery convention. Past winners of the award, now in its 29th year, include Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly and Harlan Coben.

It is the second major award nomination of the summer for Parks, who was also nominated for the Nero Award, named after the legendary Nero Wolfe, in June.

A career journalist turned fiction author, Brad Parks worked at The Washington Post and The Star-Ledger as a sportswriter and news feature writer. His website is www.BradParksBooks.com. The next book in Parks’s series, “Eyes of the Innocent” is due out in February.

S3, a fresh-thinking agency specializing in advertising, marketing, public relations and social media communications, was the top winner at this year’s Jersey Awards held by the Advertising Club of New Jersey at The Chart House in Weehawken. The Boonton-based agency received 26 awards, including “Best of Interactive” for the MAD MEN online ad campaign they created for Eight O’Clock Coffee.

In addition to “Best of Interactive,” S3 took home 11 first place, 8 second place, and 6 third place awards on behalf of multiple clients, including Autism Partnership, Jaguar Cars, Turtle Back Zoo and Wyndham Worldwide.

For more information about S3, please visit s3s3s3.com. For more information about the New Jersey Advertising Club, please visit njadclub.org.

SONIA TSURUOKA is the winner of the first MEWS Scholarship.  The Montclair High School senior, who is the co-editor-in-chief of both the award-winning Mountaineer newspaper and the Phoenix Art and Literary magazine, as well as opinions editor of the Scoop Daily blog, plans to study writing at Johns Hopkins and hopes for a career as an international correspondent.

Sonia epitomizes the ideals of the $1500 award, established to honor a graduating senior who’s shown a dedication to and an interest in a career in the fields of writing, editing, and/or literature.  Sonia is also involved in Model UN, the Debate Team, and tutoring kids in writing.  Teachers and administrators called her one of the “unsung heroes” of Montclair High.

Thanks to NANCY STAR and FILIP BONDY, who worked with me to develop the award, interview the seven wonderful candidates, and ultimately choose Sonia as the winner.  And thanks too to all the MEWSies who contributed an impressive $1500 for the scholarship.

The full list of contributors (though I’m not counting the pennies and $20 bills thrown anonymously into the collection jar at the MEWS party):

BARI ADELMAN

LAURIE & FRANK ALBANESE

LAUREN ANDERSON

GLORIA AVERBUCH

LESLIE BRODY

ALICE ELLIOTT DARK & LARRY DARK

JESSICA DeKONINCK

LOUISE DeSALVO

RITA DiMATTEO

DEBORAH DUNN

BRUCE FRANK & SUSAN WEINBERG

DOROTHEA BENTON FRANK

NANCY GERBER

RON HOLLANDER

TONI MARTIN

JOHN & PATTI PAINE

LISA ROSENBERG

KEN & WENDY SCHUMAN

PAULA SPAN

NANCY STAR

NANCY WILLIAMS

Please, if I’ve forgotten anybody, let me know.  Thank you!

The first MEWS Scholarship will be award this Thursday night, June 3, at Montclair High.  The award, for $1500, will be given to a graduating Montclair High School student who’s evidenced an interest in and commitment to a career in writing and/or editing.

Thank you to my fellow MEWSies NANCY STAR, author most recently of the novel Carpool Diem, and FILIP BONDY, sportswriter for The Daily News, for help organizing the scholarship, interviewing the seven excellent candidates nominated by the MHS English Department, and helping to select the winner.

And thank you too to all the MEWSies who donated the $1500 for the award.  I’ll publish a full list of donors later this week when we announce the winner.

Veteran newspaper journalist Wendy Ruderman of the Philadelphia Daily News will speak at the Society of Professional Journalists annual New Jersey Excellence in Journalism awards luncheon, Sunday, June 13 at the Theatre Square Grill, in the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ.

Awards in 60 categories will be presented to outstanding journalists from daily and weekly newspapers, online publications, radio and television stations, newsletters and magazines.

Jake Remaly of the Daily Record and Sarah Rahman of the Jersey Journal won first and second place, respectively in the Wilson Barto category for outstanding achievement by a first-year reporter in daily newspapers. Jason Braff of the Town News, Lina Khouri of the Montclair Times and Jacob Kamaras of Eliyahu Publications took first, second and third place, respectively, among weekly newspaper journalists.

The Tim O’Brien Award for best  investigative reporting using the NJ Open Public Records Act [OPRA] goes to The Montclair Times for “Where’s Your Money Going?” by Terrence T. McDonald.  Local journalists from The Montclair Times and The Record won several other awards that will be presented at the luncheon.

The luncheon begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20. All are welcome. You may pay in advance by sending a check made out to NJ-SPJ, and mail it to Jane Primerano, Treasurer, P.O. Box 511, Hope NJ, 07844. You may pay at the door, but you must RSVP by June 10 and include the number of guests accompanying you. Please RSVP to Sue Livio at sklivio@yahoo.com.

MEWSie LISA DALE writes:

I just wanted to pass along this opportunity that I heard about through Writer’s Relief!

Writer’s Relief, an author’s submission service (est. 1994) in Hackensack, announces the First Annual Peter K. Hixson Memorial Scholarship For Creative Writers. Three writers in the genres of novels, short stories/personal essays, and poetry will be awarded two rounds of Writer’s Relief services (valued at $500 per winner).

In accordance with Writer’s Relief submission services, Writer’s Relief will compose cover/query letters, individually print and address letters, create mailing labels, and target the winners’ work to the best-suited literary agents or editors. Applications will be accepted April 1 through 23. There is no fee to apply.

For more information please visit http://www.writersrelief.com/peter-k-hixson-writing-scholarship.aspx.