What are the Indie Lit Awards?
Independent Literary Awards are given to books that have been recommended and voted on by independent literary bloggers. Nominations are open to all readers, and are then voted upon by a panel of bloggers who are proficient in the genre they represent. Each panel is led by a Director who oversees the integrity of the process.
This year I am a voting member for the Biography/Memoir and am excited vote for books in one of my favorite genres. So far, 2011 has been a great year for the genre - here is a sampling:
Devotion: A Memoir (P.S.)
by Dani Shapiro - I read and reviewed this earlier this year and immediately bought copies to give to friends. This book touched me in unexpected ways. (My review is here)
Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
by Conor Grennan: After the debacle of Greg Mortenson and his Three Cups of Tea , I am a bit wary of another story of a traveler moved to good deeds while visiting the Third World but I am an optimist at heart and intend to believe the best and hope not to be proven otherwise!
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe
by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: The story of an unlikely entrepreneur in Afghanistan who becomes a heroine to her family and community.
Bossypants
by Tina Fey: Smart. Humor. Need I say more? 
My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store
by Ben Ryder Howe: Bookchickdi's review of this one for the Immigrant Stories Challenge piqued my interest 
The Arrogant Years: One Girl's Search for Her Lost Youth, from Cairo to Brooklyn
by Lucette Lagnado: Another immigrant story - this one was recently featured by fellow ILA voting member for the biography/memoir genre, Candace from Beth Fish ReadsThis is just a small sample of the excellent biographies and memoirs published in 2011 - let me know about your favorites in the comments. Better yet, go to the Independent Literary Awards site and nominate your favorites (you don't need to be a blogger to nominate!) Biography and memoir not your thing? Check out the other ILA categories including Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, GLBTQ, Mystery and Speculative Fiction.
Have you read An Exclusive Love? I loved it. It's about the author's grandparents, Holocaust survivors who committed suicide together fifty years later, after the grandfather was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I thought it played with the memoir form in really interesting ways because a large part is a re-imagining of their last day together.
ReplyDeleteLittle Princes is an AWESOME book! I loved it. Devotion and Dressmaker are on my tbr list.
ReplyDeleteI loved Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life by Sandra Beasley.
ReplyDeleteI also liked My Korean Deli :)
I love Bossypants. I thought that book was freaking hysterical!
ReplyDeleteI just finished Bossypants and thought is was freaking hysterical! Great picks.
ReplyDeleteSuch diversity! I love memoirs. I would totally nominate Darin Strauss's Half A Life but I think it was published in 2010.
ReplyDeleteMemoirs are one of my weaknesses but I haven't read as many as usual so far this year. Alexandra Fuller's new one Cocktails Under the Tree of Forgetfulness and Gail Caldwell's Let's Take the Long Road Home are two of the best I've read this year.
ReplyDelete"Devotion" is on my wishlist as well :)
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