Wicked Strange: Your Guide to Ghosts, Monsters, Oddities, and Urban Legends from New England by Jeff Belanger and featuring the photography of Frank Grace has won gold in the “Travel” category at the 2026 Independent Book Publishers Association Awards (IBPA) held in Portland, Oregon, on May 15, 2026.
Jeff and Frank wrote an acceptance speech that was read by Eryn Eaton from Red Wheel Weiser. You can watch the speech here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1B4mTUdVj9/
An annual book award competition since 1985, the IBPA Book Award, formerly the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, recognizes excellence in independent book publishing across 60 categories. The competition garners over 1,800 entries each year. IBPA received assistance in administering the program from over 170 book publishing professionals including librarians, bookstore owners, reviewers, designers, publicity managers, and editors.
“Since the IBPA book award’s founding in 1985, many other award programs have come and gone,” said IBPA chief operations officer Terry Nathan, “but we are proud to report that our awards program continues to do what it did when we started, and that is to honor the best in independent book publishing while helping IBPA members improve their publishing programs.”
About the Independent Book Publishers Association IBPA
Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit www.ibpa-online.org.