Lost Horse Press is pleased to announce that Joy Passanante's short story collection, THE ART OF ABSENCE, is a finalist for the 2004 Idaho Book of the Year Award.

The Idaho Book Award is presented annually by the Idaho Library Association to recognize and honor one book, selected from among all the books published in any one calendar year, which has made an outstanding contribution to the body of printed materials about Idaho. The award is intended to encourage the writing and publishing of books about Idaho, and to encourage excellence in writing and high standards of accuracy and readability in those books. To be considered for the 2004 award, a book must have been published in 2004 and have an Idaho setting or significant Idaho content. Books are reviewed by a book awards committee appointed by the Idaho Library Association, with members from around the state.  The main selection criteria are strong writing, clear presentation, and significant Idaho content. The Idaho Book Award will be presented at the annual conference of the Idaho Library Association in October 2005.

The "IPPY" Awards were conceived in 1996 as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles produced each year, and reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing.

The 2005 Independent Publisher Book Awards attracted 2,175 books from over 1,500 publishers around the world; from all 50 U.S. states, nine Canadian provinces, and 18 foreign countries. The 2005 Awards saw a continued increase in quality and diversity - entrants come in all sizes and from all walks of life.

ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards—one of the most prestigious affirmations of work coming from the independent press community—has nominated two books by Sandpoint’s Lost Horse Press as finalists for Book of the Year Award in Short Fiction: Food Chain by Janet Kieffer and The Art of Absence by Joy Passanante.

ForeWord’s Book of the Year Awards was established in 1998 to focus librarian and bookseller attention on the literary achievements of independent publishers and their authors. They share in the process of discovering distinctive books across a number of genres with judgments based on their own authority in each category and on patron/customer interest. Their decisions take into consideration editorial excellence, professional production, narrative originality, author credentials and the value the title adds to the category. ForeWord is the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to covering books from independent houses—ranging in size from university presses publishing hundreds of tiles per year to micro, POD and eBook publishers who may publish one title in a lifetime. Lost Horse Press books may be purchased online here or ask your independent bookseller to stock these and other fine Lost Horse Press titles.