As the publication begins its journey into 2025, I am very excited to announce that the year has started off golden for Canadian Independent Publishers.

At the end of 2024, I received amazing news: the publication was named a finalist in three categories for the 2024 Canadian Online Publishing Awards (also known as the COPAs). The categories included: Best Digital Publication (August 2024); Best Feel Good Story; and Best Company Profile.

As this was the first time that the magazine had been named a finalist for any type of publishing awards, I was ecstatic!

The winners were announced in February at the COPA Awards Party, where Canadian Independent Publishers won gold for Best Feel Good Story for our article on Edmonton-based Audreys Books titled, “Surviving and thriving: Audreys Books celebrates half a century of bookselling.”

If you haven’t read about the bookselling adventures of Steve and Sharon Budnarchuk and their daughter, Kelly Dyer, you can check it out in our August 2024 digital edition or online at: www.canadianindependentpublishers.ca/surviving-and-thriving. 

Having to balance running my own writing and editing business with raising three amazing kiddos, studying part-time for my MFA in creative writing (for the purpose of teaching), running writing workshops for children at a local school, and finding time for my own fiction writing, it has been a real struggle at times to find room in my schedule to put this publication together over the past 20 months.

Winning gold at the COPAs for Best Feel Good Story and receiving two additional finalist nominations feels really special, and adds more fuel in my tank to keep pushing forward with the publication. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported this publication to date. I hope to continue to shine the spotlight on Canada’s indie authors, bookstores and publishers for many years to come. 

Happy reading and writing!

Andrew Snook
Editor and Publisher