LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Independent Book Publisher’s Association (IBPA) recently awarded a silver medal to author Matthew Karanian’s Armenia and Karabakh: The Stone Garden Travel Guide in the category of Best Travel Book for 2014.
The book award, which is known to the publishing industry as a Benjamin Franklin Award, or “Bennie,” is among the most prestigious national awards for independent book publishers. The competition recognizes excellence in book editorial content and design.
The award was announced on May 28, which, by coincidence, is Armenian Independence Day.
The silver medal is the book’s second major award of the year. Armenia and Karabakh was recently recognized by Writer’s Digest Magazine as one of the Best Reference Guides published in the past year.
A complete list of IBPA book award winners is available online by visiting www.ibpa-online.org. The publisher’s association recognized four travel books for excellence this year; the other travel books are titles about Costa Rica, the Canyon Lands of the American Southwest, and Washington State.
Karanian was traveling in Western Armenia doing research for a future book when the award was announced. He said he considers the award to be an acknowledgement of the merits of Armenia, as well as of his book. “Awards such as these help to give Armenia and Artsakh the recognition that they deserve” among Armenians and non-Armenians alike, he said.
Armenia and Karabakh: The Stone Garden Travel Guide can be previewed at www.ArmeniaTravelGuide.com and is available for purchase by mail order for $30 post paid in the U.S. from Stone Garden Productions, P.O. Box 7758, Northridge, CA 91327.
Source: The Armenian Weekly