I'm thrilled to share that my travel memoir, Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, won Best Non-Fiction/Memoir at the Selfie Awards at London Book Fair on 14 March 2024. I'm now an award-winning author!

The award was judged based on the story and the content of the book, the quality of production, and also for the marketing campaign and resulting book sales.

I launched Pilgrimage on Kickstarter in February 2023 where it raised £25,771. I then went on to sell it direct from my store, JFPennBooks.com, and also on the main retailers in all formats. I narrated the audiobook edition.

Most of the validation for indie authors comes from reader reviews and emails, as well as book sales and money in the bank account. But awards are also important to many of us, and are hard to come by since so many awards are reserved for traditionally published authors.

I was previously Award-nominated as a finalist for the Best Ebook Original at the International Thriller Writer awards in 2017 for Destroyer of Worlds, so I am now very happy to be award-winning for my first memoir. Pilgrimage is a deeply personal book, and one I was terrified of publishing — but it's resonated with so many people, so I'm thrilled it's also received critical acclaim.

The Selfie Awards are specifically for indies, so thanks to BookBrunch and Ingram Spark for sponsoring it.

You can find Pilgrimage in all formats here including the special edition, or here on the big online stores, or day by day guides, pictures, and interviews on my Books and Travel site.