FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn McBride, carolyn@carolynmcbride.com
Hypoluxo, FL, May 18, 2025—Carolyn McBride’s captivating novel, The Cicada Spring, has been honored with the prestigious 2025 Silver Award for Best Fiction Audiobook by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) as part of the 37th annual IBPA Book Awards recognizing excellence in independent publishing. The two Silver Award winners, along with the Gold Award winner, were recently announced in St. Paul, Minnesota, at a gala ceremony culminating the IBPA’s Publishing University weeklong educational event.
The IBPA Book Award is the premier program celebrating editorial and design excellence in independent publishing, recognizing publishers of exceptional titles across a wide array of categories, publishing models, and communities. Formerly the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, the IBPA Book Award has celebrated excellence in independent book publishing since 1985. The awards are considered one of the highest national honors for independent book publishers, and the program is renowned for its rigorous judging process, conducted by over 150 experienced publishing professionals, including librarians, bookstore owners, reviewers, designers, publicists, and editors.
McBride’s heartwarming debut novel takes readers on a poignant journey of second chances and resilience through the eyes of a female boat captain as she navigates a crossroads in midlife, finding solace and strength on the shores of the Potomac River. The Cicada Spring‘s recognition in the Best Fiction Audiobook category underscores the compelling storytelling and exceptional audio production that brought the novel to life for listeners.
Professional narrated by Maria Marquis and produced by The Audiobook Experience at Voice Over Vermont, the audiobook runs 8 hours 45 minutes with an afterword read by the author. Mary Catherine Jones, owner and executive producer of the award-winning boutique audiobook recording and production studio, said, “This is one of the most delightful groups of characters I’ve had the pleasure of recording.”
The Cicada Spring is the first in the Potomac Shores series. The Cicada Spring: A Potomac Shores Novel, by Carolyn McBride, is available everywhere books are sold online in paperback (ISBN: 979-8-9902958-0-3), ebook (ISBN: 979-8-9902958-1-0), and audiobook (Retail ISBN: 979-8-8751262-4-6).
About the IBPA
Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is the largest independent publishing association in the U.S. IBPA sees a world where its approximately 3,500 members and all independent publishers have the access, knowledge, and tools needed to engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry.
For more information, visit https://www.ibpa-online.org/.
About the IBPA Book Awards Program
The IBPA Book Award, formerly the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, has celebrated excellence in independent book publishing since 1985. The awards are considered one of the highest national honors for independent book publishers, and the program is renowned for its rigorous judging process, conducted by over 150 experienced publishing professionals, including librarians, bookstore owners, reviewers, designers, publicists, and editors.
For more information, please visit https://www.ibpabookaward.org/.
About The Audiobook Experience
Voice Over Vermont is a boutique audiobook production company providing a custom recording experience for authors, The Audiobook Experience, with options to work with a professional narrator, record in-studio in Burlington, Vermont, or record with a local studio or from your own home
For more information, please visit http://www.voiceoververmont.com.