After "Shadow of the Gypsy" won its first Favorite, Frome's 'Fast Times, Big City' earned him a second Distinguished Favorite from the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD®.

BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC, UNITED STATES, February 3, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The 2025 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD, one of the most prestigious book award programs globally for independent authors, publishers, and illustrators, recognized "Fast Times, Big City" by Shelly Frome as a distinguished favorite in the Cross Genre category.

The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected IPA Award Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.

During the iconic fifties, when a reluctant sportswriter is drawn into a dangerous web of crime and deception while trying to rescue his shady uncle from a high-stakes poker disaster, he must navigate the gritty streets of New York and confront his own fears to save his family and uncover the truth.

"Fast Times, Big City" by Shelly Frome
Like most people, Bud Palmer felt this was just another day. Though the era was drawing to a close, he assumed his life as a sports columnist in the subtropics, in keeping with the benign fifties itself, would go on as predictable as ever. But that particular autumn morning he was thrust into a caper that was totally beyond him, forced him to leave Miami and take the train to Manhattan, and suddenly found everything in this restless "Big Apple" was up for grabs, on the brink, at a dicey turning point.

This is Frome's second Distinguished Favorite from the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD^® since 2023. His first "Shadow of the Gypsy" won the Distinguished Favorite in 2023, seen here: https://www.independentpressaward.com/2023df/9781952788572

"Shadow of the Gypsy" by Shelly Frome
A nemesis out of the past suddenly returns, forcing Josh Bartlett to come to terms with his true identity.

Josh Bartlett had figured all the angles, changed his name, holed up as a small-town features writer in the seclusion of the Blue Ridge. Only a few weeks more and he'd begin anew, return to the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and Molly (if she'd have him) and, at long last, live a normal life. After all, it was a matter of record that Zharko had been deported well over a year ago. The shadowy form Josh had glimpsed yesterday at the lake was only that--a hazy shadow under the eaves of the activities building. It stood to reason his old nemesis was still ensconced overseas in Bucharest or thereabouts well out of the way. And no matter where he was, he wouldn't travel thousands of miles to track Josh down. Surely that couldn't be, not now, not after all this.

In 2025, the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD saw participation from journalists, well established authors, and small, medium and large publishers across the globe, including those residing in Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Winners were chosen from publishers such as Amplify Publishing Group, Black Rose Writing, Blackstone Publishing, BookBaby, Calumet Editions, Globe Pequot, Finishing Line Press, Gatekeepers Press, Hachette Go (Blanco of Grand Central Publishing), HarperCollins Leadership, Ideapress Publishing, IVP Kids, Koehler Books, Mad Cave Studios, North Dakota State University Press, Oceanview, Publishing Old Stone Press, Pegasus Books, Post Hill Press, Red T Kid's Media, Rowman & Littlefield, She Writes Press, University of California Press, and University of Georgia Press.

“The 2025 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD awardees included the excellence and diversity of global independent publishing,” said Gabrielle Olczak, IPA President and Award Sponsor. "There is no stopping independent publishing. It provides unparalleled content and quality to consumers worldwide and we are excited to showcase this year's honorees to the world.”

For more information please visit independentpressaward.com; and to see this year's list of IPA Distinguished Favorites, please visit: https://www.independentpressaward.com/2025favorites

About the Author
Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor and, all told, has written over twenty-five plays in addition to his articles and novels.

A frequent contributor of articles on all facets of creative writing and acting, Shelly appears in numerous periodicals including Southern Writers Magazine where he is the film columnist. He is also a contributor to writers' blogs and websites in the U.S. and the U.K.

His fiction includes Twilight of the Drifter, Lilac Moon, the Hollywood crime caper Tinseltown Riff, Murder Run, and the recently released The Secluded Village Murders, Miranda and the D-Day Caper, The Shadow of The Gypsy, Moon Games, and his latest release Fast Times, Big City.

Among his works of non-fiction are the acclaimed The Actors Studio and texts on The Art and Craft of Screenwriting and writing for the stage.

​Shelly lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina with Baxter.


http://www.shellyfrome.com/fast-times-big-city.html

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The Independent Press Award is announced every spring and is open to independent authors and publishers.

The fall book competition, NYC Big Book Award, https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/ allows all authors, publishers, and includes submissions from the big five publishers.

Join us for the Awards Dinner on May 3rd, and at the BookCAMP event, May 2 - 4, 2025, https://www.independentpressaward.com/ipabookcamp

Gabby Olczak
Independent Press Award
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