This past week, I was honored to learn that my book, President Trump’s Month: An Epistolary Novella (Hillocrian Creative 2016), was chosen as a finalist in the 19th Annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards. The book will now be considered for an award in the “Adult Fiction: Humor” category. The winners will be announced during the 2017 American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago on June 24, 2017.

The idea for this book came a year ago, when Donald Trump was one of several candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination. After attending a Trump rally in Bethpage, N.Y., as a fan of politics, I decided to write a book imagining what it would be like if Mr. Trump were to become president. The result was a work of satirical fiction in an epistolary form. I created a series of “official” documents (executive actions, presidential proclamations, transcripts of speeches, and more) that I present in chronological order for the reader’s inspection. President Trump’s Month: An Epistolary Novella presents its plot through this narrative vehicle, portraying a presidency that is driven by Mr. Trump’s unique personality and controversial statements and that emphasizes bold, executive action. As the book’s title implies, President Trump’s term is mysteriously and satirically abbreviated (for reasons that may be revealed in a sequel).

After I finished writing the book, Donald Trump went on to win the GOP nomination and then become the 45th president of the United States. Although my book was written as fiction and satire, it has been fascinating to compare my imagined Trump presidency with the real one. For example, it was interesting to discover that both my fictional President Trump and the real one made the same decisions when it came to Oval Office wall decor. (See “As Predicted, President Trump Embraces Childe Hassam, Evicts Edward Hopper from Oval Office,” Hillocrianblog.com, January 23, 2017.)

For more information about the book, please visit presidenttrumpsmonth.com or view the latest trailer (“We’re Gonna Straighten It Out“).

To purchase the book on Amazon.com, please visit this link.

Here is information from Foreword about the INDIES Book of the Year Awards, including a link to the full list of 2016 finalists:

As part of their mission to discover, review, and share the best books from small, university, and indie publishers (and authors), independent media company Foreword Reviews hosts its annual awards program each year. Finalists represent the best books published in 2016, and submitted to Foreword Reviews for award consideration, and were narrowed down by Foreword’s editors from over 2,200 individual titles spread across 65 categories. A complete list of finalists can be found at:

https://awards.forewordreviews.com/finalists/2016/

“Choosing finalists for the INDIES is always the highlight of our year, but the choice was more difficult this time around due to the high quality of submissions,” said Victoria Sutherland, publisher of Foreword Reviews. “Each new book award season proves again how independent publishers are the real innovators in the industry.”

INDIES finalists are moved on to final judging by an expert panel of librarians and booksellers curated specifically for each genre and who will determine the books who will be named Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award winners. Winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice winners, and Foreword’s INDIE Publisher of the Year—will be announced during the 2017 American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago on June 24, 2017.

About Foreword: Founded in 1998, Foreword Magazine, Inc, d.b.a. Foreword Reviews is an independent media company featuring a Folio:Award-winning print magazine, stable of e-newsletters, and an online platform. Foreword exclusively covers small, university, and independent (non “Big 5”) publishers, the books they publish, and the creators they work with. Foreword is based in Traverse City, Michigan, USA, and has employees and writers all over the world.

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Ron Leshnower is the author of President Trump’s Month: An Epistolary Novella, a short work of fiction that imagines a Trump presidency through an examination of executive orders, presidential proclamations, and other “official” documents.
Follow him on Twitter (@hillocrian) and visit hillocriancreative.com