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Yippy, An IPPY!

When you receive the news of a win, your heart races and your pupils dilate. Your limbs feel as though they are detached and your breathing changes from fluid to chaotic. It is very difficult to jump out of your seat, find your nearest and dearest loved ones to share the news under these physical circumstances.

For me, I squealed and then just sat there—staring at the screen. The words blurred, time was irrelevant.  I did hear my heartbeat and my mouth way dry…and I squealed again.  My husband charged through the door, trying to work out the reason for my “distress.”  I tried to stand up, the weight on the armrest pushed the seat backwards with such rapid propulsion, and I could hear the wheels spin as landed flat on my bottom. I struggled to get up, I struggled to squeal again, and as soon as I found Dave, I stood there, pointing back towards the screen, muttering, “you gotta, should, have to, gotta see THIS!”

I had won a Gold award for Best Non-Fiction Adult eBook in the Independent Publishers Book Awards 2012 for a book I only just managed to enter in time, having ordered a bound galley from the local printers as I waited for the slow boat from China to arrive! I had been working, writing, teaching, creating, giving since 2003 and this was effectively the 10th year of my journey.  What a way to celebrate!  The hardcopy version was option one on the entry form; the eBook entry was a second thought. I sent a PDF version of the book on a custom made USB (yes, consistent branding and use of logo) and bundled the whole lot up to courier, just to assure it arrived prior to the deadline!

“Should I go?”

“Go where?” my friends would reply.

“To New York…”

(And my favorite response) “Tell me why you should not go!”

I arranged to meet my brother and sister-in-law at the awards ceremony, packed my bag, booked a flight – and was on my way…

The Awards Director, Jim Barnes, bought two books with him to the ceremony… One from a winner who entered her book and won in the first year of the competition; therefore displaying a dedication to her field of expertise, to writing and to producing award winning books. The other – was my USB! eBooks were a category for the first time in the awards history. Here was my “book” in tangible, yet digital form, demonstrating how this chapter of publishing is very much in the draft stage and far from being comprehensively written. 

Once the particular category award was announced, and presentation photos taken, I am pleased to say my breathing finally slowed to a normal rate, I had full control of my limbs and regained my ability to speak. I wasn’t anywhere near an office chair, and I did manage to remain upright…and commit to the exciting year ahead.

For 2013, with the first major acknowledgement from my peers, I had planned to really re-invigorate the Child Writes brand with a new website (including an online shop), launch a self-paced correspondence program, train tutors to offer the program in schools and develop a serialized version of the book. 

Fast forward to 2015 and whilst I did create a wonderful website and now have amazing tutors on the ground teaching the Child Writes program, there is still a great deal to do!  Yes, I fulfilled a dream and presented at my most favorite of all writers festivals, Byron Bay Writers Festival; and I have now worked with children all along the eastern seaboard of Australia. 

Sure, I launched the first national Child Writes competition in 2013 and followed up again in 2014.  Oh, and yes, the children’s books I have published (all 350 plus titles) are “flying” with the airline Jetstar as part of the inflight entertainment program and indeed, are available as eBooks from Amazon, making us the largest publishers in the world of children’s books by children. 

Well, the energy, the vim, the enthusiasm all can be traced back to that incredible IPPY moment!  As soon as I came home, I was happily embraced by state media, am still loved and fully supported in my hometown.  I wrangle with social media and now happily do keynote speeches at conferences.  I have a regular radio spot with ABC Southern Queensland talking about my favorite topic – you guessed it – books. 

My own writing journey continues and my next books (yes, plural!) are either ready for launch, at the printer or in development.  I confidently describe myself as a writer, a publisher and a teacher – and if I have a moment of self-doubt – I turn to those photos, that prize and the wonderful gold medal that hangs in front of me on the side of my computer screen…

… And this is just an insight into how heavily I lean on that IPPY award, after all, it genuinely does open doors.


Emma Mactaggart is the Creative Director at Boogie Books, a small press publisher supporting the Child Writes program.  As a passionate literacy and child protection advocate, Child Writes ensures children have a voice using the medium of picture books.  Emma is a writer herself, having written and illustrated two children's picture books (and recently collaborated on another), a prize winning short story, a cookbook and a memoir (as behalf of a friend who was terminally ill) as well as ensuring two anthologies have come to fruition!  She also moonlights  as the co-founder of writers' web, a web based business which supports emerging Australian writers.  If it has words on it, it captures her attention, if is accompanied by an image or an illustration, she is hooked!


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