Fifteen iUniverse Authors Finalists for Foreword Magazine's 2003 Book of the Year Award

Lincoln, Neb. - May 17, 2004 - iUniverse is pleased to announce that fifteen titles published in 2003 are finalists in various categories in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards. The awards were created to bring increased attention from librarians and booksellers to recognize the literary achievements of independent publishers and their authors. A jury of librarians, booksellers and reviewers judge the categories and select finalists based on editorial excellence, professional production, originality and the value the book adds to its genre.

"The number of iUniverse books that qualified as finalists in the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards validates the personal and professional dedication our authors have to their craft," says iUniverse President and CEO Susan Driscoll. "Considering the thousands of authors that enter the contest, it is quite a coup to be nominated as a finalist."

iUniverse Finalists for ForeWord Magazine's 2003 Book of the Year Award include:

• Dale Alderman, Being A Dad, Humor Category, Chantilly, VA
• Amapola, Coming Home, Fiction Romance Category, Monticello, FL
• Julie Donner Andersen, Past: Perfect! Present: Tense!, Self Help Category, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
• Deborah Harrell, Pinto's Hope, Juvenile Fiction Category, Clemmons, NC
• Karen Kelly Boyce, According to Thy Word, Fiction Religious Category, Jackson, NJ
• Ray Derby, Bradley's Ghost, Fiction Mystery Category, Winchester, VA
• James Ferguson, Context Clues, Humor Category, North Hollywood, CA
• John Hartnett, Always Faithful, Autobiography/Memoir Category, Minneapolis, MN
• Bala Kumar, Run Against Media Violence, Parenting Category, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
• Dr. S.L. Meinberg, The Bogeyman, True Crime Category, Long Beach, CA
• Ellis Shuman, The Virtual Kibbutz, Fiction Short Stories Category, C.N. Harei Yehuda, Israel
• Barry Silverstein, The Doomsday Virus, Fiction General Category, Acton, MA
• Patrick Tan, Success with Online Retailing, Business & Economics Category, Singapore
• Victoria Wasserman, Damage Control, Fiction Mystery Category, Pittsford, NY
• John Winsor, Breaking the Sound Barrier, Music Category, Virginia Beach, VA

"When I originally began submitting Context Clues to agents and publishers, I kept getting the same response: 'This isn't funny-pass.' I continued to believe in the quality of my book, but I just needed to funnel it to the right audience," says author James Ferguson. "Thankfully, iUniverse allowed me to do just that. And now Context Clues has been named a finalist in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards—in the humor category!"

The awards ceremony at Book Expo America will be on Friday, June 4th at 3:00 p.m. This will include the announcement of the top three in each category as well as the overall fiction and overall nonfiction winners. For more information on the finalists and winners of the 2003 Book of the Year Award, or for more instruction on how to qualify for next year, visit http://www.forewordmagazine.net/.

About iUniverse, Inc.

iUniverse helps individuals publish, market, and sell fiction and non-fiction books. The company is one of the largest publishers in the United States and publishes more than 5,000 new titles per year. iUniverse partners with industry leading author organizations, including the Authors Guild and ASJA, to bring innovative publishing programs to their members. The company's major investors include Warburg Pincus and Barnes & Noble.