I just got the wonderful news that Chained Birds: A True-Crime Memoir captured the Silver Medal in the True Crime category of the 2025 Independent Publisher Book Awards, aka the IPPY awards! π This is the second true crime book award for Chained Birds this month πππ
I’d like to congratulate all the IPPY winners in the contest’s 100+ categories, especially my fellow True Crime medalists. All winners are listed on an IPPY shared Google document and will be posted to the IPPY Awards website soon. This is how the True Crime category looks:
π₯ GOLD: Girl, Uncoded: A Memoir of Passion, Betrayal, and Eventual Blessing by Brandi Dredge (She Writes Press)
π₯ SILVER: Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir by Carla Conti (WildBlue Press)
π₯ BRONZE: The Devil in My Friend by Ivor Davis and Sally Ogle Davis (Rowman & Littlefield)
Fun fact: Author Brandi Dredge and I have essentially swapped book awards this season, as her book Girl, Uncoded was a True Crime finalist in the 2025 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, while Chained Birds tied for first place … I think it’s safe to say true crime memoirs are having a moment π
I’m particularly jazzed about winning an IPPY because this contest is the longest-running book awards program open exclusively to independent presses. What was then called Small Press launched in 1996 with a mission to champion small/university presses and independently published books because all the major awards and “best of the year” lists were dominated by big-name titles. The IPPYs were created to fill that gap, and they’ve been recognizing and promoting indie books ever since.
As an IPPY winner, I’ll be getting some nice bling, including a shiny silver medal, a certificate, and foil seals. Chained Birds will also get a year of promotion on the IPPY Award website and social media channels β a marketing perk for added recognition among readers and the publishing community.
Thank you, IPPY judges and organizers, for honoring Chained Birds with a True Crime book award! π π₯Ή
Carla Conti is a true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate. Her debut book, Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir of Justice, Survival and Redemption Behind Bars, is out now with WildBlue Press.
