Drumroll please … introducing my very first (and possibly only, ever) handcrafted book trailer for CHAINED BIRDS: A True Crime Memoir. (Note this book was retitled Chained Birds: A Crimemoir during my summer 2025 re-launch under my own imprint.) This labor of love was requested by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards for their upcoming awards gala, to be held in my hometown of Philadelphia on June 27. I wish to thank the NGIBA staff for making me learn yet another Canva skill 😂
I’ll be attending the invite-only reception for all winners and finalists, and will pick up my First Place award in the True Crime category. This book trailer and others will appear during the three-hour event, and will also be added to NGIBAs YouTube Channel as another terrific promotional effort.
I’ll be bringing two beloved book characters with me to the awards reception: my husband, who is my rock and number-one fan; and my English-teacher mother, without whom Chained Birds would have too many commas and not be properly titled.
I’m so grateful to the program coordinators for naming Chained Birds a True Crime winner and for hosting the gala in my hometown this year! Party’s on in Philly in just a few weeks 🎉 🥂🏅
Carla Conti is an award-winning true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate. Her debut book, Chained Birds: A Crimemoir, won multiple 2025 national book awards, including 1st Place in True Crime from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Winner in True Crime from the Indie Reader Discovery Awards, Silver in True Crime from the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY), and a 1st Place Nellie Bly Journalism award from the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Carla lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, who tolerates her true crime habit.
