Milwaukee, WI — December 2025 — Shelf Unbound, a long-standing champion of independent and small-press publishing, today announced the winners of its 2025 Best Indie Book Competition, highlighting some of the strongest voices, boldest stories, and most accomplished works in today’s indie literary landscape.
Selected from hundreds of submissions across fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, and genre categories, the awards showcase the diversity, craft, and innovation thriving outside traditional publishing.
2025 Overall Winner: Water Finds a Way by Meghan Perry
This year’s top honor goes to Water Finds a Way by Meghan Perry, a powerful debut novel that has already garnered national recognition, including an IPPY Silver Medal, honors from Foreword INDIES, the Eric Hoffer Award, and the National Indie Excellence Awards.
The story follows Blake Alvares, a woman returning to the Maine coast after leaving prison, navigating a fractured past while forging new—and sometimes fragile—connections in a community fighting its own battles. Judges praised the book for its “cinematic atmosphere,” “emotional clarity,” and “striking sense of place.”
Perry describes the book’s emotional core through the natural world: “There is nothing on earth more powerful than water. But within us are forces just as strong—guilt, fear, regret, and love—sculpting us, wearing us smooth or ragged.” This theme, woven throughout the novel, helped Water Finds a Way emerge as the clear standout in this year’s competition.
2025 Finalists
Shelf Unbound is proud to recognize the following finalists for their craft, originality, and contribution to the indie literary community:
- The Last Whaler by Cynthia Reeves
- Never Dull! by Heather Sharp
- The Silver Squad by Marty Essen
- Running As Fast As I Can by John David Graham
- Relentless by Michael Maloof
Top 100 Notable Books
This year’s judging panel also selected more than 100 Notable Books, representing exceptional work across a range of categories. The full list is available on the Shelf Unbound website.
A Trusted Platform for Independent Authors
The Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition—now one of the most recognized indie book awards—has highlighted outstanding independent authors for more than a decade. Past winners have gone on to secure national awards, foreign rights deals, expanded readership, and enhanced visibility across bookseller, library, and media channels.
“Independent publishing continues to push the boundaries of storytelling,” said Sarah Kloth, Editor of Shelf Unbound. “This year’s winners reminded us why indie authors are vital to the literary landscape—fearless, inventive, and deeply connected to their readers.”
All honorees—including the winner, finalists, and Notable 100—will be featured in the December/January issue of Shelf Unbound Magazine, reaching tens of thousands of readers, librarians, booksellers, and industry professionals.
About Shelf Media Group
Shelf Media Group publishes Shelf Unbound, an award-winning digital magazine dedicated to the best of independent publishing. Through its flagship Best Indie Book Competition, monthly issues, interviews, and features, Shelf Media Group has spent more than a decade elevating indie authors, small presses, and emerging voices around the world.
Media Contact
Sarah Kloth
Editor, Shelf Media Group
1-262-930-5994
Media@shelfmediagroup.com
SOURCE: Shelf Media Group.
Find ALL featured interviews and excerpts in the December/January/February Issue: 2025 Indie Best Award Winners.
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Article originally Published in the December/January/February 2025 Issue “2025 Indie Best Award Winners”