The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

membership organization serving the

independent publishing Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

community through advocacy and education. With nearly 3,000 members, IBPA is the largest

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. IBPA programs and publications include the Benjamin Franklin Awards, Publishing University, and the monthly ''Independent'' Magazine. IBPA was founded in 1983 as the Publishers Association of Southern California (PASCAL). It later became the Publishers Marketing Association (PMA). It adopted its present name in 2008.

Benjamin Franklin Awards

The Benjamin Franklin Awards honor independent publishers and

self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...

authors An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

for excellence in book editorial and design. Prizes are given in a number of categories. IBPA members, as well as librarians, reviewers, editors and bookstore owners choose the winners and provide feedback to the authors about their books.

Publishing University

IBPA's Publishing University is a two-day networking and educational event. Hosted annually, the program includes

learning lab Learning Lab (LL) is a research methodology developed in 2011 by Aydin Bal that provides research-based guidelines for local stakeholders to develop productive family-school-community partnerships and design behavioral support systems that are c ...

s and a book-award ceremony.

Independent Industry Standards

In March 2017, the IBPA Advocacy Committee published an Industry Standards Checklist for a Professionally Published Book. The purpose of the checklist is to give independent publishers an at-a-glance gauge of the professional presentation of any book in order to help level the playing field between indie publishers and large-scale conglomerates.

References

External links

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Benjamin Frankin Awards

List of Benjamin Franklin Award winners
1983 establishments in California Arts and media trade groups Trade associations based in the United States Publishing-related professional associations Organizations established in 1983 {{business-org-stub