"Rowdy" Wins Prestigious Clemens Medal for Chris Madsen

Pittsburgh, PA, August 22, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Author Chris Madsen has added the Clemens Medal to a long list of awards for his debut title, "Rowdy," a true story of a 1916 yacht and the people who graced its decks over several decades including members of New York society, politicians, and the rich and famous.

The yacht was commissioned to Holland Sackett Duell in 1916 and Madsen was able to locate his daughter, Hanny Pierson, who at 93 years of age, flew from the East Coast to the West Coast to board the yacht following a six-year restoration by Madsen. From Hanny, her many descendants, and years of research at libraries, museums, historical societies, Supreme Court cases, newspaper archives, and yacht club records, Madsen was able to piece together an extraordinary story of the family and the yacht.

“The family’s forefathers were amongst the first pilgrims that arrived at Plymouth,” says Madsen. “And Holland’s grandfather was instrumental in the formation in the Republican Party giving powerful speeches to Congress for the abolition of slavery, and in support of the Civil War. Holland was himself a highly decorated World War I hero and powerful attorney, New York Senator, businessman and highly respected sailor.”

“This isn’t a book I would ordinarily read,” says Ron Fritsch, AiA director and reviewer for the Clemens award program. “But once I started reading 'Rowdy', I could not put it down. It is a compelling story. The book is also beautifully produced and makes a wonderful coffee table book. The author has clearly invested a considerable sum on editing as the quality of the work is impeccable. 'Rowdy' is a deserving recipient of the Clemens Medal.”

"Rowdy" is a true life colorful 1920's historical biography full of adventure, love stories and scandals, and becomes the first book to be awarded the Clemens Medal.

An e-version of "Rowdy" is in production. The hard cover complete with accented gold leaf stamping, blind deboss and a woven burgundy book mark ribbon reflects the story within and is available at all major online retailers including Amazon.com.

About the Clemens Award Program

The Clemens Medal is awarded to an author for a book of outstanding literary quality and design. The three elements considered for this award include:

- literary quality of work
- the cover design and to a lesser extent, interior design
- standard of editing

Criteria

The award is open to all independent (self-published) authors, and authors published by a small or academic press.

1. Prerequisite

The nominated title must have won an award - gold, silver or bronze - from one of the award programs recognized for their Honoring Excellence award.

2. Literary Quality

The following elements will be considered when assessing the literary quality of the nominated title. Note: not all of these elements will apply to every genre.

Plot: is the story well-constructed, is author in control of plot and making wise decisions, do events happen within the limits of the theme and genre, is final resolution credible, and does it honor the story.

Style: is the style appropriate to the theme, genre, subject matter, is the dialogue genuine and does it work effectively with the narrative, author's use of literary techniques and contentions, observance of fundamental rules such as Point Of View, accuracy of any factual material, use of language to create atmosphere, settings, characters, actions etc.

Characterization: are characters believable, well-developed, do they interact in a convincing way, is their behavior consistent with their biography and consistent throughout the story, are they revealed to the reader in an effective way through action, inner dialogue, thoughts, reactions and responses to other characters.

3. Design

3.1 Cover Design

Like story and writing style, design is quite subjective. Covers also need to respond to the elements that are relevant to a particular genre. We will be considering the following aspects of cover design:

- a well written, compelling back cover copy (or description for eBook)
- a custom, polished, professional design (no templates)
- the genre or story is evident in the design

3.2 Interior Design

With regard to interior design (print version only), we are not looking for elaborate design when simplicity works just as well. The nominated title will pass this criterion if:

- the print is positioned sensibly on the page
- the page numbering starts at chapter one
- includes a copyright page with relevant content
- includes a title page(s)

4. Editing

The work must be edited to a very high professional standard. We accept that despite endless edits, rewrites and proofreading that some errors do slip through, and this happens with all books not just self-published books. However, such errors should be minor and limited.

About the Clemens Medal

The Clemens Medal is in honor of Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain who started his own publishing company (Charles L. Webster & Company) in 1885 to self-publish his books.

The Clemens Medal recognizes non mainstream authors ie self-published or authors published by a small or academic press who have published a book of outstanding literary quality and design.

About The Association of Independent Authors

The Association of Independent Authors (AiA) is the peak body representing, advancing, promoting and supporting independent (self-published) authors globally. Its membership spans six continents with directors based in the USA, UK, Asia, Australia and South Africa.

The AiA published a comprehensive guide to self-publishing with 80+ articles from experts in their field. Self-Publishing. Publish Your Book and Avoid the Pitfalls with Advice from Leading Experts and Experienced Authors is available exclusively in the Kindle Store.