West Virginia University Press’ title A Natural History of the Central Appalachians by Steven L. Stephenson is Foreword Reviews’ IndieFab Book of the Year winner in the category of Ecology and Environment.

Foreword Reviews has just announced the winners of its annual IndieFab Book of the Year Awards for the best indie books of 2013. Representing hundreds of independent and university presses of all sizes, the winners were selected after months of editorial deliberation over more than 1,500 entries in 60 categories. The winners exemplify the best work coming from today’s indie authors and publishers.

Gold, silver, bronze, and honorable mention awards as well as editor’s choice prizes for fiction and nonfiction were determined by a panel of librarians and booksellers and announced at a special program during the American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas on June 27. A Natural History of the Central Appalachians was honored with the gold award in the category of Ecology and Environment.

Foreword Reviews discovers, curates, critiques, and shares reviews and feature articles exclusively on indie-publishing trends. Its quarterly print magazine is distributed across the United States to librarians, booksellers, publishers, and avid readers and is available at most Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and indie bookstores.

A Natural History of the Central Appalachians thoroughly examines the biology and ecology of the plants, animals, and other organisms of this region of eastern North America. With more than 120 images, this text provides an overview of the landscape of this region, including the major changes that have taken place over the past 300 million years; describes the different types of forests and other plant communities currently present in Central Appalachia; and examines living systems ranging from microorganisms and fungi to birds and mammals. Through a consideration of the history of humans in the region, beginning with the arrival of the first Native Americans, A Natural History of the Central Appalachians also discusses the past, present, and future influences of human activity upon this geographic area.

Steve Stephenson has lived, worked, and carried out research throughout the Central Appalachian region for much of his career. He is a research professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas and the author of Myxomycetes: A Handbook of Slime Molds and The Kingdom Fungi: The Biology of Mushrooms, Molds, and Lichens and a coauthor of Macrofungi Associated with Oaks of Eastern North America.

To learn more about this title and WVU Press, visit http://www.wvupress.com.

-WVU-

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