Hogan's Hope Receives Benjamin Franklin Silver

IBPA Announces Finalists in the

31st Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award™ Program

2019 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards #uPub2019

(Manhattan Beach, CA – April 6, 2019) -- The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) – www.ibpa-online.org – officially announced finalists in its prestigious IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™ program, recognizing excellence and innovation in independent publishing.

Connie Bombaci, Killingworth author of Hogan’s Hope: A Deaf Dog, A Courageous Journey, and A Christian’s Faith received the Silver in the category of Inspiration. All finalists were recognized during an awards ceremony on April 5, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois where silver and gold recipients received their award in each of fifty-four categories.

Connie Bombaci was also the recipient of a full scholarship to this year’s IBPA Publishing University. Additionally, for two years in a row, different editions of her book both won the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award, which is quite a distinction.

The full list of finalists in all fifty-four categories is available at the IBPA WEBSITE. Over 1500 entrants were judged in this year's award program.

Hogan’s Hope is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and local bookstores.

"The mission of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™ is simple: to recognize excellence and innovation in independent publishing," said IBPA CEO Angela Bole. "Unlike many other award programs, the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™ demand both editorial and design excellence and entrants are judged independently on both."

This year, over 160 librarians, booksellers, and design and editorial experts – most of whom have decades of book industry experience – judged the books submitted to the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award™ program. The judging process took seven months, beginning in September 2018 and continuing into March 2019. At the end of the process, over 1,500 unique entrants will receive a written critique from each of the three judges who reviewed their book. The critiques include constructive feedback to help each publisher understand how their book is being perceived by industry professionals, upholding part of IBPA’s mission to serve the independent publishing community through education.

This level of detail has helped the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award™ program remain one of the highest national honors for independent publishers for over 30 years. "When our awards program started,” said IBPA COO Terry Nathan, "we were one of the only ones around. Since then, many other programs have come and gone, but we are proud that our awards continue to do what they did when IBPA started, and that is to help our members improve their publishing programs."

IBPA members and friends were invited to help celebrate the finalists during the April 5, 2019 awards ceremony, a gala dinner programmed at the end of the first day of IBPA Publishing University. Both the ceremony and the conference took place at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Illinois.

"I am truly honored to receive this outstanding award. Hogan’s legacy provided the inspiration to hope no matter what the challenge. IBPA’s recognition and spirit help support the mission of spreading his message that all God’s creatures are worthy of love and acceptance.”

The Teachings of our Animals

"A righteous man takes care of the needs of his animals." Proverbs 12:10

"Just ask the animals, and they will teach you." Job 12:7

This past week has been an astounding and remarkable journey through the pages of Hogan's Hope during which I was blessed to have had the amazing opportunities to talk with wonderful people who love their animals. We came together in different ways, as different individuals, but joined in our belief to accept any of these differences with love.

My first adventure was the beginning of a week-long book club discussion with the members of 2 Traveling Dogs Fans! Laurie Duperier, the author of The Endless Path, is the group's book club facilitator who approached me back in March. What a humbling honor to discuss my book, Hogan's Hope! Each day we focused on different topics that emanated from the pages of the book.

On the opening day of this very special time, for instance, I posted a video of Judea and me walking down our long, dirt driveway and thanking everyone for deciding to share in Hogan’s courageous journey and his message of hope. Fans were invited to share their thoughts on how their own dogs might be hoping for something or what their precious four-legged family members have taught them. Every day was filled with revealing feelings, ideas, and revelations. A couple of the members candidly admitted that they had never thought of their dogs hoping for anything. What a grand time of learning so much of what our non-verbal family members have and can actually teach us.

Hogan was an amazing gift, and as the years passed, it became clear that I was to write his book, Hogan's Hope, to share the story of a deaf, eighteen-month-old puppy who was rescued from severe neglect, adopted into a forever home, and went on to learn, grow, and demonstrate how extremely successful a "handicapped" dog can be in living a perfectly normal life.  Hogan learned over seventy words in American Sign Language, agility, flyball, tracking, lure coursing, and even became a certified therapy dog.  He appeared on television shows and showed the world how wonderful deaf dogs can be as family members. Over the course of his lifetime, Hogan taught me how to hope.  Many people doubt me. Many folks ask me, “How can a dog, and a deaf one at that, teach you to hope?”

Thought: Do you believe that a dog can teach us how to hope? What are your thoughts on that? Would you share with us some examples of what your dog has taught you?

Each day became better than the one before, and Coco, the parrot, even joined us for some input! Judea and I (with the help of Jim, our wonderful papa and husband) posted a video to open the day's topic and discussion.  I was extremely rewarded with great friendship, powerful feelings, and increased hope.

THEN.... off to do a radio interview at iCRV radio, (www.iCRVRadio.com), with Kate, Gwen, and LRB for The Library Chat. What a fantastic program with three dynamic and talented women who produce a show that is filled with great information, warm feelings, and thought-provoking ideas and comments. 

Kate Branstetter, Connie Bombaci, Judea, and Gwen Pond

We spent a half hour talking about Hogan's Hope, deaf dogs, animals in general, and how each non-human family member is so important to our lives.

But... our week had yet another outstanding opportunity to participate in our very first podcast with Sean Farjadi and his Stories that Empower. Sean's purpose, in his words, 

"First, each of us has a story to tell.  Throughout our lives, from childhood to adulthood, we are drawn to stories.  It’s what connects us... 'stories link lives'.

Second, we’ve all experienced setbacks and challenges.  Loss of a job, loss of identity, loss of a loved one, etc …  I want people to know they are not alone and that there is hope/light.  It brings me so much joy, if/when I’m able to ‘lift up’ someone or empower them.  My goal is to provide a service that brings inspiration, hope, and empowerment through the power of stories."

I was again able to share that Hogan taught me how to hope and why animals have touched my life in such powerful and positive ways.

Enjoy your week, dear followers. Our lives have great and wonderful stories to share. Share, share, and share some more. God bless!