Wyoming Author Wins National Award

The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) announced that The Pumpkin Eater, a novel by Wyoming author Steven W. Horn, received the 2014 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award in the mystery/suspense category.

The IBPA, the largest not-for-profit trade organization for publishers in the U.S., announced the awards during the May 28 ceremony held in New York City.

The 2014 Benjamin Franklin Award program received nearly 1,300 entries, selected 154 titles as honorees and from honorees selected the best of the best. Contributors to this year's list of honorees also included the 39th U.S. president Jimmy Carter, actor Jim Carrey, musician Art Garfunkel, and author Garrison Keillor.

Earlier in May, The Pumpkin Eater was also recognized as a category finalist in the 2014 Eric Hoffer Award competition. The Eric Hoffer Award was created to promote writers, authors, and independent presses. After a rigorous first round of judging, less than 10 percent of the titles become category finalists.

In its review of the novel, Kirkus Reviews said that "Horn has constructed a truly unsettling mystery backed by in-depth knowledge of science, Colorado bureaucracy and politics, and history." Horn draws upon his background to write a dark, riveting tale.