San Francisco, CA — We are pleased to announce Olivia on the Record has been named a winner in the 22nd annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards. For this year’s competition, over 2,100 entries were submitted in 55 categories.
The INDIES recognize the best books published in 2020 from small, indie, and university presses, as well as self-published authors. You can view all of the winners here.
“Covid-19 changed the world and the INDIES were no exception... We are happy to, with renewed fervor, declare these books the best of the best that we saw.”
— Editor in Chief Michelle Anne Schingler
Other Accolades
Olivia on the Record is the LGBTQ Nonfiction Independent Press Award winner.
Olivia on the Record has been recognized as a finalist for the 2021 Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) in the General Nonfiction category. The GCLS is the leading literary organization for editors, publishers, readers, writers, and supporters who celebrate books about women loving women.
Watch Ginny's moving acceptance speech for the award below! Thank you to the GCLS for providing us this short clip!
Reviews & Events
Ginny Z Berson was featured on the panel, Nevertheless, She Persisted: Sharing Our Herstory of Women's Music at the National Women's Music Festival (NWMF)! Ginny shared her experiences as a pioneer in the early women’s music movement and one of the founders of Olivia records.
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Olivia on the Record has also been reviewed in both Rain and Thunder Magazine as well as the Women's Review of Books.
An excerpt from the Rain and Thunder review by Amy Donohue follows below. The full article can be found in the Spring/Summer 2021 issue 77.
Ginny’s book is filled with her personal stories. She shares the joys, the struggles and controversies, the attacks from within the women’s movement. She also acknowledges her own blind spots.
Olivia on the Record is a guide for how much a small group of women can accomplish, planting the seeds for future feminist institutions.
— Amy Donohue
Find what the Women's Review of Books reviewer Shane Snowdon had to say follows below. The full review is available in the July/August 2021 issue.
"Berson's book is a must-read, a powerful reminder that boomer lesbian feminists grappled with major questions in ways that could be invaluable today."
— Shane Snowdon
About the Award-Winning Book
Ginny Z. Berson, one of Olivia Records' founding members and visionaries, kept copious records during those heady days of building Olivia—days also fraught with contradictions, conflicts, and economic pitfalls. With great honesty, Berson offers her personal take on what those times were like, revisiting the excitement and the hardships of creating a fair and equitable lesbian-feminist business model—one that had no precedent.
In addition, we also have signed copies, the eBook, and the event recording available.
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