EPIC is for Authors

With the popularity of Kindle and the iPad, more readers seem to be hopping on the e-book bandwagon. I now have my newest book, Follow the Dream, on Kindle, so I’ve officially entered the “big time” of e-publishing. I was also recently was given the honor of winning an EPIC award for my first novel, Cowgirl Dreams. The first question I usually get is, “What is EPIC?”

EPIC, the Electronic Publishing Internet Coalition, is a professional organization for published and contracted e-book and print authors. It was established in 1997 to provide a strong voice for electronic publishing.

Even though E-Publishing is a relatively new venue in the big picture of publishing, many readers, writers, and traditionally published authors believe this is one of the major marketplaces of the future. EPIC was designed to help professional writers learn more about the best publishing opportunities on the Internet and to provide networking opportunities for information about promotion and market growth.

The award contest (formerly known as the EPPIE) was established in 2000, the year of the first national conference, and now includes 30 categories, from poetry, non-fiction and anthologies to fiction, which includes children’s and YA, fantasy & sci-fi, and erotica. It also promotes a book-cover design contest, the Ariana Awards, which my publisher, Lee Emory of Treble Heart Books, won in 2009.

The organization of more than 700 members distributes 5,000 brochures at 21 separate book fairs, conferences, and writers' workshops, and promotes the Award finalists through an ad in PW Daily and press releases for the winners in their hometowns.

EPIC’s website includes blogs, columns and articles such as the Author’s Role, Effective Websites, Publicity Ideas, Resources and Links, and How-to Guides.


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A native Montanan, Heidi M. Thomas now lives in Northwest Washington. Her novels, Cowgirl Dreams, and the just-released sequel, Follow the Dream, are based on her grandmother. Heidi has a degree in journalism, a certificate in fiction writing, and is a member of Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She teaches writing and edits, blogs, and is working on the next books in her “Dare to Dream” series.