The coveted first place Gold Book of the Year award for 2011 was awarded recently to local author Dot Ryan of Beeville (aka Dorothy Schwartz) for her historical romance novel Corrigans’ Pool.

The Book of the Year awards are conducted annually by prestigious ForeWord Reviews, and winners are picked by the American Library Association (ALA). Winners in multiple categories were named June 23 at ALA’s annual convention at the community center in Anaheim, Calif.

ForeWord Reviews’ Book of the Year Awards program was established to help publishers shine an additional spotlight on their best titles and bring increased attention to librarians and booksellers of the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors. Librarians and booksellers who are on the front lines, working every day with patrons and customers, choose award winners.

ForeWord is the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to books from independent houses.

Dot’s sequel to Corrigans’ Pool, titled No Place for Naked Dowsers (projected publishing date December 2012) finds many of Corrigans’ Pool’s characters transported to Texas during the state’s rowdy reconstruction era.