Professional News

From Scholarly Professor to Award-Winning Author, Underwood Takes Home First IPPYs

Photo of "CrimeSong"
"CrimeSong" plunges readers into the riveting true crimes behind 24 Southern murder ballads.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 24, 2017) — And the winner is … Richard H. Underwood! The William L. Matthews Jr. Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law has been announced as a winner of two Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) for his book, "CrimeSong: True Crime Stories From Southern Murder Ballads."

The IPPY Awards, the world's largest international and regional book awards contest, is conducted annually to honor the year's best independently published titles. Out of 5,000 entries, 419 medals were awarded to authors from 43 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces and 15 countries overseas. The IPPY Awards are one of the highest honors for books published by independent publishers.

Professor Underwood received a silver medal for best nonfiction in the southeast region and a bronze medal for nonfiction cover design in the overall national awards.

“My wife and I were very pleased. This was our first venture into the ‘trade,’ and to get two awards on our first book was a bit of a shocker,” Underwood said.

"CrimeSong," a 328-page book which plunges readers into the riveting true crimes behind 24 Southern murder ballads, was published by Shadelandhouse Modern Press LLC last year. The book brings to life a series of stories filled with jump-off-the-page real and memorable characters, shadowy history, courtroom dramas, murders, mayhem and music. It is available for purchase at http://smpbooks.com/.

In addition to the IPPY Awards, Underwood is a finalist in the true crime category for a contest run by Foreword "Indies," another independent publisher’s organization. The results will be released in June. And, keep an eye out for Underwood’s next book, "GasLight Lawyers," which will explore lawyers and criminal trials in the Gilded Age in New York City. The book is set to release later this year.

In the meantime, Underwood hopes to travel to New York City in May for the 21st Annual IPPY Awards ceremony, taking place in conjunction with the BookExpo America convention. He will also travel to Abingdon, Virginia, to discuss "CrimeSong" at the Mountains of Music Festival in June

See the full list of 2017 IPPY Awards winners at www.independentpublisher.com/