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Sisters! Bonded by Love and Laughter, a collection of humorous and heartwarming essays published by the University of Dayton's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, is one of the year's best indie books.

It was named the best non-fiction book in the category of relationships and emerged as a finalist in the gift book category in the world's largest international awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors.

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards Program recognizes and honors the most exceptional independently published books in 80+ categories for the year, and is presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group in cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency.

Sisters! Bonded by Love and Laughter was published in 2021 by the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, the nation’s preeminent humor writing conference. It features over 50 hilarious (and true) stories from New York Times bestselling authors, Saturday Night Live legends, humor writers, podcasters and other creatives, as well as winners of Nickie’s Prize for Humor Writing, named after a beloved sister and aspiring humor writer who died in 2018 soon after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

"My sister Nickie would be thrilled by this award, especially because it recognizes the special relationship sisters share, expressed by both first-time and experienced humor writers," said Marcia Stewart, a Bay Area writer who co-edited the book with Teri Rizvi, director of the workshop and co-founder of Nickie’s Prize.

Drue Wagner, of Austin, Texas, illustrated and designed the book, which features funny and heartwarming stories about sisters and close friends who are just like sisters.

Available in paperback and on Kindle, Sisters! can be purchased through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop and the University of Dayton's Bookstore. Bookstores and libraries may order it through IngramSpark. The Sisters! Book Club Guide can be downloaded here.

The book’s contributors will sign copies at the Oct. 20-22 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. Proceeds from Sisters! benefit the workshop’s endowment fund, used to keep the event affordable for writers.