Honoured to see my The Music Thief win this award! Grateful to the people I’ve worked with on the book, especially Pearl Bates, my fabulous illustrator!
Kelowna, BC, Canada — The INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD, one of the most prestigious book award programs globally for independent authors, publishers, and illustrators, recognized The Music Thief by Sophie Armstrong as the Childrens: Fiction category winner.
The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected IPA Award Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.
“Then, one starry night through a sky full of stars, The sound of music drifted afar…”
The sound of music lights up the enchanting city of Song, filling the air with the joy of each girl and boy. But when a witch named Mysantha hears the beautiful tunes, she steals every instrument and song, just like when her music was stolen when she was young.
Despite being silenced by Mysantha-the music thief-a young girl named Faith refuses to give up her love of music. Upon finding a wooden violin, Faith inspires the townspeople to make their own instruments, and they drummed, danced, and sang. In the end, music was discovered where it had always been.
Told through vibrant illustrations and captivating rhymes, this melodious children’s book beautifully reflects its musical themes. Whether you have a passion for music or another art form, The Music Thief will heal, inspire, and empower children to express themselves.
In 2025, the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD saw participation from journalists, well established authors, and small, medium and large publishers across the globe, including those residing in Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Winners were chosen from publishers such as Amplify Publishing Group, Black Rose Writing, Blackstone Publishing, BookBaby, Calumet Editions, Globe Pequot, Finishing Line Press, Gatekeepers Press, Hachette Go (Blanco of Grand Central Publishing), HarperCollins Leadership, Ideapress Publishing, IVP Kids, Koehler Books, Mad Cave Studios, North Dakota State University Press, Oceanview, Publishing Old Stone Press, Pegasus Books, Post Hill Press, Red T Kid’s Media, Rowman & Littlefield, She Writes Press, University of California Press, and University of Georgia Press.
“The 2025 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD awardees included the excellence and diversity of global independent publishing,” said Gabrielle Olczak, IPA President and Award Sponsor. “There is no stopping independent publishing. It provides unparalleled content and quality to consumers worldwide and we are excited to showcase this year’s honorees to the world.”
For more information please visit independentpressaward.com; and to see this year’s list of IPA
Winners, please visit: https://www.independentpressaward.com/2025winners
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