NEWS

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Lake Norman author Ann Campanella’s book, "The Shoulder Season: A Memoir of Fracture and Grace," won first place in the 2026 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Memoir (Personal Struggle/Health Issues) category.

“I’m honored to win this award and to hopefully provide a roadmap for others whose lives are upended by difficult situations—whether they be physical, emotional or spiritual,” says Campanella.

Over six years ago, Campanella had a life-changing fall when she accidentally tripped over her golden retriever in the dark and suffered a serious shoulder injury. A long-time horse woman, she faced painful surgeries and a two-year recovery that in the end required her to relinquish her beloved horse farm. Campanella’s memoir details the challenges she faced along the way and how she found grace.

“When a part of your identity is stripped away, if you’re lucky, you learn to reimagine your future,” says Campanella.

Memoirist Judy Goldman says "The Shoulder Season" is “utterly heartbreaking and wonderfully absorbing…As you turn the pages of this life-affirming memoir, you’ll look at your own challenges anew.”

The Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG) named the best Indie books of 2026 in the Next Generation Book Awards, the world’s largest awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors. Winners and finalists will be celebrated at a gala on June 26, 2026, at The Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois, coinciding with the America Library Association Annual Conference.

"The Shoulder Season" is available for sale at Main Street Books in Davidson, Park Road Books in Charlotte, and online.

Campanella, a former magazine and newspaper journalist, is the author of two other award-winning memoirs, "Motherhood: Lost and Found" and "Celiac Mom" and four collections of poetry. A Davidson graduate, she and her husband live in a cottage on Lake Norman. For more information about Ann’s writing see her website.