Book about saving the eagle wins indie publishing award

SEQUIM – Eddie and Elliott, the Dungeness eaglets, are still in the spotlight five years after they fell from the nest.

Their journey, photographed and documented by photographer Keith Ross in his book “The Rescue of Eddie & Elliott – A Bald Eaglet Adventure,” won two awards at the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group’s 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Ross won the award for best gift book and was a finalist in the children’s/young adult nonfiction category.

“I’m really happy with everything,” Ross said about the awards and the outcome of his book.

He and dozens of other finalists and winners will be honored for the 17th annual awards on June 28 in San Diego. The awards ceremony is expected to be live-streamed at 5 p.m. on facebook.com/NextGenerationIndieBookAwards.

Ross self-published “The Rescue of Eddie & Elliott” last summer and is selling it only as a bundle containing a print copy of the book and two plush eagles through his website, keithsframeofmind.com, and several local stores.

Ross gave the baby eagles the nickname after taking photos of them in May 2019 and wrote the book to capture Elliott’s perspective after he fell out of a tree, was taken to the vet and was returned to the tree.

He also included facts about bald eagles written by Shelly Ament, a wildlife biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

It is assumed that the eagles grew up and left the nest, but they were not tracked, he said in an earlier interview.

Ross’ book has been reviewed by leading figures in the independent book publishing industry, according to a press release, and all 80-plus books will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of the Allen Literary Agency or one of her co-agents for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights and other rights.

He also won a cash prize for his “gift” book award.

Ross said he hopes the awards will help him continue to gain a foothold across the country and internationally.

“It’s a real challenge for the market,” he said.

“Many people have told me that if you buy this book and put the eagle chicks on the coffee table, everyone will pick them up… It’s about making it accessible to more people.”

Self-publishing

More than half of the 4 million new books published in 2022 were self-published, according to the book prize’s press release.

Book publishers like Ross are independent of large corporations and also include small publishers, larger independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and other authors who self-publish their books.

Ross was recommended to submit The Rescue of Eddie & Elliott for the book award by Melissa Coffman, his book’s project manager at Book House Publishing in Bellingham. He also entered the animals/pets category.

His photos were first used by Scholastic for its national school newspaper, Scholastic News, and then picked up by websites such as The Dodo and Bored Panda.

Ross said he considered publishing the book through major distributors, but his vision was clear: to bring the book and the stuffed birds together as an experience.

“I stick to my opinion on that,” he said. “I have a vision of someone reading a story to their children while holding the stuffed animals in their hand or having them on a shelf.”

He said he knew that simply selling the book or even digitizing it could lead to higher revenues, but “my vision is more important to me.”

“It’s a very atmospheric, positive story with good educational content,” Ross said.

Sales

Ross shipped the book across the country, especially after Seattle Refined reported on it last December, he said.

Locally, the book and plush eagles are available at Dungeness Kids Co., Dungeness River Nature Center and Mountainside Mail in Sequim, Wild Birds Unlimited in Gardiner, Olympic Stationers in Port Angeles and Village Books in Bellingham.

A new way for Ross to tell the story is to speak to groups and classes. The most recent event was in Nancy LeBlanc’s class at Franklin Elementary in Port Angeles. He showed slide shows and the students guessed the names of birds.

In the fall, Ross will speak at a school in Republic in northeast Washington, and this year he is planning events with the Sequim Library and the Dungeness River Nature Center.

Since moving into the part-time field of commercial fuel sales in 2021, Ross and his wife Kryz, also a photographer, offer a range of services including printing and framing, portraits and senior photos, event and product photography, custom furniture, photography lessons and tours, photo editing tutorials, photo restoration and more.

They also serve as photographers at the Sequim Irrigation Festival and volunteer at other special events.

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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which includes Sound Publishing’s Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached at [email protected].