The IPPY Awards celebrated and honored 300 medalists at this year’s ceremony. As the world’s largest independent book awards, the program sees more than 2,400 publishers compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals every year in 85 categories, 24 regional categories, and 11 e-book categories.

According to Leon Guerrero, winning an IPPY Award has provided UOG Press with the opportunity to not only share the story of Litekyan and Guam’s people, but to build relationships with other publishers. Leon Guerrero and Storie met with other university presses, including Columbia University Press and University of Hawai’i Press.

“There were booksellers and publishers from all over the world and thousands of people celebrating all the books that were published this year,” Leon Guerrero said. “Lina’la’ was actually on display at this book expo as one of the new outstanding titles that had come out this year, and that was also really nice to see.”

The book is a publication of the Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC) and features a collection of photography, educational illustrations, stories, and research about the ancient village of Litekyan (Ritidian) in Northern Guam. The book highlights and traces every period of human life discovered on Guam.