2025 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards Finalist

It is with great pleasure that I announce The Maniac with No Knees has been named a finalist for the 2025 IAN Book of the Year Awards in the Grief / Hardship category.

This is a meaningful achievement for my first published book, adding credibility and third-party validation to the leap of faith I took in writing it, which was not easy considering the stigma attached to mental illness and the professional and personal repercussions that come with becoming a public “maniac”.

It is hard to imagine, three years ago when I was institutionalized, that I would someday soon become an award-winning author, and it is my hope that others in the bipolar and mentally ill community will come forward with their own story of struggle and resilience, in order to keep hacking away at the stigma that restrains us.

https://www.independentauthornetwork.com/2025-botya-winners.html