The Wastewater Gardener has been getting some attention. . . 

2015 Benjamin Franklin Award—Silver Winner in the category of Home & Garden

The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, which include fifty-five categories recognizing excellence in book editorial and design, are regarded as one of the highest national honors for indie publishers and self-published authors.

The awards are administered by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), with help from over 150 book publishing professionals including librarians, bookstore owners, reviewers, designers, publicity managers, and editors.

2014 Living Now Book Award—Gold Winner in the category of Gardening / Farming / Landscaping 

We’ve all heard the expressions, “This book changed my life!” and “Changing the world, one book at a time.” The Living Now Book Awards are designed to honor those kinds of life-changing books, and to bring increased recognition to the year’s best lifestyle, homestyle, world-improvement and self-improvement books and their creators. We all seek healthier, more fulfilling lives for ourselves and for the planet, and books are very important tools for gaining knowledge about how to achieve these goals for ourselves, our loved ones, and for Planet Earth.

The purpose of the Living Now Book Awards is to celebrate the innovation and creativity of books that enhance the quality of life, from cooking and gardening to spirituality and wellness.

2015 IPPY Award—Gold Winner for Outstanding Book of the Year: “Most Likely to Save the Planet”

The “IPPY” Awards, launched in 1996, are designed to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers. Established as the first awards program open exclusively to independents, over 3,000 “IPPYs” have been awarded to authors and publishers around the world.

For 32 years the mission at Independent Publisher has been to recognize and encourage the work of publishers who exhibit the courage and creativity necessary to take chances, break new ground, and bring about change, not only to the world of publishing, but to our society.

These medalists were chosen from among the regular entries for exemplifying this daring spirit—the book projects that the judges found the most heartfelt, unique, outspoken and experimental among almost 6,000 entries.

Foreword Reviews’ 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award—Silver Winner in the category of Ecology & Environment

Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards are judged by a select group of librarians and booksellers from around the country. Representing hundreds of independent and university presses of all sizes, INDIEFAB winners were selected after months of editorial deliberation with more than 1,500 entries in 63 categories.

From the review:

Nelson uses humor to bring attention to important environmental issues and to detail his unique methods of improving ecosystems.

In tracing the arc of his life in The Wastewater Gardener: Preserving the Planet One Flush at a Time, Mark Nelson provides an informative, entertaining look at his work designing treatment systems for human excrement and toxic waste in many of the world’s climates and regions.

The author has decades of experience as an environmental consultant and is a leading expert on constructed wetlands and other alternative sewage systems. His beautiful and functional wastewater gardens are found in some of the world’s toniest ecotourist centers and in some of its poorest communities.

—Foreword Review

Winner of the 2015 Southwest Book Design and Production Award for Best Cover and Jacket Design

The playful and visually engaging cover of The Wastewater Gardener caught the attention of the New Mexico Book Association. In their Fifth Annual NMBA Southwest Book Design Awards Competition, The Wastewater Gardener was one of the winning recipients for its striking cover. The awards were announced and presented on June 17 at the NMBA Gala and Membership Meeting. This is the sixth year that these coveted recognitions have been awarded to the publishers and creators of a few outstanding books produced during the past several months. The New Mexico Book Association is a not-for-profit organization and is pleased to offer this award program for New Mexico’s authors and publishers as well as to those in surrounding states.

Finalist for the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the category of Science/Nature/Environment

Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the largest Not-for-Profit book awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. In its eighth year of operation, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in over 70 different categories, for the year, and is presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group

For more information about Wastewater Garden Projects around the world, click here.

To see what all the buzz is about, pick up your own copy of award-winning The Wastewater Gardener: Preserving the Planet One Flush at a Time