Charles Rawlings, MD, JD; Leah Perez; Morgan Rawlings Receive National Recognition Through the NYC Big Book Award®!

WINSTON SALEM, NC, UNITED STATES, September 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The NYC Big Book Award recognized Izzy, An Octopus Tale by Charles Rawlings, MD, JD; Leah Perez; Morgan Rawlings as the winner of Childrens Educational category.

The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, designers, booksellers, librarians and professional copywriters. Winners and distinguished favorites are based on overall excellence.

Published by Peppertree Press, this 44-page illustrated book blends imaginative storytelling with real-world marine biology. The book sets up a framed narrative about how the octopus species first arrived on Earth. The story begins with a dying planet light-years away and hundreds of millions of years in the past. It is a story of an intelligent creature that is driven from their home by catastrophic natural events and forced to find a new home on an alien world. This alien world is actually our home - Earth. The intelligent creature is the octopus. Octopuses have 9 brains, 3 hearts, blue blood, use tools, dream, and can squeeze through a hole no larger than their eye. Illustrated in color and real octopus photos.
NYC Big Book Award received book submissions worldwide. Entrepreneurs, Film & Television writers, Historians, and Journalists, from well established to first time indie authors and presses participated.

Entries this year were received from the United States as well as countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Dubai, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea United, Sweden, Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Cities represented among the entries were Auckland, Baltimore, Dallas, Frankfurt, Hollywood, Johannesburg, Manhattan Beach, New Orleans, NYC, Philadelphia, Sydney, and West Palm Beach.

Publishers included Beacon Press, Berrett-Koehler, Casemate, Edinburgh University Press, Forbes Books, Kiplinger Books, NYU Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Rizzoli, Routledge, The White House Historical Association, University of California Press, University of Nebraska Press, Weaving Influence Press, and Wiley.

We have an amazing list of authors from around the globe participating this year, said awards sponsor Gabby Olczak. I’m so excited to share these books with a worldwide readership!

To view the list of NYC Big Book winners and distinguished favorites, visit: https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/.

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About the Author: Dr. Charles E. Rawlings, MD, JD

Dr. Charles E. Rawlings is an author, board-certified neurosurgeon, practicing attorney, and photojournalist whose work spans non-fiction, legal-medical literature, and marine science. Holding a Doctor of Medicine from Duke University and a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University, Dr. Rawlings integrates analytical rigors from both medicine and law into his writing.

Relationship Dynamics & His non-fiction work includes It Really Is That Complicated, a book examining the psychological, social, and practical intricacies of romantic relationships through a grounded, analytical lens. In the legal and medical science field, Rawlings has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles and professional publications covering complex neurosurgical cases, medical malpractice, healthcare ethics, and expert witness standards. His underwater photojournalism has earned him numerous awards. An avid scuba diver and marine photographer, Rawlings has authored dozens of photo-essays on ocean life, with his underwater photography appearing on over a dozen magazine covers, including American Conchologist.

Dr. Rawlings’ career reflects a synthesis of science, advocacy, and creative observation, delivering insights across both specialized professional journals and broad-audience non-fiction.

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About the Award
NYC Big Book Award, https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/, is announced every fall. NYC Big Book Award is open to all authors, publishers, and illustrators, and includes submissions from the big five publishers. Join us for the Awards Dinner on April 10th, https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/awardsdinner, held at the BookCAMP event, April 9-10, 2027, https://www.ipabookcamp.com, where recipients from both programs will walk on stage to receive their awards.

Gabby Olczak
NYC Big Book Award
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