FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 19, 2026

CONTACT | Gary Gleason
970-948-7680 | support@MeetingYourMagnificence.com

ASPEN AUTHORS WIN SECOND PRESTIGIOUS BOOK AWARD IN AS MANY WEEKS

ASPEN, CO – “Meeting Your Magnificence: 111 Ways to Live from Your Higher Self” by Aspen authors Carolyn Golbus and Gary Gleason, has been named Best Inspirational Nonfiction Book 2026 by the New Generation Indie Book Awards. This is the largest international book awards program for indie authors and publishers. 

“Each year the awards highlight outstanding independently published books that might otherwise go unnoticed in a market flooded with millions of new titles,” award organizers said. There will be an award banquet in late July in Chicago with the American Library Association Annual Conference. 

“Meeting Your Magnificence: 111 Ways to Live from your Higher Self” (Brown Books Publishing, 2024) was Golbus’ first book, and was completed just days before she was killed in a freak bicycle accident near her home in Aspen, Colorado. Her widow Gary Gleason, who helped photograph, edit, and produce the book, submitted it for the award. 

On June 17 he learned about the Indie Book Award. On June 2, Gleason received news that the book had received a Nautilus Award in the Gift & Specialty Books category. Nautilus Book Awards honor books that support conscious living, green values, wellness, social justice and spiritual growth.

“It is humbling to win each of these prestigious awards. I recognize that it is a beautiful book and oracle deck, and full of wisdom, but winning an Indie and a Nautilus? That’s like winning at Cannes and Venice,” Gleason said, likening book awards to film festivals. Gleason noted that interest from retailers is markedly higher after the awards. “The third party endorsement is huge for a new author.”

Brown Books Publisher Milli Brown has been a big supporter of the series from the start. “I’ve had the privilege of publishing many award-winning coffee table books, and from my very first conversation with Carolyn I knew this project was destined to be something extraordinary,” Brown said. “Carolyn’s heartfelt spiritual insights, paired with Gary’s breathtaking photography, created a book with all the elements of a true masterpiece. I’m not surprised that it has received such prestigious recognition; this honor simply validates what was evident from the beginning: this is a book that inspires, uplifts, and resonates on many levels. It deserves a place on every coffee table — and in every heart.”

The award-winning book and oracle card deck are available for purchase online as well as at local specialty retailers including True Nature Healing Arts, Carl’s Pharmacy, Sashae Floral, The Emporium, and Pitkin County Dry Goods, Alpenglo Books, White River Books, 4th Dimension, and Colorado Mineral and Gem. 

Gleason continues to work on the series he and Carolyn started together, and recently completed the manuscript to the second book in the series, “Meeting Your Magnificence: 111 Ways to Love Yourself”. It is anticipated for release in fall 2027.

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