The New England Society in the City of New York (NES) has announced that Dead By Dawn, by Paul Doiron, is the winner of one of the 2022 New England Society Book Awards, which recognize books of merit that celebrate New England and its culture.

The NES Book Awards are made in four categories — Art & Photography, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Specialty Title — and are presented annually to authors of books published in the previous 12 months.

“The winning authors were selected from an exciting and diverse array of authors, titles, and subjects,” said a news release.

The winners will be lauded at a special evening at the National Arts Club on September 21, at 6 p.m.

Author Paul Doiron is the former editor in chief of Down East: The Magazine of Maine. A native of Maine, he attended Yale University, where he graduated with a degree in English, and he holds an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College. The Poacher’s Son won the Barry award and the Strand award for Best First Novel, and has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity awards in the same category. 

He lives on a trout stream in Camden with his wife, poet Kristen Lindquist.

“As an experienced outdoorsman and naturalist, he is skilled in fishing, hunting, canoeing, and wilderness survival, and knows the secrets of the Maine woods as well as his protagonist, Mike Bowditch” said the release.

In Dead By Dawn, Mike Bowditch is fighting for his life. After being ambushed on a dark winter road, his Jeep crashes into a frozen river. Trapped beneath the ice in the middle of nowhere, having lost his gun and any way to signal for help, Mike fights his way to the surface. But surviving the crash is only the first challenge. Whoever set the trap that ran him off the road is still out there, and they’re coming for him. As Mike faces a nightlong battle to stay alive, he must dissect the hours leading up to the ambush and solve two riddles: which one of these people desperately wants him dead, and what has he done to incur their wrath?

Visit Doiron’s website at http://www.pauldoiron.com/

The September 21 event is open to the public, offering all NES members and literary enthusiasts a chance to mingle with winners and jury members who evaluated this year’s submissions. This year’s event will be held at New York’s venerable National Arts Club from 6-8 pm and include a panel discussion with the winning authors, book signings, and the awards ceremony.

ABOUT THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: Founded in 1805, The New England Society in the City of New York (NES), is one of the oldest social, charitable, and cultural organizations in the United States. For more than 100 years, prominent writers such as Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louis Auchincloss, William F. Buckley, Jr., David McCullough, and Dominick Dunne have been honored by NES. The New England Society Book Awards carry on these literary connections and recognize books of merit that celebrate New England and its culture.