Every year, the National Indie Excellence Awards select only the best books by independent authors, small presses, and university publishers.  This year, one of those awards went to Transcendence, a novel by retired SPC instructor Gabriel Horn and Amy Krout-Horn.  Since its publication in 2009, Transcendence has received warm reviews from many readers and experts, including Dr. Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, who said that the book is “rendered in language so beautiful  that it fills up the empty spaces in our collective souls.”

The National Indie Excellence Awards are to books what the Sundance Film Festival is to movies, according to one literary agent.  Authors and publishers compete for the title from all over the world in a variety of categories.  Transcendence, a magical realism novel about spiritual transformation and enlightenment, took top honors in the category of Visionary Fiction.

Professor Horn used Transcendence in his Literature classes at the Gibbs campus, where he also mentored students in Creative Writing.  Over the course of his career, he has taught writing at colleges and high schools across the country, lectured on Native American history, has published multiple books for children and adults, and has worked as a Native American activist.  A book in which he was featured, The American Eagle, was selected by President George Bush, Sr. as a national Gift-of-State and presented to the Queen of England.  He has presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and another book, The Book of Ceremonies is featured at National Museum of the American Indian.

Now retired, Gabriel Horn is remembered fondly by SPC students and staff.  “He read to us,” said one student of his Literature class.  “It made the lessons feel very communal and got you into what literature is about.”  Evelyn Finklea, Program Director of the Language Arts at the Gibbs Campus said, “Gabe Horn is truly a national treasure and the students at St. Petersburg College were fortunate to have had him as an instructor.”

Sandbox News wishes to extend our congratulations to the authors of this book, and to St. Petersburg College who bring such accomplished, creative individuals to the students.  Pick up a copy of Transcendence at your local bookstore or order it online from Powells.  For ebook lovers, the novel is also available as a Kindle or epub.