Santa Clarita resident Collin Lee, an experienced copywriter but newcomer to picture books, recently won an IPPY, one of the world’s top independent book awards, for his book “The Efil Brothers.”

The book won the 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards gold medal in the Children’s Picture Books (All Ages) category. It was one of only two gold medalists this year.

“‘The Efil Brothers’ is the story of Felix and Maurice Efil, twin brothers living in Nowhereville,” Lee said. “Everybody knew them, but nobody knew how long they’d been around. Felix owned a small watch shop. Maurice owned the mortuary next door. The timeless story follows an unlikely friendship, a mother’s heartbreaking love and a magical watch shop.”

The story is artfully illustrated by Jiyoung Choi, a college student and Santa Clarita resident.

“I’d been working on ‘The Efil Brothers’ periodically for 20 years,” Lee said. “When I finally found just the right illustrator in Jiyoung, I knew the time had come to finally create the book I had envisioned.”

After publishing it, Lee wanted to find out how it stacked up against other children’s picture books. So two days before the deadline, he submitted “The Efil Brothers” for an IPPY award.

Established in 1996, the Independent Publisher Book Awards, also known as the IPPY Awards, received 5,000 entries for 83 categories in 2017. It is considered by many as one of the highest honors for independent authors and publishers worldwide.

“The Efil Brothers” is available as a hardcover and an ebook at major online booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, eBay Books, Google Books, iBooks, Kindle and Kobo. An exclusive autographed hardcover is also available at the book’s website.

About the Author
In addition to his newly earned status as award-winning author, Collin Lee is a marketing professional with extensive experience in all aspects of marketing and advertising, from traditional advertising to digital experiential marketing. Fluent in both English and Korean, Lee has served as a business liaison between Korean and American companies. His entrepreneurial drive has led him to found an advertising agency, an entertainment company and several marketing consulting businesses. He also speaks regularly at premier events, such as Digital Hollywood, on emerging media technologies. He possesses a rare combination of a scientifically trained analytical mind, thanks to his Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, and a creative mind, shaped by years in the advertising field.