‘Historic Armenia After 100 Years’ by American Armenian writer Matthew Karanian received the top honor for best independently published history book of 2015 during Benjamin Franklin Book Awards  ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, reported Asbarez Armenian daily newspaper of the US.

This is the first time that a book about Armenia has earned this top award.

Nearly 1,400 titles, all published in 2015, competed for recognition.

‘Historic Armenia After 100 Years’ is the first-ever historical guide to the cultural sites of Western Armenia, and includes 125 color photographs and maps.

Karanian accepted the gold medal during a gala awards ceremony that was attended by more than 250 authors and publishers from throughout the US.

“Armenia is one of the oldest nations in the world that nobody’s ever heard of,” Karanian told the audience during his acceptance speech. “Armenia was almost destroyed in 1915 during the first genocide of the twentieth century. But the nation survived. This book is a celebration of that survival.”

The Independent Book Publishers Association, the largest association of publishers in the US, awarded the prize.