UC law professor wins prestigious 'Best Book' award at national conference

University of Cincinnati College of Law Professor Mark Godsey's book, “Blind Injustice:  A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions” has been awarded "Book of the Year" for 2019 in the university press category by Digital Book World (DBW) at its annual conference for the global publishing industry held Sept. 10-12 in Nashville, TN.

DBW brings together the innovators, experts and newsmakers of the publishing industry, including large and small publishers, traditional and untraditional publishers and tech compnies that serve them.

This most recent award was based on the paperback version of the book, which was released this year making it eligible for the 2019 award.

The "Book of the Year" award is not the first accolade for Godsey's book.  Since the release of the hardback in 2017, Blind Injustice has been an Amazon bestseller, and has received strong reviews from The Economist, The Nation, Salon, Time, The New York Review of Books, and Daily Kos among others, and landed on multiple "book of the year" lists.

Blind Injustice also inspired an opera, named after the book, which the world-renowned Cincinnati Opera premiered July 22.  The opera, written by David Cote and composed by Scott Davenport Richards, received rave reviews from the opera industry and publications across the country, including the Wall Street Journal.  Reviewers hailed it as a "masterpiece" and "a pinnacle of modern opera."   

Godsey served as the key consultant on the project.  Emmy-nominated filmmaker Kelly Nyks and Emmy-winning producer Stacey Reis are working on a documentary version of the book. Cincinnati Opera is exploring the possibility of a commercial recording derived from the performances and is in active conversation with other opera companies about future productions.

Maura Roessner, senior editor of the University of California Press, which published Blind Injustice, noted the significance of the Digital Book World award.  "To be singled out as the best university press book among the thousands published every year reflects my own feelings that Blind Injustice is one of the most important and impactful books I have signed in my 20 years in the publishing industry." 

Digital Book World (university press category): Best Book Award

The Economist: The problem with prisons in America

The Nation: Why does our justice system fight so hard to keep innocent people behind bars

Salon: Mark Godsey is an American superhero: he gets innocent people out of prison

The New York Review of Books: Wrongfully Convicted

Daily Kos: Seven Questions for Mark Godsey, Author of Blind Injustice

"Blind Injustice," an innovative opera drawing on the lives of six people freed through the work of the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, premiered July 22 at the world-renowned Cincinnati Opera to national acclaim. The event was recognized by many in the Wall Street Journal and NPR, local media and the opera world.

Check out this story about the coverage: Blind Injustice premiers to national acclaim