Bluffton writer Andr'e Swartley's second novel, Americanus Rex, has been named a finalist in the General Fiction/Novel Category of the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The yearly contest is open to all English-language books published in the previous calendar year by independent writers and publishers anywhere in the world. Grand Prize winners will be announced later this month.

Swartley and his book will appear in the printed Indie Book Awards Catalog and on their website for a full year. The top 60 books from all categories will be reviewed by Marilyn Allen of Allen O'Shea Literary Agency in New York. Cash prizes are also awarded to eight Grand Prize winners in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Design.

Americanus Rex was published in September 2009 as the premiere title for Swartley's publishing company, Workplay Publishing. The story begins with the clich'e of a beauty pageant contestant wishing for world peace, and explores what might have to happen in our current global culture to make that wish to come true.

Swartley co-founded Workplay Publishing in 2009 with his wife Kate and graphic designer Alison King, also of Bluffton. In January, 2010, Workplay published Quality Victim Advocacy: A Field Guide by Bluffton author, David Voth.

Swartley also writes a regular review column for the Bluffton Icon. His first novel, The Island of Misfit Toys, earned a spot as a top-three finalist for the Indiana Book Award in 2006.