Local Author Earns Finalist in Popular Pittsburgh Book Awards

BUTLER, Pa. – Local author, Gael Gilliland receives desirable nomination as a finalist in Pittsburgh’s The Author Zone (TAZ) 2020 Book Awards. Gilliland received the distinction of Finalist in the How to Books category for her work titled The Legacy Recorder Community Guide during the TAZ Book awards on April 23, 2020.

The Legacy Recorder Community Guide is a handbook to help others write their life story. It was originally published in 2016 to embrace telling her own family’s story. “The Legacy Recorder is a product of my grief journey. It’s my creative tool that I’ve used to work through my grief, acknowledge it, and process all the things that happened from the time I was 17-years-old,” Gilliland said. “Being aware of my grief instead of ignoring it changed my life.”

Gilliland created the 60-page guidebook for others to apply her methodology and write their loved one’s stories. “I created The Legacy Recorder Community Guide as something simple that could fit in your purse for when opportunity arises,” Gilliland explained. “It’s a way to work with a loved one to tell their story; a way to work with family members to tell a story of someone who died. I want to help others create deep, lasting connections through inter-generational storytelling.”

TAZ was founded in 2014 to celebrate accomplished authors in the genres of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, young readers, and drama in the Pittsburgh area. Being selected as a winner in the TAZ Book Awards comes with honor, distinction, and peer recognition. “It means so much to have been a finalist at the TAZ awards,” Gilliland said. “I’ve worked so hard for the past four years, and it’s great to be among fellow authors in the Pittsburgh community.”

Gilliland founded The Legacy Recorder in 2015, and self-published the Legacy Recorder Community Guide in 2016. The guide is an easy to use writing method you can apply to tell your loved one’s treasured stories. Since then, families across the globe have used The Legacy Recorder Community Guide to embrace their passion for storytelling and write about hard things like death and dying.

Gilliland also works as a professional speaker, freelance writer, ghostwriter, and business consultant. She fosters community connections for a variety of events and groups, most recently for Social Media Week Lima 2019 and 2020. For more information about The Legacy Recorder Community Guide or to connect with Gilliland on social media, visit: https://gaelgilliland.com/