THE FIFTH BEATLE WINS IndieFab Award AT

FOREWORD REVIEWS’ BOOK of the Year Awards!

July 1, NEW YORK, NY— Vivek J. Tiwary’s debut graphic novel, The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, with art by Andrew C. Robinson and Kyle Baker, is the 2013 IndieFab Award Winner for the Foreword Reviews’ 16^th Annual Book Of The Year Awards in the Graphic Novels & Comics category. Foreword Reviews, the only review magazine solely dedicated to discovering new indie books, announced the winner on Friday, June 27^th at the 2014 American Library Association Annual Conference. Each year, Foreword Reviews highlights a small group of indie authors and publishers whose innovative work stands out among the crowd.

"I learned to love literature by hanging out in independent bookstores in New York's East Village, and by spending hours in my local school and neighborhood libraries. So it's a particular honor for 'The Fifth Beatle' to receive Foreword Review's IndieFab Gold Medal for Graphic Novels and Comics. And I'm thrilled that this recognition will help to further spread Beatles' manager Brian Epstein's inspiring story around the world,” Tiwary says.

Vivek J. Tiwary, who is a multiple Tony Award–winning producer (Green Day’s American Idiot, The Addams Family, A Raisin In The Sun) wrote the novel, which was painted by fanboy favorites Andrew C. Robinson (Dusty Star, King Conan, Starman, Superman) and Kyle Baker (The Shadow, Plastic Man, Why I Hate Saturn) The Fifth Beatle is the untold true story of Brian Epstein, the visionary manager who discovered and guided the Beatles to unprecedented international stardom. The Fifth Beatle is an inspirational story about the struggle to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Epstein was homosexual when it was illegal to be so in the UK, Jewish during a period of pervasive anti-Semitism, and from Liverpool when it was considered just a dingy port town. He helped spread the Beatles’ message of love to the entire world, yet died painfully lonely at the young age of thirty-two, consumed by staggering ambition and the endless struggles that came with it. The Fifth Beatle is available in bookstores everywhere and on Amazon.com.

The Fifth Beatle film adaptation, written and produced by Tiwary, is the first ever feature film about The Beatles to secure music rights to their songs, having been granted unprecedented access to the Lennon/McCartney music catalog. It is scheduled to begin shooting in early 2015 and more info can be found at www.FifthBeatle.com.

For more information on the IndieFab Awards and Foreword Reviews please visit: https://indiefab.forewordreviews.com/

About Vivek J. Tiwary

Vivek J. Tiwary is a New York Times bestselling author and an award-winning producer of Broadway shows, film, television, and graphic novels. 

He is the producer and writer of “The Fifth Beatle,” a New York Times best-selling graphic novel based on the life of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein. “The Fifth Beatle” has secured unprecedented access to Beatles’ music and a feature film is in development to shoot in 2015. 

Vivek is attached to lead produce a Broadway adaptation of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill. The production will include the participation of Morissette, as well as that of Pulitzer and Tony award winner Tom Kitt.

In television, Vivek sold a sitcom pilot “Punk Rock Dad” to CBS, based on the bestselling memoir/parenting manual by Pennywise lead singer Jim Lindberg.  He is developing a number of additional series including Amelia Rules! — a children’s film franchise and television series based on the series of tween graphic novels by New York Times best-selling author Jimmy Gownley.

On Broadway, Vivek’s productions have won a combined 25 Tony Awards from 44 Tony nominations—every single one of his shows have been decorated. They include “The Addams Family,” Green Day’s “American Idiot” (the groundbreaking adaptation of the superstar rock band’s multi-platinum album), Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” (the most Tony Awards ever) and “Young Frankenstein”, “A Raisin In The Sun” (starring Sean Combs), and “A Little Night Music” (starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury). Off-Broadway, Vivek produced a theatrical collaboration between electropop/performance artists Fischerspooner and avant-garde theatre collective The Wooster Group (founded by Willem Dafoe, Spalding Gray, and others) that launched the 2008 Sao Paulo Art Bienal.

Vivek also serves on the Board of Directors for Valiant Entertainment (www.valiantentertainment.com), a multi-platform company that boasts the third largest and most-loved universe of comic book characters and has been hailed by the New York Times as “Marvel 2.0”.

Prior to founding Tiwary Entertainment Group (www.tiwaryent.com) and online music education/empowerment company StarPolish, Vivek held a number of major label music-industry positions, including launching and heading the Alternative Marketing Department at Mercury/PolyGram Records, and managing Video Promotion for Mercury/PolyGram, where he worked closely with MTV and VH1. Vivek has worked with artists covering the entire musical spectrum including Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Kiss, LL Cool J, John Mellencamp, Allen Ginsberg, Oasis, Hanson, 311 and The Mighty Mighty BossTones to name but a few.

Among many charitable pursuits, Vivek is the Co-Founder of Musicians On Call (www.musiciansoncall.org), a nonprofit organization that uses music and entertainment to complement the healing process.

Vivek is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of both the Wharton School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Arts and Sciences. He also holds a filmmaking certificate from The New York Film Academy and is an acting student of Susan Batson/Black Nexxus Acting Studio.