The American Society for Indexing is pleased to announce the winner of the 2025 Indexing Awards.
Stephen Ullstrom won in the Scholarly/Technical category for Dialectics of the Big Bang and the Absolute Existence of the Multiverse by Gregory Phipps, published by the University of Alberta Press. No award was given this year in the Trade category.
Dialectics of the Big Bang and the Absolute Existence of the Multiverse
In addition to “wowing” the judges with his handling of the metatopics, there was consensus that the indexer’s “ability to map out the connections between complex and tightly interrelated topics concisely, clearly, and in a very approachable way, is outstanding.” Noting that he “was brave to tackle this difficult and intricate subject matter … The index looks effortless: there are no signs of a struggle to master the concepts, represent major and minor points, or plot all the connections. It is clear, easy to use, elegant, and in our opinion, actually makes the book more accessible.”
That effortlessness, according to Stephen (who was already a two-time indexing award winner!) was both deceptive and hard-won: “I am delighted and honored to receive the ASI Indexing Award. I was both excited and nervous when I agreed to index this book. Excited because the Big Bang and the multiverse sounded like such a fascinating combination, and nervous because philosophy is not my strong suit. I almost turned the book down. This did prove to be one of the most challenging books I have ever indexed. I am grateful to the University of Alberta Press and the author for their trust in me, grateful that I was able to find a way through the index, and grateful to the judges for recognizing and affirming the work. Thank you.”
Darcy Cullen, Director and Publisher, University of Alberta Press, had no doubts concerning Stephen’s abilities to produce a stellar index: “Our team had every confidence in Stephen Ullstrom’s ability to index an interdisciplinary book of Hegelian thought on the mysteries of the cosmos. His index delighted both the publisher and the author with its elegance and accuracy.”