An Australian book on tomatoes has won a gold medal at this year’s Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York. Tomato: know, sow, grow, feast by Penny Woodward, Janice Sutton and Karen Sutherland took out the prize in the awards' Home and Garden category.

Assorted varieties, from Tomato: know, sow, grow, feast. Photo: Kirsten Bresciani Credit:Kirsten Bresciani

Part-sponsored by the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and published last year, the book contains descriptions, growing notes and photographs of more than 220 heirloom tomato varieties. It also details how these fruits evolved from small-fruited wild species in the north-west of South America and how they might be used in kitchens today. The unaffiliated awards are open to authors and publishers around the world producing books written in English with this year’s awards ceremony to be held in New York City this Tuesday.