The NCPA is an alliance of publishers, authors, and associated members from throughout Northern California. Each year judges from the NCPA board evaluate the content, design, and professionalism of recently published books.

Every spring the NCPA holds an annual awards gala dinner to celebrate the best books published in the previous year. In 2003, Mark's book, Western Train Adventures: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly won two awards, including the Silver Award for second best book of the year.

McLaughlin
Mark is a nationally published author and photographer with five books and more than 500 articles in print. He was educated as an historian and cultural geographer at the University of Nevada, Reno, and his work appears regularly in California and Nevada media, including Tahoetopia where he recently completed an exclusive, 40-story series covering the Donner Party over forty weeks between the summer of 1846 and April of 1847.

McLaughlin's first two books, Sierra Stories: True Tales of Tahoe, Volumes 1 & 2 are regional bestsellers.