2021 Writing Award Finalists

E. L. Diamond is a writer and educator currently living in Omaha, Nebraska. Her short fiction and poems have appeared in journals such as The Pinch, Literary Orphans, The American Journal of Poetry, The 2River View, and Storyglossia. She reads and writes about queer life and love and she has a

Exploring themes of loneliness, survival and friendship, Glitter and Petals is my debut novel about the topical issue of gaslighting and controlling behaviour in what appears to be a perfectly ordinary relationship. I felt inspired to write about this often invisible type of abuse following a change

Novelist, playwright, script writer and journalist. My debut play, Look Who's All Grown Up, was staged at The Space from 15-19 June, and received four-star reviews.

I have no published works, and this is my second foray into novel-writing. I’ve been a freelance English tutor for the last five years. As all my work is online, I’ve used the opportunity to travel extensively, and have lived in six different countries since 2016. I completed a BA in Arabic &

Finnian Burnett is a professor, a writer, and a lifelong learner. They’re a doctoral student at Murray State University and Creative Writing Professor with the Southern New Hampshire University MFA program. Finn runs the Golden Crown Literary Society’s Writing Academy and will corner people at

Finnian Burnett is a professor, a writer, and a lifelong learner. They’re a doctoral student at Murray State University and Creative Writing Professor with the Southern New Hampshire University MFA program. Finn runs the Golden Crown Literary Society’s Writing Academy and will corner people at

Finnian Burnett is a professor, a writer, and a lifelong learner. They’re a doctoral student at Murray State University and Creative Writing Professor with the Southern New Hampshire University MFA program. Finn runs the Golden Crown Literary Society’s Writing Academy and will corner people at

I am an IT code tamer (down code, bad code!) and this is my second novel, self-publishing my first one. Interested in writing since a young lad, I used to create short stories for the school paper, with dreams of publishing a book later on. I'm also a voracious piranha when it comes to reading books

Morgan is an African American woman of Caribbean descent from Los Angeles, California. She grew up reading young adult fantasy but longed to cheer on a protagonist who looked like herself. Morgan holds a degree in screenwriting from the University of Southern California. She hopes her writing will

The moment Sarah wanted to be a writer was when her family went to see L. M. Montgomery's house, author of Anne of Green Gables. She was seven-years-old and remembered seeing her desk and wondering about what kind of magic happened there. Nowadays, she's just happy to be able to find her own desk

Josie Schneider recently retired as the deputy editor for the Ann Arbor Observer, a forty-five year-old monthly newsmagazine. As a freelancer, she has published articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, Hour Detroit, International Living, and many travel publications. This is Josie's

I live in Surrey with my wife and two young children, and work as a freelance Producer/Director for television. I'm a voracious reader, particularly crime and thriller novels.

I’m an Asian American who loves the fantastic and mysterious. Living in San Jose, California, my day job is making and delivering robots, and my night job is making and delivering worlds.

A former elementary school teacher, I received my Bachelor’s degree in "Film & Television Production" from Emerson College. I placed in the screenwriting competitions of several film festivals including New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Colorado, and Slamdance. And I came in second on the Blacklist, an

M. Torrey Gann is the author of twelve books. She is a two-time Thurber House Residency in Children's Literature nominee, plus a two-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's (PNWA) literary awards in the mainstream novel and young adult categories. Among other honors, her books

Jacob Witten is a postdoctoral fellow at MIT working on CRISPR gene therapy with degrees in computational biology and biophysics. While not in the lab, he spends most of his time running, reading, or writing. The latter interest has brought forth his sci-fi thriller Immune, inspired by the science

Nick’s writing journey was unusual. Invited onto the set of a high profile TV show, he witnessed the power of storytelling and was completely hooked. Nobody was more surprised by this than him, and in the last two years he has written a novel (placed 2nd in a national competition), a short story

Julie Sullivan is an experienced writer, editor and researcher, with work published in Wired, WebReview.com and Ms.Money.com. Having earned an MFA in Creative Writing and a doctorate in International and Multicultural Education, she currently teaches at the University of San Francisco, and writes

I am a native of Sheffield, though I grew up largely in the United States. I studied law at Stanford University and now split my time whenever possible between Los Angeles, where I practise criminal defence, and Europe (London and Athens), where most of my family still live. I’m a lover of languages

Kay Smith-Blum, a recovering retailer, writing in Seattle, was named Woman Business Owner (NWWA) of 2013. Smith-Blum is also a former President of the Seattle School Board and co-authored the “Every Man, Every Woman” series published by Schurman Fine Papers. She has written two novels of historical

Michael Salort is the creator and writer of the television dramedy series Inside Dope, a 2019 finalist in the recognized NYC Screenplay Competition, and recently optioned by Rheingold Films in Los Angeles. He is the creator and writer of the television dramedy series, Smoke & Mirrors, recently

Sven Straumann is a scientist and neurosurgeon-in-training, and a writer at heart. He studied medicine in Switzerland and lives in the Netherlands, where he is writing his doctoral thesis on brain physiology and epilepsy. Sven is trained in professional scientific writing and won the annual Karger

Born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Ann Worthington earned both a B.A. in Psychology and a J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin. Now retired from her legal career, she lives in Southern California. Her first novel, Tales of Nash, was published in 2020. When she’s not reading or writing

Selina Beety was born in Sunderland, UK, and spent a short part of her childhood in South Africa. Moving between countries at a formative age, and then growing up in a town stripped of its industries and identity, Selina developed an abiding interest in the social myths that bind and sometimes

Dixon Reuel is the author of "Rise of One - Blood Brute Series #1" She writes about vampires, zombies, and other SFF elements at dixonreuel.com. She has been runner-up in The Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award, The James White Award, and The Aeon Award. She was awarded a residency at The Tyrone Guthrie

Writer, dreamer, animal lover and super gardener extraordinaire. That's the short version. I owned a bookstore for 20 years and sold it in my early 40s. It was time for a huge life change that fit the timing of my midlife crisis. I went to the police academy at age 45 after losing 40 pounds and

Founder of Melissa Beaty's Bible Resource Library, Melissa has dedicated her life to helping others explore the riches of Scripture. Since her conversion from atheism, she has applied her formal training in philosophy and education to help others understand biblical principles from both Christian

I wrote Just Write, the romantic comedy feature film that put Jeremy Piven on the map. Winner Best Picture (Best in Fest) SANTA BARBARA FILM FESTIVAL. Winner WILDsound TV Pilot contest October 2015. Finalist for two scripts, TV Pilot and Comedy, in the 2016 Las Vegas International Screenplay

After over thirty years teaching English to secondary school students, I now work in the charity sector and write in my spare time. I've written a series of YA novels, numerous blog posts, am a top 3% of contributor to Writers Stack Exchange and critique other people's work on Scribophile.

Awakening is my debut adult fantasy novel, the first in The Transcendent Saga trilogy. It is a compelling tale of love, sacrifice, emergence and magic, and about living with the choices we make. This book fills a gap in the bookshelves by utilising a contemporary setting, furnished with the

An eclectic mix of bustling Chicago streets and genteel Charleston style, Sian Staley grew up in the Jefferson Park area of the Windy City and currently resides in coastal South Carolina. She received a B.A. in English, and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, then spent over