2022 Book Award Finalists

Author of "The Private Misadventures of Nell Nobody," and "On Wounds of Woe," Jennifer Newbold came to fiction writing from a historical perspective, with a belief that history can be immediate and relevant, and that fiction can be a means to making history accessible. But fiction can do so much

I am a concert flutist and the founding artistic director of Mistral Music, a chamber music series which is known for its virtuosic artists, imaginative programming, and the personal rapport we establish with our audiences. (www.MistralMusic.org) In earlier years, I was a busy freelancer, performing

MADELEINE D’ARCY is a fiction writer based in Cork City, Ireland. Her linked short story collection, LIBERTY TERRACE, was published by Doire Press in October 2021. Her début short story collection, WAITING FOR THE BULLET (Doire Press, 2014), won the Edge Hill Readers’ Choice Prize 2015 (UK). In 2010

Leslee Breene, international award-winning author of novel and short fiction, takes pride in being a Denver, Colorado native. Her five published historical and contemporary women's fiction novels and one Christmas short story anthology may be found on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. During

I grew up in an affluent white suburban family in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. During the socially turbulent time of the 1970s, I became a feminist, a lesbian, and a Quaker. A founding member of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, I co authored and edited many versions of Our Bodies, Ourselves

Phill Featherstone has a BA in English Literature from Cambridge, and followed this with a Masters in Education from Leicester. He has been a teacher, education adviser and publisher, and now alternates between writing, drinking coffee, and playing the saxaphone (badly) - not always in that order

Paul Hollis is an American author of fictional terrorism and espionage. His bestselling and multi-award winning novels in The Hollow Man Series follow a U.S. Government analyst in a trilogy of suspense across Europe. The first two books in the trilogy are Amazon #1 bestsellers - The Hollow Man (also

Greg Buford has lived in Japan, India, France, Cambodia, and Switzerland. He’s settled down (for the moment) in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Dana, and their children. He published his first novel, Making Ghosts Dance, in 2017 and a humorous memoir, Kept: An American Househusband in India, in 2020

Tamra Ryan is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and leadership expert who is redefining what it means to lead with purpose and compassion. After serving as CEO of Women’s Bean Project from 2003 to 2025—a social enterprise transforming lives through transitional employment—Tamra has dedicated

Anjuli Sherin, M.A., LMFT is a Pakistani-American licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in trauma recovery, resilience building and cultivating joy. She has 17 years of practice working with immigrant, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Muslim and LGBTQI+ populations. Sherin received her B.A

Peter Sterios has been part of the global yoga community for over four decades as a teacher, author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is the founder of MANDUKA™ and creator of LEVITYoGA™. Peter’s first DVD “ Gravity & Grace” made Yoga Journal’s “Top 15 yoga videos of all time”, and his first

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Allison was born and raised in Taiwan and arrived in the U.S. at twenty-two as a university student. That’s when she realized her school English wasn’t much help when asking for directions on the street or opening a bank account. By recording each of the classes she took––including physical

2019 Pacific Book Awards Best Mystery Finalist…Crime Delayed 2020 Pacific Book Awards Best Mystery Winner…Crime Denied Chuck Morgan attended Seton Hall University and Regis College and spent thirty-five years as a construction project manager. He is an avid outdoorsman, an Eagle Scout and a licensed

Author of A Big Blue Boat and A Day on the Brine, Susea loves playing with words, sharing her stories and sailing. Susea’s achievements include being Picture Book Genre Award winner, Page Turner Awards (2022): A Day on the Brine; Purple Dragonfly Award winner (2023): A Big Blue Boat, Longlisted

Elena Carter was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In 2013, she relocated to Bulgaria to live by the sea in the beautiful city of Varna. She has explored many different career paths, from working as a political and human rights assistant at the Netherlands Embassy to making gemstone jewelry. In 2020

Nominated for Georgia Author of the Year for Redemption, Stephanie is dedicated to giving her reader's fast-paced, high stakes, page-turning stories that keep you on the edge of your seat and are full of surprising twists! Her desire to write was fostered early as a child with weekly trips to the

Diane Davies, award-winning author of Life in the Neck New Friends, Life in the Neck Squirrel Trouble, Life in the Neck Advent of Christmas, and Jeannie Ann’s Grandma Has Breast Cancer, lives in the Neck right next to the animals making their home there. You’ll find her in one of the Neck’s two

Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School. Alex has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given

Having experienced postpartum depression herself, and when a second child was on the way, Jessica searched for a children’s book to read with her five-year old son about the changes their family could face. Unable to find a book like this, she decided to write one. Jessica lives with her family in

DL Hammons wrote his first piece of fiction decades ago to impress a girl (he was moderately successful) and never looked back. Growing up as a military brat, DL moved around quite a bit as a kid. After graduating from LSU and raising a family in several southern states, he makes his home in Central

A lifelong Illinoisan, Amanda cherishes her Midwestern roots, and has deep passion for sports, film, and politics. She earned a BA in journalism from Loyola University Chicago, and currently resides in Champaign where she continues to write and blog. Amanda’s debut memoir, "The Accidental Virgin,"

Laura Eigel, Ph.D., is the founder of The Catch Group, a leadership coaching firm accelerating women into the c-suite, and the host of the You Belong in the C-Suite podcast. Known for her direct feedback and her passion for living a life guided by her values, she has been an HR executive at Fortune

Author Barbara Pinke loves to create stories and spice them up with adventure and fun – especially if it involves discovering new places! Born and raised in Hungary, Barbara later moved around Europe and currently lives in Germany with her family.

Steph Mullin & Nicole Mabry met as co-workers in New York City in 2012, discovering a shared passion for writing and true crime. After Steph relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2018, they continued to collaborate creatively. Separated by 5 states, they spend countless hours scheming via Facetime and

Shannon is a renowned entrepreneur with expertise in consistently linking strategy, execution, and cash with high performing team coordination to achieve sustained success. She co-founded, served as CEO for, and led the sale of two companies less than six years apart: Subserveo Inc (founded in 2008

Almost vertical - this is how Isabelle describes her learning curve in the past decade. It started with personal experiences, which, as a young business leader at the helm of an international company, were diverse. They involved leading through the heights but also through change and crisis. Aside

Scribando is a membership site for book authors that helps publishers and authors to achieve bestselling- and award-winning status with their books.

Susana Imaginário lives in Ireland with her husband and their extremely spoiled dog. Her work combines mythology with science fiction, fantasy and psychology in a strange way.

P.J. Roscoe is the international award-winning author of historical, paranormal novels and the 'Adventures of Faerie folk' series for young children. Her latest award, January 2021, winning the best Women's Fiction at the Firebird Book Awards was yet another reason for readers to find her work and

Julie Carrick Dalton’s debut novel WAITING FOR THE NIGHT SONG was named to Most Anticipated 2021 book by CNN, Newsweek, USA Today, Parade, Buzzfeed, and others, and was an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Books of the Month. As a journalist, Julie has published more than a thousand articles in

Victoria Gemmell lives in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Her debut Young Adult mystery thriller novel Follow Me was published by Strident Publishing Ltd. in 2015, with her second (stand-alone) Young Adult mystery Promise Me independently published in October 2021. Victoria also writes contemporary flash

Nominated for Georgia Author of the Year for Redemption, Stephanie is dedicated to giving her reader's fast-paced, high stakes, page-turning stories that keep you on the edge of your seat and are full of surprising twists! Her desire to write was fostered early as a child with weekly trips to the

Born with only one working lung and having had the last rites read to him when almost dying of an influenza-related viral pneumonia, 25-year-old geophysicist Lee Hunt experienced several near-death dreams. The power of communication and the need to both understand and be understood was at the heart

'The Pangolin Killers' is a current affairs action story for 9–13-year-olds about trafficking of endangered animals in Africa. It will be published in Denmark as 'Skældyrsjægerne' by Wadskjaer Publishing on 16 June 2023. It was Longlisted for the Pager Turner Award in 2022. Liva’s life as she knows

Susan Marie Chapman is an award winning children's book author. She grew up on a small farm in rural Pennsylvania and is the eldest of eight children. Her love of animals and nature comes through in the stories that she tells. Susan has had a love for writing since the sixth grade when she won an

M. M. De Voe is an internationally published writer of short fiction. She has won more than 24 writing awards for her writing in poetry, science fiction, horror, literary fiction and flash. Her first full-length book won first prize at the Next Gen Indie Awards in writing/publishing. It is a guide

Julia, or affectionately JT, is passionate about using storytelling in print, on the stage, and on the screen to facilitate impact. She believes that telling stories builds connections, grows empathy, and enables a level of understanding that stems from relationships with and investment in

Chasta Hamilton is an entrepreneur that believes everyone has the power to reach their fullest potential and disrupt the status quo in an empowering and inspiring way . She is personally doing that through her entrepreneurial endeavors, writing and motivational speaking, which has given her the

Susan L. Combs is President of Combs & Company, a full-service insurance brokerage firm based in New York City. Susan started the company at twenty-six years old with a drive to “Do more, better.” This internal mantra has resulted in numerous successes and firsts, like being named the youngest

I am a 33-year-old single mom to a teenage boy and I live on the west coast of Norway. I was a high school dropout who got pregnant at 18. I decided to be a better role model for my son so I went back to school when I was 20. I got my diploma as a truck/bus mechanic. To provide for us I had to work

While other kids read comic books under the covers with a flashlight at bedtime, C.K. DONNELLY wrote fan fiction and fantasy stories. She used her love of writing to pursue a career in journalism and was honored with several press awards for business and economic reporting. She has also held careers

Greg Buford has lived in Japan, India, France, Cambodia, and Switzerland. He’s settled down (for the moment) in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Dana, and their children. He published his first novel, Making Ghosts Dance, in 2017 and a humorous memoir, Kept: An American Househusband in India, in 2020

Mikael Carlson is the multiple award-winning author of the Michael Bennit Series of political dramas, the Tierra Campos and Watchtower Thrillers, The America, Inc. futuristic dystopian saga, and his holiday novels, The Santa Trilogy. A retired veteran of the Rhode Island Army National Guard and

Writing has always been an important part of Angela’s life. Over the years she has contributed to each of a series of successful collections of short stories set in and around Oxford. Since retiring as a teacher, Angela has been researching her Egyptologist ancestors, the Tyssen Amhersts of

Writing has been my passion and escape since I was a young child. This mystery/suspense novel Desert Nights and was self-published in 2014. It was well-reviewed by Kirkus Indie, won honorable mention in the Hollywood Book Festival and was a finalist in the Independent Author Network’s Book of the

Valeria Aloe is a speaker, award-winning author, and founder of the Rising Together Movement, a global community with the mission of driving economic inclusion and closing the leadership and wealth gaps for Latinas and other women of color. Through in-culture talent development programs, Rising

Cathy Hayward trained as a journalist and edited a variety of trade publications, several of which were so niche they were featured on Have I Got News for You. She then moved into the world of PR and set up an award-winning communications agency. Devastated and inspired in equal measure by the death

38 year old indie author of paranormal, fantasy, historical fiction/fantasy, and steamy romance. My characters are quirky and meddlesome, and I thrive on lavish and flowers descriptions. When not writing I'm working in the medical field as a lead physical & occupational therapy benefits

Dan Pontefract is the founder and CEO of Pontefract Group, a firm that improves the state of leadership and organizational culture. He is the best-selling author of four books: LEAD. CARE. WIN. How to Become a Leader Who Matters, OPEN TO THINK, THE PURPOSE EFFECT and FLAT ARMY. A renowned speaker