2022 Writing Award Finalists

Like the protagonist of my debut novel, I’m a trial attorney and former CIA combat pilot. I’m also principal co-author of Defective Product: Evidence to Verdict, Juris Publishing/New York, and author of over 50 law-related magazine articles. Additionally, I’ve served as legal consultant to the Los

I write in a variety of genres: Women’s Fiction, Mysteries/Thrillers, Romantic Suspense, and Historical Time Travel. As a native of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburbs, all my books occur in Pennsylvania. Regardless of the genre, suspenseful and mysterious elements are captured in every book. All

Scott Corey’s interest in international events and love of travel has prompted him to live in West Africa, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. He has worked as a teacher, reporter, editor, public relations specialist, and feature writer for the Kansas City Star. He has ridden a camel along the

I was born in Bristol, grew up in South Gloucestershire, and live in London. I studied at the University of Warwick and UCL and worked as a librarian for several years. I'm currently a student on the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course.

I was born in Berlin, and grew up in the Army, moving from place to place. All of the work I've done in my adult life has been in the worlds of media/entertainment/storytelling. I started in the office of the Anna Scher Children’s Theatre in Islington in the early 1980s’, leaving to move to a small

Shelly Steig has more than two decades experience which includes five novelty science books for children, four books for adults, and more than 350 articles in national and regional magazines. On the editing side, she’s worked as a copy editor for a children’s publishing company, as well as an on

William Doetsch has spent his entire life in Michigan, but with the help of books he has traveled the world and beyond. He can usually be found in Grand Rapids, where he keeps a sharp eye out for dinosaurs and dragons, so far with no luck. When he’s not reading, daydreaming, or making friends with

Biography John Kitchen was born and grew up in Cornwall. He graduated from London University, where he was awarded a distinction for creative writing as part of his English degree. He taught in Cornwall, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, writing plays and musicals for the children to perform. John

Biography John Kitchen was born and grew up in Cornwall. He graduated from London University, where he was awarded a distinction for creative writing as part of his English degree. He taught in Cornwall, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, writing plays and musicals for the children to perform. John

Hi there! My name is Melina Mondradi, I'm 26 years young, and I've written three books, the second of which has been published. My first two books are autobiographies that I ghost wrote on behalf of corporate clients. My third book is my pride and joy, as I have both written and authored it. This

I read History at Birmingham University as a mature student in the 1980s. My career has included working for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, RCA Records European Office, a major recording artist's management company in Los Angeles, Q Prime Artist Management in London, Age Concern in Gateshead

I'm an award-winning screenwriter with an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. I've written my first novel entitled THE WHITECHAPEL CLUB. I'm a member of Sisters in Crime and MWA. Originally from Denver, I lived most of my life in Los Angeles and have recently moved from Toronto, Ontario, to Atlanta, GA

Laurie Mackie is an emerging writer and artist who resides in Kamloops, British Columbia. She is a graduate of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Bachelor of Arts Creative Writing program. Her favoured topics focus on social and women's issues in the genres of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Laurie

I have been a freelance writer since 1997. My professional career includes working as a marketing copywriter, journalist, feature columnist, ghostwriter, and non-fiction author (Head of Household: Money Management for Single Parents; ABC CLIO/Praeger; 2009). I grew up in Georgia and South Carolina

I grew up on a council estate and enjoyed the same parental neglect as everyone around me. This was fine for the most part, but my big brother was effectively my guardian, which was rubbish, because he was a highly manipulative narcissist, hated me, and became a heroin addict when I was thirteen

My writing has been performed on stage and screen. I’ve worked in tv script departments as storyliner, script editor, and writer. My Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing led to two novels on Amazon, one of which was Commended in the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished

Dayna Ault began writing at an early age. She landed the Editor-in-Chief position of her school/community newspaper at age 15, serving until she received her diploma in 1980. She went on to freelance for religious and parenting magazines, as she raised and homeschooled her growing family. After the

Leslie Liautaud is an American playwright and novelist. Her award winning immersive play, SOUTHERN GOTHIC (2018), premiered at Windy City Playhouse in Chicago, IL. Her plays MIDNIGHT WALTZES (2006), HE IS US (2008), THE WRECK (2009), THE MANSION (2012) and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: THE MILLENNIAL

I am an Edinburgh based writer. So far unpublished, but with some competition success: The opening of my first historical manuscript, The Girl Who Fled the Picture, was longlisted for the Adventures in Fiction 2018 New Voices competition. My first novel was shortlisted for the Scottish Book Trust

Since 2020 I've been lucky enough to have had two stories make the Page Turner Awards longlist and be a finalist. And to have been chosen as a finalist for a third time is absolutely amazing. The idea for my latest submission grew from time spent in a local woodland during lockdown and was written

Deborah writes long and short fiction. Her flash fictions and short stories have been published in print and online by small presses, and two stories have won prizes. Her two novellas-in-flash have been longlisted in two different novella competitions, and her novels have reached longlists and

Born and raised in the mossy backwoods of Washington (a ripe setting for muddy adventures and gothic atmospheres), I've been telling stories about sprites and sasquatch for as long as I can remember. Now having migrated to the warm coast of the Bay Area, I spend my days working in a cozy videogame

Peter Fothergill grew up in the far north of England. His early story-telling passion was fulfilled by designing and coding video games and composing and recording music. Writing was the next logical step. He studied computer science at university and has worked as a software engineer in London ever

I have wanted to be a writer from an early age. That aim was partly interrupted by a career in the marine insurance and shipping sectors of the City of London. During that time, I wrote articles in the trade press, and over a period of nine years, also compiled and self-published a quarterly

I obtained my BA and MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in poetry, but somehow always planned to write fiction and am currently writing YA. I'm a certified Spiritual Life Coach and plan to write a personal development book. When I'm not working my day job, you can find me writing, reading, and

Professional violinist Lisa Rollin found herself pregnant whilst on tour with "Simply Red" … Surviving a tour schedule whilst pregnant, she decided to document her gig adventures pre and post baby; hence her “Diary of a Rock Chick Mum.”

My former career was a professional actor, working in film, TV, stage and radio. I'm now an award-winning writer in live events and film for corporate and government clients, specialising in communication strategy, creative concepts, copywriting and scriptwriting. I have written four novels. I’m a

Canadian-born, but always a wanderer. I have lived in France, Latin America, the Caribbean and even a sailboat for a year but now London is home. I spend my time writing short stories, jotting down notes for my next novel which takes place in South America and using my skills as a sommelier to

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

Husband, father, writer, professor, entrepreneur and zenvironmental fish and mangrove farmer, Wayne Christensen embraces the bliss, the blarney, and the baggage. He seeks learning experiences flush with opportunities for success and self-fulfillment.

I qualified as a primary school teacher in 2001 and have worked in Cornwall since then. I started to write for SPCK Publishing assembly website in 2017 which provides high quality Christian assemblies for teachers. My dream would be to see my book published and for it to be a starting point for

Andrew Devereux is a freelance musician, small business owner and writer. He has played music all over the world and currently holds the position of bass trombone player with the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra and Sinfonia of Birmingham. Andrew runs a web design company during the day and writes

Like Professor Stillman in his novel RETURN TO BAGHDAD, Greg Bayer was a philosophy prof, mostly at St. John’s College, Santa Fe; while he's published many papers in academic journals, RETURN is his first real foray into fiction. Like Stillman, he worked at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad in 2006-7, as

In 2020, Michael Bowe's second novel, The Weight of a Moment, won the American Fiction Award for Literary Fiction. A graduate of Georgetown University and a recipient of a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Mr. Bowe is an accomplished businessman, entrepreneur, investor, and novelist, and a

Author of Pillars of Salt, J.A. Adams has been immersed in various cultures while living on the east, west, and gulf coasts. After completing a Ph.D. and a sixteen-year teaching career in English composition and literature at Louisiana State University, Adams is happily retired in Colorado to a full

Following academic books on feminism, art, and Virginia Woolf, I gained a Diploma in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia/Guardian and am honoured to be shortlisted for prizes, including the Impress and Eyelands prizes. I was mentored by The Literary Consultancy, and Gold Dust. A

Bridget started writing seriously over ten years ago and has since written seven novels. With the aim of improving her writing skills, she completed a number of online courses, including a three-month selective course offered by Curtis Brown Creative. Bridget also writes non-fiction in the form of

Katherine Black was born and raised in Texas but has spent most of her life in England. Her background is in art history. She spent years working for arts charities before leaving it all behind for the glamourous life of a stay-at-home mum. Now that the children are getting older, she's pursuing her

I’m a writer in search of an audience. Looking for an agent, a publisher. Oh, and a film producer too. That’d be nice. My flash fiction story, BE WITH YOU AGAIN, was a finalist at the West Atlantic Writing Awards in summer 2021. My screenplay, WOODEN HEART, was a finalist at the London International

My name is Jayden Cox, and I'd like to think that I have an infinite imagination. My only goal is to share it with the world. I developed a love for writing during a very hard battle with anxiety that I still fight to this day. I have found a way to channel my imagination into positive energy

I am a lifelong reader and hobby writer. Born to an English, civil-engineering family I started writing as a child when my father was posted to a country without television and only one small library, and I was obliged to entertain myself. A passion for storytelling has never stopped, and I

Kim Gottlieb-Walker is an American photographer and writer living and working in Los Angeles, CA. Over the past 50 years, she has built a distinctive portfolio that includes some of the most notable musicians and personalities of the '60s and '70s. A graduate of UCLA with honors in Motion Picture

I was born in Manchester to Irish parents, I went to Bristol University and then Oxford where I studied physics and astronomy. I then worked at the BBC, firstly on the technical side as a studio manager and sound engineer, and then later as a journalist and producer in news and documentaries

As a high school forensic science teacher, I discovered inventive ways to solve crimes and the 'world's mother of forensics,' Frances Glessner Lee. Lee's breathtaking miniature crime scenes ignited my imagination and stirred a passion in me to capture the stories that came to mind on the page. I am

David Tenenbaum is a novelist and screenwriter from Richmond, VA. He’s written six books including a cli-fi thriller The Lost Tide, which was shortlisted at the Eyelands Book Awards and its sequel The Lost Tide: Playing with Fire, which received the Kops-Fetherling Legacy Honorable Mention Prize.

David Tenenbaum is a novelist and screenwriter from Richmond, VA. He’s written six books including a cli-fi thriller The Lost Tide, which was shortlisted at the Eyelands Book Awards and its sequel The Lost Tide: Playing with Fire, which received the Kops-Fetherling Legacy Honorable Mention Prize.

SAPPHIRE RAIN, my memoir illustrates how to heal heartache and pain through seven primary phases like trusting intuition and speaking truth. In this inspirational narrative, I revisit my personal experiences of abuse, teenage pregnancy, divorce, and clairvoyance. My story lays the groundwork for

Edward Pontacoloni is an New York Attorney Emeritus Pro Bono Publico and an outdoorsman residing in New York's Adirondack Park with his wife of 43 years, Janice. His bragabout children, Edward, Nicholas, Denise and Michael are grown. He is the author of the fairy tale, The Adventures of Firstyr the

Claudia Bretag is an editor, teacher, retail assistant and aspiring author from Sydney, Australia. She is an active member of both Writing NSW and IPEd. Claudia is at her best in a cafe with a cup of coffee while her fingers tinker away at a keyboard to uncover a new chapter each day.

Tim Pareti was born and raised on the north side of Chicago. His Italian-American family started Ernie's Bleachers, which eventually became the iconic Murphy's Bleachers. An award-winning journalist, he worked as a reporter and editor for Scripps newspapers and was a freelance writer for the Chicago