2022 Writing Award Finalists

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

Graciela Kenig is an accomplished writer with extensive experience as a features journalist, online forum contributor and career columnist. Her book, BEST CAREERS FOR BILINGUAL LATINOS, 1998 McGraw-Hill, is still relevant today. Her trajectory in Communications includes Media and Public Relations

Philip Reari (pen name) is an editor at an environmental organization in Washington, D.C., and a former journalist published in Wired, The Huffington Post, Mother Jones, Grist, Gizmodo, n+1, The Rumpus, Dissent Magazine, and many others.

Michael is in his seventies and had retired from a business career to embark on what he loves; to read and write. He is a prolific reader of all genres, but has a significant interest in history and historical fiction. He was born and raised on the East Rand of South Africa, and now lives on the

I'm an unpublished, aspiring author, with a love for locked room mysteries and boundless imagination. My first full length novel was my first murder mystery story, written for the toughest critics of all - the women of my immediate family - as a Christmas present, thus answering the question; 'what

Hello, my name is Shagufta Sharmeen Tania, I’m a native of Bangladesh who has been settled in London since 2005. I initially trained as an architect, before writing became my all consuming passion. I’ve authored two novels, a collection of novellas and four collections of short stories to date; I

C.J. Khemi is the debut author of House of Badawi. She’s Indo-Trinidadian-American, a native New Yorker, and is currently living out her cottage-core dreams in a home outside of NYC. Khemi holds a M.A. in International Affairs and a B.A. in Psychology. She is a content writer by day, covering

Award-winning author and Mobile Literary Festival founder Jodie Cain Smith spent her childhood exploring the shores of Mobile Bay. She is a graduate of the University of South Alabama and Northern Michigan University because earning a degree on both the southern and northern border happened by

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

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

A recent graduate of Georgia Southern University with a degree in Writing & Linguistics and a minor in Art History. Currently pursuing an MFA in Dramatic Writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Freelance writer and editor, and lover of all things nerdy!

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

Mandy Munro has a degree in English Literature and Psychology, lives in the northern beaches of Sydney and has travelled extensively, gathering inspiration and research for her writing. In 2022, Mandy longlisted for the Page Turner 2022 Writing Award with The Circle of Choice, the first book in her

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.

I have been an advertising copy writer for more than 30 years now, and have won over 150 national and several international awards for excellence in creativity, for some of the biggest brands in India. I finally took time off and wrote a novel. This is my first one, and it’s about 30 years late in

Born and raised in upstate New York, school in New England, lived in California, residing part of the year in England, but I go back and forth. I dated a rower in college who took me to Henley-on-Thames for the Regatta once and I decided to come back after a marketing career. I traded a sunny beach

I was born in North Carolina, grew up in Virginia, and returned briefly to North Carolina to complete my bachelor’s degree in business. I’ve spent my professional life, to date, in sales and marketing positions, and as an entrepreneur. Along the way, I discovered my passion for people is only

B. Romero is a writer, teacher, student, wife, mother, activist, and everything in between. Writing has been her passion since a young age and she is also a lover of all things horror. When she is not writing, B. enjoys reading, gaming, and watching horror movies. During school hours, you can catch

​Danielle graduated from Montana State university in 2012 with a degree in Biology. She experimented with several healthcare related jobs after that, including work in tissue recovery and as a lab technician. Currently she is a middle school science teacher and a volunteer Court Appointed Special

I have interviewed many authors including Bill Bryson, Ian Rankin, Lionel Shriver and Rosamunde Pilcher for the international writing magazine, Writers’ Forum, and have also written for the Daily Mail, Woman’s Weekly, Vision Now, Classic Boat, Sailing Today and many other magazines. I have been a

Sam Clarke is addicted to rock music, coffee, and Japanese manga. Her first novel, The Twelfth Ring (a Page Turner Awards finalist and a BBNYA semi-finalist) reached #1 in the Amazon Young Adult Thrillers charts. Her second book, The Templar Sword (a Page Turner Awards finalist and Ink and Insights

I am Anglo-Irish and have variously been a musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist and in a band supporting acts such as Elton John, Rod Stewart, Gerry Rafferty and many others. I co-wrote a Celtic rock opera for the Edinburgh Festival. As well as this, I have been a journalist, editor and PR

Born in Columbia, Maryland, Kelly Wruck (under the pen name K. M. Barlowe) soon found a second home in the worlds she discovered in the pages of books. Following high school, she took a gap year to begin writing her debut novel, The Wars of Ice and Plenty, as well as developing a passion for

A Welsh poet and author from the Rhondda Valleys, Philip M John graduated from the University of South Wales in 2014 before working and living across the border in Bristol. He has since returned to Wales and now resides in Monmouthshire. Philip has published four volumes of poetry – Home Truths

My work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, Writer’s Digest and Family Circle. A Pushcart Prize nominee, I won the Grand Prize in the annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition and received a Finalist Award in Prose from the Illinois Arts Council. I graduated with a

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

My former career was a professional actor, working in film, TV, stage and radio. I'm now a semi-retired, 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

I am a 23 year old English writer living in Staffordshire, UK. I enjoy spending time with my horses and both reading and writing fantasy. After becoming lost in the worlds of my favourite books such as Sarah J Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Jennifer L Armentrout's From Blood And Ash, i

Patricia Donovan is the author of four novels, including The Remarkable Miss Digby which in 2022 was shortlisted for a NZ Booklovers Award. Her latest book, Rita Vegas, continues her notable exploration of genre. Donovan says that while her novels span numerous genres, they share a common theme: a

In my life I've worked in factories, behind several bars and once ran a livery stable. I spent fifteen years as a software engineer in England, Ireland and Scotland – sorry Wales. In 2007 we moved to France. Now I make jam and sell it on the local markets, which is far less lucrative, but far more

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.

Writer of psychological thrillers with a feminist focus. Currently studying at Cambridge University, UK. I like to write dark stories but the good will often prevail. I live in West Sussex in the UK with my husband; I have three kids too and some cats. I'm an English teacher during the day when I'm

When Heidi was an English major in college, she had aspirations of writing a novel. Instead, she was pulled in another direction and pursued a successful career in marketing, specializing in fresh produce. She hung her own shingle and became a marketing consultant in 2000, and in 2012 she formed her

David W. Berner is a best-selling and award-winning author of several books of memoir and fiction. He has been honored as the Writer-in-Residence at the Jack Kerouac Project in Orlando and at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home in Oak Park, Illinois. His books have been recognized by the Society of

My writing career started in 1981 when I became the editorial assistant for Good Living magazine and worked as a freelance contributor to Honey. By 1985 I was launch editor of LOOKS and in 1987 I became a freelance editor – focussing on creating new titles and resuscitating sick ones. I also worked

Hi Everyone, I'm an Edinburgh based writer. My first novel Love Byte was published by Joffe Books and was shortlisted for the Romantic Comedy of the Year by the Romantic Novelist Association (RNA) Subsequently I have written two further novels to date, Squeezed and The Second Life of Nathan Jones

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

Hi, I'm Morag Higgins. I am passionate about writing and have in the past written articles for equestrian magazines (I am a horse trainer to trade). I have published several equestrian training books but my real passion is for fiction. My first published book was Bruja. The true story of my first

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

Hi! I'm Amanda and I live in London, UK. :) Having spent ten years working as a Barrister in Criminal Law, I live and love all things crime! Hence all my books have a strong crime element, based on murder cases I prosecuted and are embedded with twists and conspiracies. As I have teenage children

Hi! I'm Amanda and I live in London, UK. :) Having spent ten years working as a Barrister in Criminal Law, I live and love all things crime! Hence all my books have a strong crime element, based on murder cases I prosecuted and are embedded with twists and conspiracies. As I have teenage children

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'm a Canadian-Dutch writer temporarily living in Canada as a caregiver for my elderly father, but my permanent home is in Rotterdam with my Dutch musician husband whom I met in a music forum for fans of the Hollies. My background is in advertising copywriting and, along with my English and History

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

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.

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.”

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

Page Turner 2022 Genre Award winner for her recently published debut novel, I, SAID THE FLY (award under its working title: The Assassin Who Loved Me), Jay Jones is currently working on book 2 in The D.I. and The Assassin series. Originally from India, Jay and her husband now live in Worcestershire

Alisa Hope Wagner is an international award-winning author, editor and publisher of over thirty books. She married her high school sweetheart, and together they raise their three children in a Christ-centered home. Though an introvert by nature, Alisa easily expresses herself through social media

Alisa Hope Wagner is an international award-winning author, editor and publisher of over thirty books. She married her high school sweetheart, and together they raise their three children in a Christ-centered home. Though an introvert by nature, Alisa easily expresses herself through social media