2023 Book Award Finalists

Claire Merchant is an Australian author and storyteller. She is best known for her collection of fantasy, contemporary, and romance novels set in fictional South Coast. In 2019, Claire won ‘Top Female Author’ in the Fantasy and Romance categories as voted by The Authors Show.

Nikki Auberkett is a cultural anthropologist, developmental editor, and overall passionate storyteller. With nearly 15 years of research and exploration into global folklore and mythology, biblical archaeology, and all things weird and unusual, she weaves her research and social science expertise

Having grown up as the son of an English teacher, I'm no stranger to writing. I was in nine car crashes before I was fifteen, and after some serious injuries ended up quite secluded, and reading was, predictably, one of my favourite escapes - no doubt the influence of my mother. Having since taken a

I am a mid-career, multi-disciplinary Canadian creative working with fantasy and animal subjects through the mediums of cast bronze, oil painting, traditional drawing and novel writing. My work is play! Inspiration drives me and I move between projects and mediums as they require attention. My

Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop is the author of over 50 works of fiction for adults and children under the pen name Elizabeth Winthrop. These include the award-winning fantasy series, The Castle in the Attic and The Battle for the Castle as well as the short story, The Golden Darters, read on the

Walt Larimore is a best-selling author who resides in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He has written or co-written 41 books and over 1200 articles in dozens of publications. As an author, his books have garnered a number of American awards and his international writing awards include Page Turner

E. C. Pecha is an award-winning screenwriter, novelist, and all-around weirdo. She has devoured mystery books since she first learned how to read, immersing herself in the twisting plots and gasp-inducing surprises. Now, she is passionate about writing her own, including her debut novel When the

Michele E. Gwynn is an award-winning Bestselling Author and former freelance journalist from San Antonio, Texas. She has worked in newspaper and contributed online to sites like Examiner.com, Yahoo Voices, and Salon.com. She has also worked as a senior editor for FashionErotica.com, written for Film

Anne Allen lives in Devon but originates from Rugby. Finding early on in life that she loved the sea she spent most of her adult years moving from one coast to another. Her happiest time was spent in Guernsey where she lived for nearly 14 years and her books are all set on that beautiful island

Nikki Auberkett is a cultural anthropologist, developmental editor, and overall passionate storyteller. With nearly 15 years of research and exploration into global folklore and mythology, biblical archaeology, and all things weird and unusual, she weaves her research and social science expertise

A.R. Vagnetti is an American writer who grew up in the scalding Tucson desert. She does her best writing while camping, traveling, and on the beautiful shores of Lake Huron, where she is now blessed to spend her summers away from the Arizona heat. A.R. loves to transport readers into a fantastical

In a career that’s included work as a journalist, a psychologist, and the founder of a national art consulting company, Maggie Smith has added novelist to her resume with the publication of her debut, Truth and Other Lies, in March 2022. In addition to her writing, Maggie hosts the weekly podcast

Stella Leventoyannis Harvey is a fiction writer whose short stories have appeared in The Literary Leanings Anthology, The New Orphic Review, Emerge Magazine and The Dalhousie Review. Her non-fiction has appeared in Pique Newsmagazine, The Question and the Globe and Mail. Signature Editions published

Jenny is a fantasy and romance author who lives in a city filled with dragons, woodland where the fae hang out, on an airship home to a crew of sky pirates and, sometimes, on the outskirts of Bristol in England. She believes in love at first sight and got married in a zoo. Wherever she is, there is

Alexandra Grace started writing emotional poetry as a teenager but publishing a novel that made readers feel and appreciate was her dream. It wasn't until her 40s that Alexandra fulfilled that dream, and she had so much fun, that her first novel evolved into a series. She likes to combine her

Joe (Giuseppe) Costanzo was born in Pedivigliano in the mountains of Calabria in Southern Italy, a town not unlike the fictional Roccamonti in his novel Restoration. Both of his grandfathers were so-called “birds of passage” who frequently traveled back and forth between Italy and America and were

Emma was born in a small town in South Wales and now lives in Derbyshire with her two children, a cat who likes nothing more than jumping on her laptop when she is working, and her scruffy but adorable dog who melts everyone’s heart. Emma has always been passionate about helping others, which led

D. Liebhart is the developer of the amazingly effective How to be an Unsuccessful Novelist program. One: At fifteen, cultivate infatuation of iconic performer (Think: Bowie, but anyone unattainable will suffice). Analyze lyrics to the exclusion of other pursuits, like say homework. Set goal of

When Genevieve Jenner was six years old, she liked to play dress up and write stories, and she wanted to be a mermaid. She has finally accepted that being a mermaid isn't the most secure career option, but the other two things have remained constant. Genevieve lives near Bude in North Cornwall.

L.R. Braden is the bestselling author of the Magicsmith urban fantasy series, the spin-off novel Demon Riding Shotgun, and several works of short fiction. Her writing has won the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Sci-fi/Fantasy, the First Horizon Award for debut authors, the Imadjinn Award for Best Urban

Harker Jones holds a degree in written communication and literature from Eastern Michigan University. He has written two novels (including the Amazon #1 best-seller “Until September”) and seven screenplays. His short thriller “Cole & Colette” won the Get It Made Short-Form Screenplay Competition and

J.W. Elliot is a professional historian, martial artist, canoer, bow builder, knife maker, woodturner, and rock climber. He has a Ph.D. in Latin American and World History. He has lived in Idaho, Oklahoma, Brazil, Arizona, Portugal, and Massachusetts. He writes non-fiction works of history about the

Ragh Bir’s family arrived in the UK in the early 1960’s. Born in the Summer of Love, in Slough, Berkshire, she found growing up in a family with a strict Indian father challenging to her free-spirited nature. Her Indian upbringing was neither traditional, nor, contemporary, and she found herself

I write comedy and journalism, and have been published in places like The New Yorker, The Guardian, and Sunday Times Magazine. I have written two books - Welcome to Winkdale and How to Skim a Stone - and my comedy has been shortlisted for awards like the Writers' Guild Award and the BBC Writer's

Adam Saint is a leading legal expert who advises banks and governments on artificial intelligence and bitcoin. He combines this with work as a mathematician – his contributions to medical statistics have been published in The Lancet and other journals – and also compiles cryptic crosswords for the

David Pugh lives in Portishead near Bristol, he has kept 'Newfies' or 'Newfs' (as they are affectionately called) for more than 25 years. As a founder member of Newfoundfriends charity, he has, together with a magnificent team of humans and dogs, continued to raise funds totaling over £1.5 million

J.W. Elliot is a professional historian, martial artist, canoer, bow builder, knife maker, woodturner, and rock climber. He has a Ph.D. in Latin American and World History. He has lived in Idaho, Oklahoma, Brazil, Arizona, Portugal, and Massachusetts. He writes non-fiction works of history about the

I grew up an army brat, traveling a lot! I guess those landscapes rubbed off because they are all in my head now and even more so after all the traveling I've done on my own. From stone temples, caves in Spain filled with cave art, to standing stones in Scotland, to Cappadocia in Turkey, they all

I'm a Westerner by heritage, raised in Tucson, and I've lived in Colorado, Georgia, and now New Mexico. I'm a sustainability writer, consultant, college instructor. I teach a class in the Sustainability Minor at the University of Colorado Denver, and I'm currently revising the sequel to my first

L.R. Braden is the bestselling author of the Magicsmith urban fantasy series, the spin-off novel Demon Riding Shotgun, and several works of short fiction. Her writing has won the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Sci-fi/Fantasy, the First Horizon Award for debut authors, the Imadjinn Award for Best Urban

Author’s Bio – Roni (Aharona) Rosenthal, PhD, was born in Israel. Roni is the Director of Judaic Studies and a Hebrew Literature Professor at the University of Maryland. This is her third novel.

Noley Reid is the author of four books: the novels Pretend We Are Lovely (Tin House Books) and In the Breeze of Passing Things (MacAdam/Cage) and the short story collection So There! (SFSU Press). Her fourth book, this collection of stories called Origami Dogs (Autumn House Press), is about women