2023 Book Award Finalists

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.

Jayne Doxtater was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba and currently resides in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. A business owner and esthetician of 40 years, she is now semi-retired and loves spending time outdoors. A self-proclaimed tree hugger and chocolate lover, Jayne is

I found myself thrown into the singles arena when my 36-year marriage failed without any knowledge of how to navigate my way through. The many pitfalls I experienced ranged from misery to mayhem with lots of laughter in between. I learnt the thing one must never lose sight of is their sense of

Liesbet Collaert’s articles and photos have been published internationally. Born in Belgium, she has been a nomad since 2003 with no plans to settle anytime soon. Her love of travel, diversity, and animals is reflected in her lifestyle choices of sailing, RVing, and house and pet sitting. Liesbet

Ruth’s first writing memory is for her writer’s badge in Brownies but her MA in Creative Writing probably trumps that. Ruth has been Writer In Residence at Brightlingsea Lido since November 2021. Ruth has been published in various anthologies, helping to edit many of them as well and in 2022, she

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

Kathleen has been a freelance writer since 1999 and now writes full time. Her work has appeared in Doll World Magazine, Apolloslyre.com, The Lake County Journals, Trails.com; USA Today (travel), Livestrong.com (lifestyle), Essortment, eHow, Answerbag, Examiner.com, Suite101 and YahooVoices. She is

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

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

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

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

This immersive, multi-genre writer does not shy away from diversity of thought but rather embraces the challenge it sets forth. Included in Murphy’s portfolio is her hot-off-the-press houseful of eclectic works of fiction, ‘Speaking Of’; a novel – ‘The Emerald Diaries-Secrets of an Irish Clan'; and

Angela Fish is a writer who specialises in intergenerational communication, women’s writing and Welsh Writing in English. She gained her MPhil in Literature at the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales) in 1995 and became a principal lecturer there until 2009. From 2004 - 2009

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

Connecticut born, Robin D’Amato moved to New York City to attend New York University, fell in love with the City, and never left. She has worked in the publishing industry as a pre-press specialist since 1984, when she was introduced to the Macintosh computer. She also spent several decades pursuing

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

Over the years, Richard has written many articles, book reviews and numerous other ways of crafting and enjoying words. He is the author of four books: a debut novella, 'Looking to Move On', and three on different aspects of Christian spirituality, 'Life with St Benedict', 'Finding Stability in

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

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

Brittney Brackett is an accomplished actor, award-winning children’s book author, professional voice talent, and nonprofit champion with more than 12 years' experience helping children and teens flourish personally, scholastically, and emotionally. She is the founder of a nonprofit called The

Dianne Ebertt Beeaff has been a professional writer for many years beginning in the area of magazine journalism. She has had six books published, the latest being the short story collection On Traigh Lar Beach. She lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband, Dan.

C E Bland lives in London, England with her husband and their dog. Love, fun, animals, moving house many times, and a keen interest in how things work are the defining themes of her life. These days she has lost none of her enthusiasm for living a full and well-balanced life. Before moving into a

Tunde Ososanya is a Broadcast Journalist living in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism who currently works with the BBC in the Nigerian commercial capital. He began his career as a television presenter with the Nigerian Television Authority in 2016, going on to

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

Alex Thornbury is an award-winning author. She grew up in Cheshire UK, and developed deep love of history and fantasy thanks to the many castles she visited as a child. Though she grew up to be an Alchemist by trade, she never stopped fantasising about other worlds, dragons and epic battles. She has

Fabiana Elisa Martínez was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She graduated from UCA University in Buenos Aires with a degree in Linguistics and World Literature. She is a linguist, a language teacher, and a writer. She speaks five languages: Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, and

I've spent my life working as a traveling musician. Along the way, I've met some interesting people and seen some indescribable things. Although my books are works of fiction, they are based on real people I've met and the amazing places I've been. For over 4 decades, along with my wife Dana, we

Marc Joan spent the early part of his life in India, and the early part of his career in biomedical research. He draws on this and other experience for his fiction, which has been widely published in magazines. His novelette, The Speckled God, was published by Unsung Stories in Feb 2017; he is a

E.T. Gunnarsson translates imagination into words for a living. His debut book Forgive Us was awarded Best Sci-Fi book in the 2021 San Francisco Book Festival and Best Post-Apocalyptic Book in the 2021 Fiction Awards. Born and raised in the Rocky Mountains (9,000 feet altitude!), E.T. now resides in

5-time national book award winner, Diana Webb is a child survivor of Nazi Germany. She has a JD degree and a BA in psychology. After serving an unjust 12.5-year prison term and, also, experiencing a medical miracle in 2002, she decided to pen literary pieces sharing intense thought-provoking queries

Sonia was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario. She graduated as a dentist 30 years ago and specialized in orthodontics before opening her own solo practice. She pioneered digital treatment and has lectured around the world on her experience and insights. In 2020, she was called to write. Leave the

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