2023 Book Award Finalists

TARA C. ALLRED is an award-winning author, instructional designer, and educator. She has been recognized as a California Scholar of the Arts for Creative Writing and is a recipient of the Howey Awards for Best Adult Book and Best Adult Author. She lives in Utah with her husband. Her published works

TARA C. ALLRED is an award-winning author, instructional designer, and educator. She has been recognized as a California Scholar of the Arts for Creative Writing and is a recipient of the Howey Awards for Best Adult Book and Best Adult Author. She lives in Utah with her husband. Her published works

TARA C. ALLRED is an award-winning author, instructional designer, and educator. She has been recognized as a California Scholar of the Arts for Creative Writing and is a recipient of the Howey Awards for Best Adult Book and Best Adult Author. She lives in Utah with her husband. Her published works

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

I’m an amateur writer born and raised on the prairies of Texas. Now I’m raising my children in the forests of Massachusetts. I’ve always dabbled in writing, but now I’ve decided to publish children’s books for my daughters to have strong female leads and adventures I can cater to their liking. 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

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

For over a decade, Joelle Habbaki has been the powerhouse behind a successful event design company, honing her skills in creativity, communication, and organization. Yet all along there was a nagging urge that never left her. The urge to write stories that capture the essence of love in all its

Danielle Paquette-Harvey is an Award-Winning, International Best Selling author of fantasy romance. Her books have sold thousands of copies in countries worldwide. Her books include werewolves, vampires, dragons, witches, morally grey characters, and swooning romance. Her books have been translated

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

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

Kitiera Morey is a lively perfectionist with the mouth of a drunken sailor. When she's not singing off-key for the entire world to hear or chasing after a chaos demon, Kitiera is indulging her Stardew Valley addiction. She lives in New York with her beautiful daughter, four cats and two dogs.

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

I won the Moth Story Slam this past July with the subject of Denial. Seems like denial is pervasive these days. Contestants had 5 minutes to tell their tale, without notes, in front of a packed audience at the Parkway theater in Minneapolis. I highly recommend writers find the Moth Story Slam in

Robbi Sommers Bryant is an award-winning author and professional editor with more than fourteen years of experience helping writers shape powerful, psychologically resonant stories. Known for her intuitive understanding of character, emotional depth, and narrative tension, she works collaboratively

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

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

Jayne Doxtater was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and now resides in the beautiful West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. After a fulfilling 40-year career as a business owner and esthetician, she is now semi-retired and embraces a life close to nature. "I wrote this book as a

Marcia is the award-winning novelist of AWAKEN: SHADOWS OF A FORGOTTEN PAST and ALIVE: SHADOWS OF A LIVING PAST. Her latest novel, THE GHOSTS OF LEWIS MANOR was published in September. And THE HAUNTING OF BLACKWATER is scheduled to be released in October of 2023. Marcia was born and raised in

Marla White started her illustrious career as a storyteller at the age of four by drawing on the TV screen to help Winky Dink get out of mortal danger, earning her a firm spanking. Deterred by the negative feedback, she studied to be a park ranger instead until she realized it was really a TV show

Dana Wayne fulfilled a lifelong dream to be a published author in the summer of 2016 with the publication of her first novel, Secrets of the Heart, which went on to win first place in a statewide contest. Since then, she has self-published a popular cookbook and seven well-received romance novels

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

R. T. Coleman grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she nurtured a passion for reading and writing while nestled among blankets and pillows in her bedroom closet. Her love of science fiction was born when she saw Star Wars in the theater in 1977. Imagine her disappointment when she realized she

From a small child I’ve loved to lose myself in stories. I’m a firm believer that if heaven exists, it contains every novel ever written and has big squishy sofas to curl up on and read for all eternity. Before I started writing novels, my comedy play, The Magazine was performed at The Bush Theatre

Karen and Anne are sisters who grew up in a traditional family home in the 70s and 80s in Franklin, VA. They both attended colleges in Raleigh, NC- Karen at Meredith College, and Anne at Peace College- where their sisterly bond began to flourish. They enjoy reminiscing about the quirky events of

MARK T. RASMUSSEN is an Australian author born by the sea, cultivated in the city, formed via the world. Previously a professional journalist and editor, Mark now writes evocative, thought provoking subject matter for his adult novels and screenplays, and fun, captivating, thoughtful books for

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

Allan is a professional actor, educator, writer and former stand-up comedian. During his years on stage, he’s gotten to participate in countless battles – some even with other people – involving longswords, rapiers, daggers, staves, pistols, bottles, loaves of French bread and, of course, his grimy

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

Ben Burgess Jr is the author of the award-winning novels "Monster," "Wounded," "Love and Happiness," " A Father's Sacrifice: Daddy's Girl," and the new novel "Defining Moments: Black and White." He is an active performer of spoken word poetry. Ben Burgess Jr uses his love of writing to inspire and

Selena Rezvani is an internationally known leadership speaker and 3X author, TEDx-er, and an award-winning journalist. She trains some of the brightest minds on leadership development at places like The World Bank, Microsoft, Under Armour, Pfizer, and Nestlé – helping emerging leaders enhance their

The child of an Air Force family, Stephen Watts was born in West Germany. He is a direct descendant of Charles Watts. Stephen began organizing his family’s archive of genealogy files, tracing his lineage, and transcribing the Charles Watts correspondence in 1996. He has since found his family’s

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

Dana Wayne fulfilled a lifelong dream to be a published author in the summer of 2016 with the publication of her first novel, Secrets of the Heart, which went on to win first place in a statewide contest. Since then, she has self-published a popular cookbook and seven well-received romance novels

John Winn Miller is a former award-winning investigative reporter, foreign correspondent, newspaper editor and publisher, screenwriter, indie movie producer and novelist.

E.T. Gunnarsson translates imagination into words for a living. E.T. Gunnarsson's debut book, Forgive Us, received the accolades for Best Sci-Fi Book at the 2021 San Francisco Book Festival and Best Post-Apocalyptic Book at the 2021 Fiction Awards. Born and raised in the Rocky Mountains (9,000 feet

I've published over 30 novels and nonfiction books, most notably the popular Shakespeare Stealer series. I'm also a widely produced playwright; my adaptation of The Shakespeare Stealer has been staged by most of the top children's theatres in the U.S. I've recently turned my hand to screenplays

Marlene M. Bell is Ewephoric about writing mysteries and children's books where she's able to use her personal experiences with sheep and farm everyday life into suspenseful crime fiction. She's an artist, as well as a wildlife photographer especially when it comes to sheep. Her landscapes grace the

This immersive, multi-genre writer does not shy away from diversity of thought but rather embraces the creative challenge it sets forth. Included in Murphy's portfolio is her multi-genre work of fiction, 'Speaking Of'; a novel – 'The Emerald Diaries-Secrets of an Irish Clan'; Sweet Peas and Bees -

Elliotté P. Joel is a poet, painter, sculptor, editor-in-chief of Estetično Magazine for young literature, arts and philosophy, and founder of the Literary Association Absence of Meaning Žilina. She is the author of three poetry collections and one literary study. The work documenting her mental

Alice Early, a recovering international business workaholic, is a writer, singer, and avid cook given to experimenting on guests with her gluten free baking. She lives with her husband on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the coast of Massachusetts, except from annual visits since 1996 to the

Vali grew up in the Midwest. She now lives in Tucson with her husband, two sons and grandchildren. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Vali started and sold two successful businesses before she decided to pursue her real passion of writing. She published several articles in a variety

After embarking on her writing journey in 2014, Alexandra has written, published, and produced media on pregnancy, birth, and early-childhood education. Always a lover of history, she decided to dive into her own family's mystery surrounding her great-grandmother Frances, and her grandfather's

Sherry Leclerc is a Fictionary certified StoryCoach editor, Fictionary content creator, certified copyeditor, educator, and independent author of fantasy and sci-fi books. She also writes sci-fi romance under a pen name and has planned a series of nonfiction books with helpful information on writing

Alexandra Grace started writing emotional poetry as a teenager, but her biggest dream was writing a novel that made readers feel. That dream finally came true in her 40s when her first idea wouldn't let her sleep. She likes to combine her respect for military service personnel with her heartfelt

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

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

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

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