2023 Book Award Finalists

2022 Finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards for her debut novel, Buried Secrets. Krissy was born and raised in Upstate New York in the charming town of Fairport where she has taught for over 25 years. Krissy remembers her love of reading as a young child and how she couldn't get enough of great

I am a semi-retired elementary school teacher, originally from the U.S. but immigrated to Israel in 1981. I am the author of "The Big Buna Bash" a multicultural children's book about an Ethiopian girl and how the Ethiopian traditional coffee ceremony "brings people together". My book was published

Jan Sikes writes compelling and creative stories from the heart. She openly admits that she never set out in life to be an author, although she’s been an avid reader all her life. But she had a story to tell. Not just any story, but a true story that rivals any fiction creation. She brought 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

Thomas Henry Pope gives the landscapes in his novels as much agency to influence events as he does to his characters. His narrative style draws on his passions of journalism, theater, songwriting and teaching. And his world travels provide grist for his characters and stories. His debut novel

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'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

Speaker, author and songwriter, Matt McChlery, was born in Zimbabwe. In early 2016 Matt was diagnosed with cancer (non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) so took some time out of performing and recording. However he continued to write his blog and chronicled his journey whilst battling the disease which has since

As a child, I struggled with writing. That transformed when I was in graduate school studying for a Ph.D. in biochemistry and confronted with composing a dissertation. As I worked on my thesis, I felt enlivened in a new way. I assumed it was because I was nearing completion of my degree, yet now, in

Prasha is a published children's book author, clinical audiologist and educator with Master's degrees in Audiology and Education (Global Learning). Her award-winning picture book, My Brain is Magic: A Sensory-Seeking Celebration was published by Soaring Kite Books in 2023. She was the recipient of a

Pepper Anne is a 7th generation Texan, where she and her family currently reside. She gained experience working alongside private investigators where she learned to find information about stories of interest and eventually expose their cover-ups. Her first book, The Notorious Texas Swindler, is

When the award-winning indie author Florian Bushy visited the “ECO-92 - Earth Summit” in June 1992, his environmentalist side flourished. Since then, he has written books, produced more than 100 educational short documentaries for schools, and sorted his recycling at home to make a difference in

Kamalia Blunt (or Mali Millie) is an award winning author and passionate professional devoted to empowering individuals and their interests. With a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish & a minor in Chinese from the University of Georgia and a Master in Science for Health Promotion Management from American

Zoe Disigny holds a master's degree in art history and taught college courses throughout her career. She also worked as an art gallery director, a lecturer for The Norton Simon Museum of Art, and recently as a Road Scholar lecturer. Zoe has led numerous art tours in Europe and, at one point

Livin' the dream. D.W. Plato has degrees in Business Management and Psychology. This education gives her the multiple skills she needs to be a full-time landlord. “One of these days I’ll be a full-time AUTHOR and a part-time landlord,” she jokes. #lifegoals With five books already published, she's

Roni Rosenthal, PhD, is the Director of Judaic Studies and a Professor of Hebrew Literature in the University of Maryland system. This is her third novel and first poetry collection. Roni is passionate about communication and empowerment. She strongly believes in giving a voice to the unfortunate

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

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

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

I am emeritus professor of health services research at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine where I spent 35 years studying and teaching about health care policy, evaluation of services and how to improve them. I have extensive experience of writing non-fiction - research papers

Lisa Baker has been teaching music and theater for 15 years. She has always enjoyed writing, starting with her high school creative writing class, which mostly has been a pastime until recently. She graduated from Grand Canyon University, summa cum laude, with her B.S. in Elementary Education with

Dr. Gary McCarragher was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He received his medical training at McGill University and enjoyed a successful career as a gastroenterologist in the Tampa Bay area before becoming a hospice physician in 2009. As part of his passionate advocacy for hospice, Gary has

Mary Camarillo is the award winning author of The Lockhart Women, published in June of 2021 by She Writes Press. Her short fiction and poems have appeared in publications such as 166 Palms, The Ear and Lunch Ticket. She is currently working on a second novel about her neighborhood in Huntington

Evie Alexander is a multi-award-winning author of sexy romantic comedies with a very British sense of humour. She takes a method approach to her work, believing her capacity to repeatedly fail at life and love is what has given her such a rich supply of material for her writing. Her interests

Tasha Hutchison, author of the captivating women's fiction novel, "Broken Petals." With a passion for captivating storytelling, Tasha aims to enchant and intrigue readers through her evocative narratives. Her book Broken Petals also landed her as a finalist in the best book awards for Page Turner

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

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

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

Roxanna Mason is a paranormal romance author and formally trained actor from Los Angeles, California. It was her deep love of storytelling that led her to study theatre and that same love of storytelling that drove her to write her first novel. When not writing, Roxanna is binge watching horror

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

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

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.

Jenny is a fantasy author who lives in a city filled with dragons, woodland where the fae hang out, on an airship home to a crew of sky outlaws and, sometimes, on the outskirts of Bristol in England. Wherever she is, there is always cake.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I was born in India of Anglo-Indian/Eurasian parents, residing in old colonial railway colonies. We lived a charmed but borrowed European lifestyle, attending catholic convents, far from home and being taught by Belgian and Irish nuns. I escaped my early cloistered life through my parent's

Helen works with business owners to build a better life and business using her ‘Commit to Achieve Principles’. A successful osteopath and entrepreneur with experience in both ‘bricks-andmortar’ and online businesses. She retired from her clinical work in 2020 after 20 years of being a therapist

Kirsten Pursell is an American author and sometimes blogger. Released on January 1, 2023, Long Enough to Love You is her fourth book. Previous works include her memoir, On Becoming Me: Memoir of an 80's Teenager, released in 2021, and two other novels: Harvard and Company Clown. Her memoir has been

Glenn Somodi writes his stories in the short space between lying down and dreaming. The stories are written over many nights, replayed, and rewritten in his head for enjoyment. His mission is to find anyone who enjoys reading the stories as much as he enjoys creating them. Inspired by some of his

I began a lifelong love of reading before kindergarten. My earliest memories include going to the library or bookmobile and bringing home a box of books…every week. I was raised on Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Wizard of Oz, Black Beauty, and other works of mystery and wonder. Not surprising I would work

A paralyzing car accident in her teens left Ryan with a new life to build. Rarely looking back, she became a swim coach and a high school teacher, she traveled to India for experimental stem cell treatment, she fought hard to make the Paralympic swim team, she even became a mom. With so many stories

Lauren Steinhauer is a born a storyteller, entertaining boyhood friends with interactive adventures. As a young man in Hollywood, he performed magic—a form of storytelling—at the famous Magic Castle. A decade ago, Lauren began “Sherlock Holmes’ Lost Adventure: The True Story of the Giant Rats of

I am an author of three novels, all published by Matador, with a fourth to be published later this year. I spent over 25 years as a writer of short fiction for women's commercial magazines and was published extensively in the UK and internationally. Completing an M.A. in Creative Writing with

Amanda Sheridan is a retired civil servant who lives with her husband and their two beloved rough collies on the beautiful Ards peninsula in Northern Ireland. She loves motorsport and fast cars, country life and a good book to read. When an idea nagged her back in 2017, she thought it would make a