2023 Writing Award Finalists

I have a veterinary degree and PhD from Cambridge, and spent twenty years in Kenya researching a disease of cattle and wildlife which no one outside Africa has ever heard of. I travelled throughout the region and worked closely with international and local scientists as well as the diplomatic

I have a veterinary degree and PhD from Cambridge, and spent twenty years in Kenya researching a disease of cattle and wildlife which no one outside Africa has ever heard of. I travelled throughout the region and worked closely with international and local scientists as well as the diplomatic

I am a Classicist turned English Teacher with a specialism in Greek Mythology and Feminist Literature. I have a published poem and a non-fiction piece in the form of a published thesis. My works look into representing the silenced voices of history.

JAC Laferriere is almost a retired scientist. He has numerous publications on a wide range of topics in vaccine research and development, from how to manufacture a vaccine to the health economics of publicly funded immunisation programs. He especially enjoys writing poems, novels and plays with a

Rob McIvor grew up mainly in south Lancashire but now lives in Blackheath, south-east London, with his family and two unruly cats. His debut novel, a 2021 Page Turner Awards finalist, argues that honesty isn't always the best policy, weaving together a mysterious death during the Tour de France, a

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

John has delivered medical aid to orphanages and hospitals across the globe, including Romania during the revolution, South America and Bosnia during the war. His autobiography, The Benevolence of Rogues, tells of the characters he encountered during his many dangerous missions, when he enlisted

I am a graduate of the Curtis Brown Creative Novel-Writing Course, winner of the 2021 Blue Pencil Agency Pitch Prize and have been long listed for Mslexia Novel Writing competitions. The Hollow Mountain is my third novel. I trained as a pharmacist, ultimately heading up a department supporting

Rosemary Hayward is a British transplant to California where she has spent the last twenty years helping Americans do their taxes, growing from parenthood to grandparenthood and learning to write fiction. In 2017 she self-published Margaret Leaving, the story of Jenny North's search for her step

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

Tom Gaisford is a barrister in the field of immigration and asylum law, and a freelance contributor to The Independent, The Tablet and Open Democracy. In 2021, he froze his practising certificate and moved with his young family to Guernsey, where he has since completed his first novel, THE MUSE &

I am a queer son of Cuban immigrants. My experience of being a double minority (queer & latinX) and son of a national psychologist radio host/author for LatinX Americans (Dr. Isabel Gomez-Bassols) taught me to have a high level of compassion for others. My mother has consistently used her national

Thirty years experience as a behavioral scientist served me well to write of people facing life's challenges. My writing encompasses a novel, short stories and, with a collaborator, Tino Juarez, screenplays. Currently living in Central Mexico, I was born in Chicago but have lived in England, Spain

Chad V. Broughman was the recipient of the Rusty Scythe Prize Book award in 2016 and in 2017 was awarded the Adobe Cottage Writers Retreat honor in New Mexico. As well, Chad was awarded two chapbook contracts for his short story collections––“the forsaken” and "slighted"––both published by Etchings

Alon Lankri is an author of genre fiction, with a focus on fantasy and satire. He has spent way too many years in academia, amassing degrees in writing, economics, management, and teaching. When he isn’t imagining new worlds, Alon dances salsa with his wife, children, and labrador and occasionally

Greetings from the far south-east corner of the world map! When I'm not writing or reading I'm usually making things with my hands. Shortlisted for an Aurealis award in 2016. I believe in the power of stories.

Hi. I'm currently based in Liverpool with my partner and two children. I've worked for many years as a teacher in Further Education, teaching English, Psychology, Sociology, History, Creative Writing, Access to Higher Ed: you name it. I worked in F.E. as Head of the English, History and Sociology

Peter Trivelas was First Runner-up for the 2022 Darron L. Wright Writing Award. His short stories have appeared in Deadly Writer’s Patrol, Blood & Bourbon, Thema Literary Journal, Line of Advance and other publications. In 2021 his fiction was read in a WordTheatre worldwide presentation honoring

Paulene Turner is an Australian writer of short stories, short plays and novels. A former journalist, she is currently editing her 6-book YA time travel series. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies and magazines in the UK, US and Australia. She also directs her own short plays for Short

The profession of "author" was not Jerome's initial calling. Though the seed was planted in childhood, it only came about as a result of a winding and varied career that included paleoanthropology field experience in Kenya, training in the fine arts, acting for the stage and screen, work in

Masha Shukovich (she/they) is a writer, poet, storyteller, folklorist, teacher, independent scholar, and intuitive chef with ancestry and indigenous roots in the Balkans; the Mediterranean; and West, Central, and Northeast Asia (Siberia). She is a mother, demigirl, neurodivergent person, practical

Riv Begun is a writer from Atlanta, Georgia. She combines her love of history, travel and family stories to create multigenerational tales inspired by her own family's past. She is a POSSE Foundation alumni and graduated from Boston University with a BFA in screenwriting. She has short stories in

Drew Louis was born and raised in Albany, NY - the setting for his debut novel DRAINPIPE DREAMS. He later received his BA from SUNY Plattsburgh (NY) and his MFA from American University in Washington DC. Drew now lives in Albuquerque, NM with his wife and two children and works as a Best Boy Rigging

Louise writes novels, short stories and flash fiction, which have won prizes, placed on shortlists, and have been read out on BBC radio. Her short fiction has appeared in more than twenty print anthologies and magazines. Some of these are also online, links to which can be found on her website. She

Raised in Ohio, I’ve had a successful career as a playwright in Israel. I’ve worked as a theatre director, librettist, actor, singer and founder of an a cappella rock choir. My blog “Song of the Week” (https://jmeshel.com/sotw/) has a large, loyal readership. “We Are Decapede!” is my first novel.

I am a native Nigerian with many different passions. I believe that one of the keys to happiness is finding a way to blend one’s passions and make them work together, rather than sacrificing one passion for another. I contribute to Paradoxical Chameleon, a blog about embracing one’s whole self. I am

Jon Smith is an internationally published, best-selling author of fifteen books and writer of four staged musicals and has been writing professionally for fifteen years. Awarded a MA in Screenwriting from the UK's Bournemouth University, his screenplays consistently place in major competitions

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

I am a self-employed GP, living and working by the sea in Malta. My first book, Strangers I’ll Never Forget, a collection of non-fiction stories, was published in Malta by Ede Books in 2021, and on Amazon KDP. In 2021/22 I wrote my first novel, as part of the year-long 'Ultimate Novel Writing Course

I’m a psychologist who develops equitable credentialing exams. I live in Alexandria, VA, where I’m the last person who still believes Pokémon Go is cool. When I’m not writing, I’m snapping photos of Pikachu in front of national monuments.

When I'm not writing, I work as a Sonographer. It was a great career to work in while I finished college with a degree in photography. My goal was to get my Master's degree in Bio-communication and become a Medical Illustrator. I was lucky enough to find a job right out of college as a Medical

After graduating from law school in 2010, Lucien Elliott spent nearly a decade in and out of courtrooms as a practicing criminal defense attorney in upstate New York. He now works as a director of a public legal defense program. Lucien grew up the son of a lawyer who was an elected District Attorney