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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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’ve dabbled in writing of all sorts: news articles for the national edition of the Deseret News, poetry published in small literary journals, contest-winning short stories, and a peer-reviewed science article. I have yet to publish a novel, however. With my B.S. in Physics, my fantasy has a sci-fi

I'm a storyteller who didn't really find my writing voice until later in life. My novels are "what if" explorations, always told in first person and present tense, allowing the reader to experience the story as I imagine I would.

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

I have worked as an architect and designer in Britain and Australia and now live in Sydney. I draw on personal experience for my writing, having lived an eventful life full of strange, wonderful, and traumatic experiences. I completed the year-long Faber Academy Work in Progress program in 2021 and

I'm a proud native of Suffolk, but now live in Wiltshire, divorced with two adult sons, in a small house with a garden I've made from scratch, and two loving, beautiful, mischievous and entertaining Burmese kittens. I've been writing since I was a small child, and began my first published book at

I recently completed a 20-year career in public health. Prior to that, my life varied from a period spent in the military as a United Nations Peacekeeper in the Middle East to employment as a refugee relief worker in a camp for Bosnian Muslims in Croatia. To date, excerpts from my novel, A Cypress

Herb Williams-Dalgart is an award-winning author and screenwriter, recognized for developing rich, memorable stories, layered characters, and fresh dialogue across many genres. The grandson of a World War II veteran, Herb maintains a great respect for and fascination with “The Greatest Generation.”

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

Megan Catana (formerly Schikora) lives in the US. Her work won third place in prose in the 2020 New South Writing Contest and was nominated by Flash Fiction Magazine for the 2019 Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses. Her short fiction and creative nonfiction can also be found in The Rumpus, The

I grew up on a petite island in eastern Canada then drifted into a corporate career that fit my nomadic nature and took me around the hemispheres. I've left my footprints on every continent. In 2020, I left the business world to focus on my creative writing projects. Themes of nomadism, self

A Gemini through and through, Angelica has two different writing styles that work together to enlighten and motivate her readers when they read her works of art. The first style writing in the poetry, fantasy, self-help and parenting genre to include helpful messages that are either subtle, in

Diane Corso is a San Francisco Bay Area blogger at The Corso Papers, where she enjoys writing about bad (and good!) horror films. Her latest novel, Broken Things, placed second in the Horror/Paranormal category of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Contest for 2023. She recently guested on

Esme Carpenter was born in England where she started writing at a young age. She graduated from the University of East Anglia's BA in English Literature and Creative Writing and went on to become an English teacher. Esme writes fantasy and science-fiction for young adults and adult readers

A life left to my own devices all over the world bred mythical mysteries, fantasies and misery. So I'm an author. I have a feather quill tattoo.

I grew up in Manchester, the daughter of a botanist and a South African Indian immigrant who became a mental health social worker. I spent much of my childhood in the Herbarium of Manchester Museum, where my father worked and on which the Herbarium in The Blue Poppy is based. I travelled widely with

Roughly based on my own experiences living in Hong Kong, Dancers on the Midway is my first novel, a work of literary fiction that is set against the tumultuous backdrop of Hong Kong’s transition from British to Chinese control in the late 1980s, James is an American who finds himself caught up in a

Eugene Aucoin is a published author whose first book won Asia’s Best Book of the Year in Theology in 2020: The Cardinal Sin Award. His book, "Has Science Killed God? – Three Powerful Ideas that Will Reignite your Faith" (Manila: St Pauls’ Books, 2019), was also published in French in Canada in July

My debut novel, Running to Graceland, won the Independent Book Publishers gold medal in popular fiction in 2019. I have published fiction in Close to the Bone, Flash Fiction Magazine, Vermont Magazine and a young adult short story anthology published by Simon and Schuster, Soul Searching (2002). I

I am eighty-two years young. Born in Batesville, Arkansas. I graduated from Lutcher Stark High School in Orange, Texas. I received my BA Degree with a Major in Voice and Minors in Speech and Drama and Secondary Education from Arkansas College (now known as Lyon College). I taught Choir, Band and

Hi! I'm Nurse Jenn. A wife, mother, ER nurse and author. After over 14 years in the emergency room, I've learned a thing or two, usually that thing is you have no idea what's going to walk through the door next. My debut novel, Nursing Intuition: How to Trust Your Gut, is a mix of Eastern meet

I am an author, playwright, and freelance writer loving life in the American Southwest. Surviving and fleeing my upbringing in the Chicago area under the tutelage of white supremacist parents, I wandered until I found my true home here, inspired by the mystical landscapes, unique cultural history

I'm a writer, actor, and story coach from Edmonton, Canada. After working for years in a technical field, the company I worked for went under. Seeing it as an opportunity rather than a drawback, I decided to follow my passion of writing and film fulltime. With numerous produced screenplays and

I have been awarded second place in the final judging of Hastings Litfest, (a submission from a previous crime thriller), and ‘Sins of the Fathers’ reached a longlist of 20 in the Bridport Prize. (1629 entries). It also achieved a Highly Commended 4th place in the Yeovil Novel Prize, the longlist of

Chris Berg Chris Berg was born in the '50s in Gridley, California to a state game warden and his Army nurse, wife. Except for a short stint living in New York City, he's lived on the left coast all his life. After graduating with his B.S. from San Jose State University he made his way to his true