2023 Writing Award Finalists

Yvonne Walus writes thrillers and crime fiction. She also dabbles in SF and romance (on the side).

Rob was born and bred in Surrey, with stints in Oxford and Freiburg, Germany, to study French and German, and is now based in South East London. He is fifteen years deep into an advertising career, but has always written during spare time as a creative outlet. Looking to elevate his craft, Rob

Dear Page Turner Awards Judges, I'm honored to submit my work for your consideration. I've written three novels about the Russian Revolution and the ensuing civil war which center around the Romanovs. The first one, THE MOTH ORCHID (historical, about 99,000 words) starts with the assassination of

Len Cobb is an emerging author and recovering structural engineer. He has completed two novels and is polishing two more. He's had a short story published and his work was longlisted in the 2023 Page Turner Awards. Len lives in Puerto Rico with his wife, two dogs, three guitars, and four

I am a house-bound writer who lives happily with my husband and two cats, spending my days hopping from world to world via audiobooks and manga. I've wanted to be an author since I was 6, or so I've been told. Other options included: doctor, plumber, scientist, accountant, pilot and pokemon trainer

Born in South Dakota, I grew up in Oklahoma and Michigan, and have lived in Chicago, New York, Boston, London, Prague and, for the past 15 years, Paris. I have degrees from the University of Michigan and Harvard, and I'm working on a third at University College London. I have worked as a babysitter

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

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

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.

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

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

Meg Gaertner is the managing editor of middle grade and young adult fiction for Jolly Fish Press and Flux, the author of several children’s nonfiction and fiction books, a 2019 Pitch Wars mentee, and a graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing program at Antioch University L.A.

B. Romero is a writer, teacher, student, wife, mother, activist, and everything in between. Writing has been her passion since a young age and she is also a lover of all things horror. When she is not writing, B. enjoys reading, gaming, and watching horror movies. During school hours, you can catch

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 an award-winning author of two books: a YA novel “Camper Girl” (Fitzroy Books, 2020), and a picture book, “Red’s First Snow” (Corn Crib Publishing, 2020). I teach college English and volunteer as a youth mentor.

Author of "The Private Misadventures of Nell Nobody," and "On Wounds of Woe," Jennifer Newbold came to fiction writing from a historical perspective, with a belief that history can be immediate and relevant, and that fiction can be a means to making history accessible. But fiction can do so much

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

Alicia Doyle is a voracious reader and lover of large cups of tea. Taking her love of the written word a step further, she published a small collection of her poetry in 2021 and had the pleasure of having one of her short stories published in the online magazine, Short Fiction Break, in 2022. In

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

Ankit Gupta is a young passionate Author and a TEDx speaker based in London, United Kingdom. He is a Certified Financial Specialist, accredited by Financial Planning Standards Board, USA, currently recognized globally in 27 countries. Ankit is extremely passionate about Personal Finance and that is

Nick McLoughlin was born and brought up in Derby. After university he escaped teaching by running away to the French Alps to go snowboarding. He is still there. He is an alumni of the respected Faber 'Writing a Novel' course, and is currently working on his second novel.

I have been a journalist in Devon and Cornwall much of my life, but it is only in the past year that I have had the time to pursue my great passion for writing thrillers set on Cornwall’s Atlantic coast. I have swum and surfed there since I was a child and, in fact, my father was one of the county’s

Katherine writes about fundamental human choices – how to live, how to die, whether to create a new life or remain child-free–and what happens when people who love each other are in conflict over those choices. She lives in North Norfolk and was once a lawyer.

Richard O’Halloran is an Australian born, London based writer, and graduate of the University of East Anglia MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction)

David Turner is an engineer with an eye toward the future. He spent ten years working on NASA’s mission critical software, including the Artemis missions that will send humans back to the moon. He enjoys home improvement projects, bartending for his friends, and hiking—especially in national parks

Although I am British I was raised in Zimbabwe and I have also lived in Italy, Spain, Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa, each of which has enriched the texture of my life and allowed my childhood dream of writing a novel to brew over time. A detour that involved a career in sales and marketing

Alexandrea Weis, RN-CS, PhD, is a multi-award-winning, international bestselling author, screenwriter, and advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Having grown up in the motion picture industry as the daughter of a director, she learned to

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

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 consider myself a collaborator and builder. Working as a leader and member of high-performance teams, I have created tremendous capabilities at financial institutions across Canada and in the U.S. I have been a Chief Risk Officer and a Chief Executive Officer. I also consider myself a creator. I

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

A little about me, hmmmmm, where to start? Ok, so, I'm a married father of 6, yes SIX, two grown up kids from failed experiment 1.0 and four from experiment 2.0. This experiment is going strong with my ring finger being dressed for a decade, come this November. If anyone deserves an award, it’s my

Mikey Jackson is a versatile scriptwriter and novelist from the seaside town of Worthing, near Brighton, United Kingdom. The first ten pages of his novel Disordinary made the final shortlist in the Page Turner Awards 2024. His debut play Cruel was performed at Etcetera Theatre, Camden Town, London

Having published several poems and short stories in previous years and a poetry collection, ‘Muted Hellion’ in 2007, Jacqueline began 'The Two Seeings' novel in 2008. She also embarked on the Creative Writing MLitt at Glasgow University in 2009. In 2010 she ran Poetry@The Ivory and was later Chair

I've been writing fiction for five years and I've just finished my first novel which began as a story told around a campfire, imagining walking into the woods and out into a different time. What might happen? Who would you meet? What would you do? At first, it was an an exciting story to tell the

I grew up in Boston, but I lived abroad for fifteen years. I spent three years in Australia, eleven in Taiwan and one in Japan. While I lived in Taiwan, I published two novels. The first, Jin Village, came out in 2013. The second, Dark Blossom, came out in 2014. I currently live in Los Angeles

Writer, actor, tutor and mother (including one bun in the oven!). A little about me: I have written a couple of one-woman shows, most notably ‘Words, words, words’, which was an exploration of the seven stages of grief told through the lens of Shakespeare’s seven ages of man. Here is a link to my

Since I was a girl, books have captivated me. As an adult, I've had fun writing stories that make people think and feel. You'll often find topics from my criminology and victimology teaching background in my writing - I infuse elements from these areas to grab readers in a relatable way.

Alex is a library manager from Brandon, Manitoba.

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.

Now retired, my career began as a teacher of French and German and ended as a specialist in helping pupils who do not speak the language of instruction all over the UK and Europe. I was a member of an EU Working Group promoting better Education outcomes for pupils of Roma heritage in Europe. I

Steve conveys perspectives and emotions in poems and songs. His draft memoir, Galvanized, tells how he overcame timidity as an air cavalry officer in the Vietnam War. A tuxedo cat from a shelter encourages him from a perch over his PC keyboard. Steve assists disabled veterans in getting government

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

After gaining a degree in Anthropology, Sophie went into television production directing her first documentary for Channel 4 when driving from London to Johannesburg. Having produced an INSET series for BBC Education, she set up wildlife films in Botswana and a BLUE PETER exploration of South Africa

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, SANCTUARY

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