2024 Book Award Finalists

Born in England, breaking into serious novel writing wasn’t something I began in earnest until taking early retirement after selling my business. Two decades of writing non-fiction, graphic design, magazine publication and organic skincare manufacturing, finally led me to my dream job. Writing

Christian, retired schoolteacher, author, and glamper: these words could describe April Coker. She has been writing since she was ten years old and taught high school English, science, and did credit recovery for at-risk students for 30 years. She now enjoys spending time with her three

Thank you for considering Deena Undone for a 2024 Page Turner Award. I am an author of horror, thrillers, and stories that make the heart beat fast. Deena Undone is my debut novel and will be published by Woodhall Press. It has won multiple awards, most notably an American Fiction Award for BEST

Neen Cohen is an Aussie. She writes sapphic speculative fiction and while she tries to take things seriously she thrives being the hyperactive bookworm who rarely stops smiling or laughing. If she had to decide between never reading or never writing again she simply wouldn’t. Rules were never her

Neen Cohen is an Aussie. She writes sapphic speculative fiction and while she tries to take things seriously she thrives being the hyperactive bookworm who rarely stops smiling or laughing. If she had to decide between never reading or never writing again she simply wouldn’t. Rules were never her

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

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

Refe Tuma is the author of middle grade historical fantasy books Frances and the Monster and Frances and the Werewolves of the Black Forest, a finalist for the 2023 Bram Stoker Awards®. He’s also the co-creator of the best-selling and award-winning What the Dinosaurs Did picture book series

Marcia Armandi is the multi-award-winning author of The Ghosts of Lewis Manor and The Haunting of Blackwater with two additional novels under contract for publication in 2024. She was born and raised in Argentina. She is a soccer fanatic and loves listening to tango. Marcia studied International

Ruth is a novelist and freelance writer, the author of the Isabella M Smugge series, contemporary humorous page-turners with heart. She has also published a collection of Pride and Prejudice short stories and a volume of poetry. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and TikTok at

KJ Fieler is known for her exceptional storytelling and captivating narratives. She's won multiple awards, including * Literary Titan Gold * Firebird Award for Women's Issues and Weird Genre * 2023 Historical Fiction Company: 5-star Reader's Choice and Silver Award for Fantasy * The 20th Annual

As a First Nations educator, Ashlee Alicea is dedicated to helping children ask the “I wonder” questions. Her playful and imaginative style of writing helps tap into a child’s curiosity. Creating stories that all children can enjoy while also highlighting the language, culture, and identity of

When Ellis isn’t moonlighting as a coffee aficionada, you might find her adventuring through Transylvania, doing photoshoots in Old Town Bucharest, or otherwise trying to talk her husband into moving to Eastern Europe. She’s a lover of history with a penchant for World War II and the Cold War, and

L.P. Simone lives and writes in Washington D.C, is known to feed a stray cat or two, and definitely believes in ghosts, dragons, and other mythical beings.

I am a writer and performer from Essex born to an Anglo-Indian mother and Anglo-Burmese father. I have been writing since I was twelve years old, after spending most of my evenings reading stories from the school library. I live in Colchester with my husband, dog and cat. Hexed is my first published

Anita Selzer is an acclaimed author of fourteen books in adult and children’s non-fiction. Her interest is in women, gender and culture, and history. She has earned a BA, Dip Ed, Master of Education, PhD in Education and Grad Dip in Women’s Studies at universities in Melbourne, and was awarded the

Barry W. Levy is an award-winning actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter. He holds a Fine Arts degree from The University of British Columbia's Department of Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing, (1991). His two feature films, ‘Spook’ and ‘The Shasta Triangle’, both of which he wrote and directed, have

I am an artist, writer and market trader, now seventy-six years old and working as hard as ever. I pursued a long and rewarding career as an advertising artist in London, but I began writing seriously after attending a creative writing course in 2001. Since that time I have written a successful non

Mikhail Sergeev (Ph.D. in religious studies from Temple University, 1997) is a religion, philosophy, and modern art historian. He has served as an editor of the book series Contemporary Russian Philosophy at Brill Publishers in the Netherlands (2016–2019) and as Chair of the Department of Religion

Early years professional turned eco business founder, Dani Seatter, combines a love of education with a passion for sustainability to write and publish her award winning sustainable children's books. Author of 'Away' and 'Oceans Away', which are designed with unique black and white illustrations

Justin K. Kojok, PMP, CISSP, CISM, CASP+, CEH. Justin is a Multi-award winning author and an accomplished writer from his formative years in secondary school. His aptitude for writing established a strong foundation and paved the way for his thriving career in journalism. He was a research

Anne Wedgwood lives in Beverley, where her stories are set. She has come to writing in her later years, having spent her working life in education. Anne was born in London and was immersed in books from her childhood onwards. She has lived in Beverley since 2008 and has no plans to leave! Anne is

A. R. Black has always been one of those strange people who can never just be satisfied with the real world, one of those hopeless romantics who always seems to want more from life than an indifferent universe is willing to provide. For people like him… fiction is what makes it all worthwhile. After

Ken DeStefano is an attorney living in New York, who is also a domestic adoptee that was born in the late 1960's. He was raised in a caring and loving home. As an adoptee, he has had a largely happy life, but always wondered about the unknown. That curiosity led to a search for his own birth mother

Nick loves reading clever, fast-paced, and engaging fantasy stories which say something about the real world we live in. So much so that he decided to write them. Professionally, he’s an award-winning entrepreneur, the director of the social change agency Osca, and the founder of Envision – a

JM Blake has a few thoughts about life: -Wine and tea are a must, daily -I talk through every movie and TV show- you have to get used to it if you want to be my friend -Cats beat dogs, hands down -Nerds run the world -Nothing beats a good sex scene -Chocolate is the food of the gods -“The Talisman”

James Kinsley lives in Thorpe Hamlet. Playtime's Over, his first book, was published in 2021 by Propolis and is about a young man on the edge, struggling to deal with his mental health issues in the face of a world he feels no longer cares. His second book, the fantasy western Greyskin, was

Emily Lloyd-Gale was born in Australia and raised in the UK. Having moved around RAF bases as a child, her family finally settled in Oxfordshire, where she still lives today with her husband. Inspired by her experiences of bullying at school, her main character Maurice has become a symbol of

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 published in magazines including Lighthouse Literary Journal, Structo, Bohemyth, Smokelong Quarterly, Hypnos, Chroma

Bree Sullivan-Howell, J.D., with her impeccable record of academic achievements and commitment to justice, has distinguished herself as a top divorce lawyer over her twenty-year career. After graduating with a perfect GPA from the University of Georgia, and then from Mercer University School of Law

Lindsey is an award-winning author from Southwest Missouri, where she lives with her husband and daughter in the beautiful Ozarks. Although she enjoys writing for all ages, Lindsey believes children's books contain a special kind of magic. She has published two picture books, Blossom's Wish and STOP

Victor De Almeida, a Spanish-born author of Angolan descent has called the UK home since the age of seven. From the diverse tapestry of his heritage to the bustling streets of London, Victor's journey is a testament to his unwavering determination and creative spirit. Inspired by J.K. Rowling, he

TF Johnson has a love for storytelling, characters and far away worlds. She started creating before she started primary school, and the passion never left. When not writing, TF Johnson can be found reading the books on her to be read bookshelf that mysteriously keep multiplying, hanging with friends

Joshua Ferdinand, founder of an Academic Publishing Network, began his teaching journey with Key Stage 2 students. This experience inspired him to create The Last Words of Albion, a book for children aged 9-12 that explores themes of colonialism, climate change, and culture through haikus and

Michele Grant is a seasoned Executive Business Consultant with over 20 years of experience delivering successful results for Fortune 500 firms in diverse sectors. Her expertise in program leadership and value creation has benefited clients like Bertelsmann, Coach, AT&T Subsidiaries, VIACOM, CBS

Leslie Kain writes “Psychological Fiction With Heart”, about flawed people whose greatest barriers to happiness lie within them. Leslie was always writing something as a kid — fantasies, poems, secret plans, culminating in running away cross-country at fifteen, never looking back. Her careers in

“At age thirty, I decided to pursue a career in law. I left my job in the corporate world to retrain as a solicitor. Three years later, I was diagnosed with several conditions, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia. I was thirty-three, and it was a Wednesday. Shortly after being diagnosed

In 2009, Barry Finlay went up a mountain as an accountant and came down as a philanthropist. After over thirty years in various financial roles with the Canadian federal government, he took his life in a different direction and climbed Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro at age 60 with his son Chris. The

Kathy was born in Boston, raised in Scituate, Massachusetts and a graduate of Connecticut College. Aside from being an advertising copywriter, she is also a painter and musician. She lives in Cohasset, Massachusetts and writes historical and middle grade fiction. Familiar with the legend of Boston

C.J. Kichuk has enjoyed careers in radio, music composition and performance, software development, and management consulting. Living in Austin, Texas, when not working on writing stories he can often be found in his home studio writing and recording music. In his first novel, Bits, he delivers a

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

Genét Simone has been a teacher and teacher educator for over thirty years. Her experiences in Shishmaref, Alaska, upon which "Teaching in the Dark" is based, spearheaded her lifelong quest to understand the emotional and spiritual aspects of teaching. What goes on behind the scenes of a teacher's

I try to make sense of this beautiful, crazy world we inhabit through my stories—thrillers that are super well researched inside complex plots full of twists and turns, that pose ethical and moral dilemmas. When I sit down to write a book, I have three non-negotiables: 1. It needs to concern a

I've been told I have grit. Actually that came from my editor after he read my memoir manuscript. I never thought of it that way. I just kept getting back up and trying again. That perhaps explains how I, being raised fatherless by a Hispanic mother in public housing projects, and being evicted 7 or

Karen Gilleland, the hand behind the Diamond-Dennison Mysteries, spent much of her career in corporate communications. During the pandemic, Karen discovered the thrill of mystery writing. As a fan of Golden Age of mysteries, she became inspired to create intriguing characters and plots that delight

Mary Murphy is an Irish-born author whose work explores psychological suspense, identity, and inherited memory across genres and tonal range. Her latest release, The Confidence Thief (2026), is a work of crime fiction with literary depth and emotional intensity, continuing her examination of

Mary Murphy is an Irish-born author whose work explores psychological suspense, identity, and inherited memory across genres and tonal range. Her latest release, The Confidence Thief (2026), is a work of crime fiction with literary depth and emotional intensity, continuing her examination of

Mary Murphy is an Irish-born author whose work explores psychological suspense, identity, and inherited memory across genres and tonal range. Her latest release, The Confidence Thief (2026), is a work of crime fiction with literary depth and emotional intensity, continuing her examination of

Mary Murphy is an Irish-born author whose work explores psychological suspense, identity, and inherited memory across genres and tonal range. Her latest release, The Confidence Thief (2026), is a work of crime fiction with literary depth and emotional intensity, continuing her examination of

Mary Murphy is an Irish-born author whose work explores psychological suspense, identity, and inherited memory across genres and tonal range. Her latest release, The Confidence Thief (2026), is a work of crime fiction with literary depth and emotional intensity, continuing her examination of