2025 Golden Author, Writer, Screenwriter Shortlist

Kate Grant is the founding CEO of Fistula Foundation, a US nonprofit organization. The Foundation has mobilized nearly 70,000 donors in more than 60 countries, raising over $150 million to fund more than 100,000 life transforming surgeries for women injured in childbirth and who are too often

Stevie Turner is a British author of Romantic Suspense, Humour, Paranormal, and Women’s Fiction (family dramas). She won an inter-schools' essay competition at the age of 11, and this gave her encouragement to write further. She has now written 15 novels, 6 novellas, 1 memoir, and 18 short stories

Genevieve Morrissey is a passionate student of British and American social history, but through one of those strange little quirks of fate she spends most of her days talking with scientists. THEA, her most recent novel, is a coming-of-age story set in 1920s Oklahoma City. MARRIAGE AND HANGING is

Simon is a bold and original screenwriting voice with a creative foundation in music, theatre, and poetry. His multidisciplinary background informs a distinctive storytelling style that is both lyrical and emotionally resonant. His debut feature-length screenplay, Wordsworth, has been optioned by

Charles Harris is a best-selling and award-nominated author, award-winning film-maker, martial arts black belt and freelance journalist. He is also qualified in Ericksonian Hypnosis and is fascinated by the twists and turns of the psychology of amnesia. Semi-finalist: Author Nation Story Wars 2024

With the publication of Unstoppable, the highly anticipated sequel to his award-winning debut novel Relentless, Michael Maloof cements his place as a compelling new voice in the world of globe-trotting thrillers. ​Born with an insatiable curiosity and a genetic case of wanderlust, Michael brings a

Black writes in a variety of genres. Mystery, romance, or fantasy, her character-driven stories combine imagination and experience to weave dramatic plots with believable characters in descriptive contemporary settings, sometimes with fantasy worlds within them. In most of her publications, a four

Debra Borchert has had many careers: clothing designer, actress, TV show host, spokesperson for high-tech companies, marketing and public relations professional, and technical writer for Fortune 100 companies. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian

David is a faculty brat who left home at 16 and dropped out of high school, but after spinning his wheels for four years in a number of strangely gratifying waystations in the restaurant industry while sporadically attending a community college, he was admitted to Michigan State University and

Terry Podnar, a graduate of Kent State, is a prolific screenwriter and producer who currently lives in Akron, Ohio. His passion for films started at an early age when he wrote and filmed numerous independent films. However, Terry was sidetracked by founding and running a successful business. After

Karin is an autistic mathematician, and writer of science fiction, fantasy and thrillers. After twelve moves within the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the UK, she settled in the Garden of England (a.k.a. Kent). As a writer/reader, she is passionate about diversity – any kind – but, more than

Karin is an autistic mathematician, and writer of science fiction, fantasy and thrillers. After twelve moves within the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the UK, she settled in the Garden of England (a.k.a. Kent). As a writer/reader, she is passionate about diversity – any kind – but, more than