2026 True Story Award Finalists

Patricia Townsend is a writer and visual artist, working with photography, moving image, installation and poetry. She is also a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. Her father, Captain Sam Townsend, served in the Royal Engineers during WW2 and wrote regular, detailed letters to his parents from July 1944

Ryan MacDonald is a Scottish author and freelance crime and justice journalist. A former senior police officer with three decades of experience across policing and the military, his work focuses on policing, trauma, justice, and institutional accountability. He is the author of Blue Lights, Dark

Gregory Duralev is an alumnus of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (2023), a master’s degree he holds alongside two other Master’s degrees in engineering and economics from prestigious Russian universities. A certified human rights consultant and an expert on transnational repression

Michael Bowers is a multifaceted individual with a rich background that deeply influences his writing. With a career spanning 30 years in the United States Air Force and a current role as an Acquisition Program Manager, Michael brings a unique perspective to his writing. Originally from Greenville

To me, the world only makes sense as a metaphor and I am grateful for every writer and book that helps my mind find peace. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Now years later, I am a mother of three children and one gigantic Rottweiler dog named Bruno, who is the main character in

Kate, now retired, has been writing since her teens, finding her voice through humorous poems, short stories, and illustrated books for children. In her early twenties she found her work in the Samaritans profoundly affecting and led to a deep interest in people; what influences our beliefs and the

I practised as a probate and property lawyer in the north of England for the best part of forty years before deciding to up sticks and set my hand to writing a memoir. At the age of eleven, I was sent to a prestigious boarding school in Cheltenham, where I resided for seven years. During this period

I am a former educator and kid-lit student of SCBWI, 12x12, Inked Voices and several critique groups, I hold a BA in drama, and an MA in British literature. I am proud to announce that I recently won a short story competition, and was a winner in the Fall Frenzy Contest.

Felicia Djamirze is a qualified counsellor, award-winning businesswoman, and mental health advocate. As the founder and CEO of Neuro Vitality Pty Ltd and the Trauma Recovery Network, she champions the rights of women affected by violence, poverty, and trauma. Felicia has spearheaded a nationwide

Alisa Hope Wagner is an international award-winning author, editor and publisher of over thirty books. She married her high school sweetheart, and together they raise their three children in a Christ-centered home. Though an introvert by nature, Alisa easily expresses herself through social media

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

Richard K. Lowy is the award-winning author of Kalman & Leopold: Surviving Mengele's Auschwitz , recipient of the Nellie Bly Grand Prize for Longform Journalism and Research, a Reader Views Silver Award, and a Readers' Favorite Silver Award. The book has earned international acclaim and numerous

Honey Kasper, the acclaimed author of Unpredictable: The Walk In and Out of Darkness, stands as a beacon of hope and inspiration for many. Her powerful words, “[I hope] to inspire and uplift [and serve as an] example to survivors and mental health professionals,” underline her commitment to making a

ET is a Luxembourg-based writer whose work explores the limits of reason, perception, and self-deception. She is particularly interested in immersive storytelling that allows readers to inhabit psychological distortion from within. Alienation is her debut memoir. It explores how a mind negotiates

Born in Denmark in 1973 and based in Copenhagen, Anne Jeppesen has spent more than two decades working in the fields of communication and marketing, primarily on the agency side. Especially through her work with client management, storytelling, and concept development, she has always leaned into and

I am a former educator and kid-lit student of SCBWI, 12x12, Inked Voices and several critique groups, I hold a BA in drama, and an MA in British literature. I am proud to announce that I recently won a short story competition, and was a winner in the Fall Frenzy Contest.

Gay Lynn Williamson‑Grigas, LMHC, CAP Author | Psychotherapist | Addiction Professional | Minister | Retreat Leader Gay Lynn Williamson‑Grigas is a psychotherapist, addiction professional, ordained minister, and integration‑focused retreat leader with over 30 years of sitting on both sides of the

Christine Elmer Collins holds a rich 30-year background in nursing and healthcare management and has served with distinction in both the United States Air Force and United States Public Health Service, Commissioned Corps. Her career highlights include critical care nursing during the Afghanistan War

Travel editor for APA Publications (Rough Guides, Insight Guides, Berlitz Guides). Published in National Geographic Traveller, Independent, Financial Times. Winner of the Telegraph's Just Back competition. Currently writing a travelogue about Iran.

I’m an English 60-year-old married Electrical engineer, musician and ex Military, all my life I’ve shown an interest in the Vietnam War which was on when I was a boy. With learning the War history from both sides and most recently the operation BabyLift air disaster I’m also a Vietnam war

Caroline Orebi is a debut author whose writing explores memory, identity, and the resilience of ordinary people caught in extraordinary times. Born in Germany, raised in California, and now living in Normandy, France, she draws on a lifetime shaped by different cultures and generations. Her first

Marc Stevens was born in Montreal, Canada, but grew up between Ottawa and Toronto. He has spent thirty years working in the wholesale food industry. Bitten at a young age by the travel bug, he has visited about 70 countries and all 7 continents. Marc's father (Squadron Leader Peter Stevens MC) died

Sheryl Hauk grew up in Hawai‘i, a haole shaped by a culture that taught her resilience, belonging, and the power of music and ʻohana (family). Her life unfolded in parallel with Barack Obama’s in Honolulu—both shaped by the island’s rhythms, its unspoken expectations, and the ocean that grounds and

Trish Bourke recounts her journey of self-discovery after leaving the Jehovah’s Witness faith. ​ Raised in a strict religious environment in Southern Ireland, her life was shaped by rigid rules, judgment, and fear of divine punishment. Her parents converted to Jehovah’s Witnesses when she was two

I write non-fiction, mostly based on my journey through advanced (Stage IV) papillary thyroid cancer. Although I am now retired as a medical secretary, I am still active. I enjoy walking around my country village in Suffolk, and I go swimming on a regular basis. I am married, with 2 sons and 5

Scott has always loved reading. When he was seven years old, he read Huckleberry Finn in one day. As a teenager, he began a career as a professional flying disc athlete and won 17 world and US championships. Later, he pursued a career as a software engineer and cloud architect. He retired in 2020 to

Robert Dunn is an author whose writing reflects a lifetime of adventure, philanthropy, and deep personal resilience. At 77 years young, Robert brings a unique, mature perspective to the true story genre, culminating in the publication of his poignant real-life narrative, Love Changes a Man.The book

“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

Lucy Clifford is an award-winning UK-based author, trauma-informed therapist, and speaker whose work explores the lifelong impact of childhood trauma, resilience, and reclaiming identity. Drawing on both lived experience and nearly two decades supporting people through emotional well-being, she

Dr James P. Manning, ClinPsyD, is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. He writes about cognitive behavioural therapy, anxiety, depression, panic, emotional literacy, trauma, alexithymia, dissociation, emotional regulation and the relationship between thought, feeling

Physician, Men's health specialist, author, lecturer, artist.

With over twenty years as an educator, Kristen pioneered a School-to-School program connecting her middle school classes with students in rural East Africa. In 2005, Kristen was awarded a scholastic grant and became the first Westerner to live in Sauri, Kenya. Kristen wrote middle grade novel, A

Alison Knight has been a lawyer, childminder, charity fundraiser, a teacher and a fiction editor. She also runs creative writing retreats in Somerset. In her forties, she went to university as a part-time student and achieved a first class honours degree in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University

My debut memoir is a true love story for these fractured times about the ties that bind, second chances, and what it means to have an American Dream. A dual timeline weaves a physical and metaphorical fault line as a love letter to a young American airman who didn't get a second chance, and to "my"

Rosalind Redshaw lives on the east coast of Australia. She is the author of A Long Way From Sunday , a true story about her thirteen-month adventure through Africa back in the mid 90s. She also sometimes writes about other stuff and her articles have been published in Great Walks, Australasian

I'm a native Utahan, I love American history and family history. In fact, the main characters in Grudges and Grace are my wife’s fourth great-grandparents. I came across their story as I was working on making a five-generation picture chart for her family. Their daughter was the last picture on the

Robbi Sommers Bryant is an award-winning author whose psychologically driven stories explore obsession, identity, and the hidden forces that shape human behavior. Her work blends psychological suspense with dark literary themes, creating characters who live on the edge of moral choice and emotional

The Minister and the Maiden is my debut novel. My ambition is to write more ‘True-Life’ novels in the future. In the past, I enjoyed writing for magazines. I had articles published in ‘Reader’s Digest’ and ‘She’ magazine, amongst others. I have thirty plus years’ experience of teaching. I was a