Pebbles the butterfly loves to count as much as he can in his garden. But soon enough he gets curious, and in Pebbles and the Biggest Number by Joey Benun, he embarks on a science-filled quest to find the world’s truly gigantic numbers.
While the numbers start small, they quickly grow bigger and bigger, as do the wild events that Pebbles must face. Our butterfly guide wanders from forests to deserts, and encounters earthquakes, tsunamis, and even an avalanche. Each landscape and natural disaster pushes Pebbles onward to meet new friends and find even bigger numbers.
How big can the numbers get?
You’ll find no made-up numbers in Pebbles and the Biggest Number. Everything from a quintillion to a googolplex actually exists, though it isn’t long before the numbers become nearly impossible to imagine. However, there is a handy sand chart in the back to put some numbers into immense perspective. This is the kind of book that kids will sit with for long hours and astound you with the facts they’ve learned.
The friendly creatures and beautifully rendered landscapes of Pebbles’s journey will engage young and curious minds. Complete with extra notes and definitions in the back, this book will continue to teach even after the story ends.
Pebbles and the Biggest Number is hopefully the start of a great new series explaining the world to young readers. With its wonderful descriptions and knowledge, this book comes highly recommended!
Alex Sirotkin is a kind man with intelligent humor tucked in around the edges. He saves his angst for his writing and his law practice. And, boy, does he ever deliver! The Long Desert Road earned a 5-Star rating from our reviewers and went on to take home the 2021 CHATELAINE GRAND PRIZE! (As far as his law practice, one would do well having him on your side.) We are so proud of him for his outstanding work and being a Chanticleerian. I know you will love him as much as we do. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to award-winning author, Mr. Alex Sirotkin.
Chanti: Tell us a little about yourself: How did you start writing?
Sirotkin: Sure. I’m pretty old. I didn’t start writing until 2016, so that would have made me about 60. At first, I wanted to write a screenplay. I love movies, to be honest, more than books, which maybe makes me a lousy novelist. But, but…at the same time, I find that most movies are terrible! Over the years, I’d walk out of the movie theater and say to myself “Damn, I could have written a much better story than that!” So, I promised myself to try one day. And that I did.
It didn’t take me long to realize that I didn’t know the first thing about writing a screenplay, and the apps that would assist me just seemed too complicated. I had a good idea for a story, so I wrote a book instead. My background is in law – so I can write. But it doesn’t come easily or quickly to me. Sometimes it’s painstaking. Being older, okay old, also provided the time to have many life experiences. You write what you know, and I’ve experienced a whole lot in my life, so I know a lot about which I can write. Conversely, it must be so hard for a young person in his/her twenties to be a fiction writer. For them, everything must be made up!
Finally, I had a particular experience with my daughter that served as the underpinnings for much of the story. You see, she was bipolar and addicted to heroin. I was her primary supporter, mentor, cheerleader, and disciplinarian for the ten years prior to her death from an overdose in October 2020, during the pandemic. It was the most rewarding, uplifting, stupefying, frustrating, busy, and devastating period of my life. Obviously, it ended in disaster, but I wrote the book when she was doing well, when I had a lot of hope. The novel, therefore, is uplifting. I finished the book in January 2020 or so, and she died ten months later. My book was released three months after that. It was quite surreal.
Chanti: That juxtaposition must have felt so strange. I cannot imagine. Thinking of the places you drew inspiration from, let’s talk a bit about genre. What genre best describes your work? And, what led you to write in this genre?
Sirotkin: I won my Grand Prize in Romantic literature. I won (the lesser) First Prize in Literary and Contemporary Fiction. To be honest, my book fits best into the latter genre. Sure, my book is a love story. But it’s not your typical sexy beach read, with scantily clad models on the front cover. In fact, some of my witty friends complained that there wasn’t enough (or any) sex in the book at all. (There was some, but I just didn’t go into the hot details.) I had certain things to say – call it a message – in my book, and those would be best said via literary fiction, which to me is a catch-all genre that is not the other more specific areas of writing. And it connotes, I suppose, a focus on the words, more so than one would expect from a who-done-it, or science fiction, although don’t tell that to Isaac Asimov, one of my favs. My book is therefore a slower more-deliberate read.
Chanti: First in Category for Literary Fiction is nothing to sniff at, my friend, given the sheer numbers of entries in that division! In terms of writing, do you find yourself following the rules or do you like to make up your own rules?
Sirotkin: Other than the law, and the Golden Rule, in writing, as in life, I’m not a big believer in hard and fast rules. In terms of writing, like any creative medium, rules might be a guide to the inexperienced novelist (like me) but ultimately one must go with his gut. I was told not to write in present tense. But I did. I was told to limit points of view, but I wrote partly in first person, and partly in third person from two POVs. I was told not to write at such a high level. In fact, someone told me that Stephen King writes at a 5th grade level. Even if I had believed this, I didn’t care. I wrote as I was trained to write, and my possible audience would hopefully appreciate the art of wordcraft, even if they had to refer to Merriam Webster from time to time. And in fact, some told me they kept a dictionary at their side while reading my book.
My best line (top of page 161) in my eyes, took me hours to perfect, yet I think it was missed by most. Talking about Hubble the scientist (who lived in the early twentieth century) my main character, Henry said “If Hubble himself had but one character flaw, it was his inability to be humble, and such was his reputation.” Get it? Lastly, I never had an outline for this novel. I pretended for a while to develop one, but I gave up and just started to write. What I had was a beginning and an end. Somehow I managed to meander my way through the desert to finally reach my intended resolution. I think I was a bit lucky to get there.
Chanti: What do you do when you’re not writing? Tells us a little about your hobbies.
Sirotkin: I certainly don’t earn a living as a novelist. I’m too poor a marketer, and I don’t write enough. So, I work in my own business. But for fun, I’ve got a lot going on. Like my main character, Henry, I always have a tune in my head. So, I whistle a lot, which annoys the heck out of my wife. And I play piano – I was trained for 9 years in classical piano, but now I just like to sound things out and improvise. I play tennis. I was really a good club player once, until age finally caught up with me. I still play, but not the man I used to be. So it goes. My wife and I hike locally with our two 90 lb. Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Finally, we love to travel, and one of our trips lay the foundation for much of my novel.
Scout Running with J
Chanti: Alex, you keep talking about age, and here we are contemporaries… I’m starting to get a bit nervous! Let’s move on – quickly. How do you come up with your ideas for a story?
Sirotkin: The ideas come from the heart. A work of literary fiction (as opposed to a detective novel, for example) has to come from within. The ideas are already there. You only must recognize them. Personally, I had difficult experiences with my daughter, a bipolar drug addict, over a ten-year period. But my story is not what you think it is. These experiences framed only a part of the story. The bigger picture for me (in terms of a novelist, and not necessarily as a dad) relates to the concept of perspective. It’s been my mind’s mantra for as long as I can recall. Whether one is talking about mental health, politics, or just getting along with one another, the key in my mind has always been a healthy perspective. The size or importance of something in relation to something else. Thinking about your problems in relation to how much worse things can be. Thinking about the positives in your life in relation to the negatives. Then grasp at the size of the Cosmos. Try to wrap your head around the enormity of the Universe. You begin to realize how each of us, and our issues, are so small. And then there’s G-d, as you know him/her/it, or some higher power, or something else, that might bind us together in a natural world. These thoughts and feelings were all there, all along while trying to deal with my daughter’s inescapable issues. The story sprang from these concepts – the hard part was putting them all together in a cohesive tail. I can’t tell you how that happened. It just did, writing with passion.
Chanti: And you did it all so beautifully. Well said, sir. Thank you for that. What areas in your writing are you most confident in? What advice would you give someone who is struggling in that area?
Sirotkin: A difficult, yet interesting question. I can’t say that there is one area in particular. But what comes to mind is doing the research. I intended the book to be a piece of fiction based as much in reality as I possibly could. The book in large part was about the Truth. I couldn’t base a book about the Truth, on something that wasn’t real. So, to understand certain areas of “reality” I needed to do a lot of research. Some of it surrounded the nature and mysteries of the Cosmos, what we understand of it, what we don’t, and what we are learning today. I’m no scientist, but I’m just smart enough perhaps to wrap my head around these issues sufficiently to convey them within a story. And the trick was to do the telling as efficiently as possible so as not to lose the reader in confusing detail. Me thinks I could have done that better, having heard from a few readers that they flipped through the science stuff. (And this is why you need a good editor, who tells you when enough is enough.) In any case, the internet is a limitless source of information. To understand how Hubble the scientist was able to determine that the Universe was expanding back in 1928 or so, I had to sift through dozens of articles, many of which were inconsistent with what I read in the others. I also found myself pouring over YouTube videos, or Google Maps of places I needed to describe in utter detail. My advice? Patience, Yoda. And don’t take anything for granted. Facts are facts, there are no alternative facts, and it may take a while to piece it all together. But you’ll get there.
Chanti:Who’s the perfect reader for your book?
Sirotkin: Let me answer this question by telling you who will likely not appreciate my novel: someone with certain expectations, someone without an open mind, someone that only likes a certain genre, and/or finally someone that wants to read a story without thinking. My book is a thinking person’s book. If you have an open mind, if you want to experience something out of the ordinary, if you want to learn about something you’ve never even heard of, then you should read my book. If you like delving into the developing personality and motivation of a character, then you will like my book. If you have a sense of humor, and are compassionate about those in dire straits, you will like my book. Most people who read it do. No writer can please everyone.
Chanti: I like how you answered that question. What excites you most about writing?
Sirotkin: I would write each chapter a hundred times. This is without exaggeration. I love to see the improvement with each pass. My first draft of a chapter would literally suck. Pardon that word. So, what excites me the most is seeing this evolution take place.
Write, write, and rewrite!
Chanti: Fascinating! Do you ever experience writers block? What do you do to overcome it?
Sirotkin: No, I would not describe it as writer’s block. On many days, I didn’t have the time to write, attending to more mundane issues, or my work. But when I sat at my keyboard, I could always write something. The question for me was the quality of that something and was it worth keeping. How much work would be required to rehabilitate it. If you’ve ever been down, or depressed (and who hasn’t) the key for me to move on from such a state is to take action. A conversation, a confrontation if needed, a long walk, whatever. Don’t sit and brood. The same with “writer’s block.”
Take action and write. Write anything. Write about something different. Write a letter. Write a silly poem. Or write another chapter but don’t worry about the quality. Just keep writing. And don’t think about it too much. Get back up on that horse. It will find its way home without you.
I watch a lot of tennis. It’s amazing how badly a pro could be playing in the first set, only to make a tremendous comeback in the second. He keeps at it, playing the game. As in writer’s block, the setback was all mental! Suddenly, he’s back at the top of his game, often without a clue as to what caused his initial lapse.
Chanti: What is the most important thing a reader can do for an author?
Sirotkin: This is an easy one. Love his book and rave about it to him and everyone else in the world. Since I won’t make any money from this experience, at least my ego should be boosted. Big time. Sorry, I’m just mostly kidding here. Seriously? The most important thing a reader can do is to give the work the attention it deserves. If it’s a slow read, like mine might be, read it slowly. Afterward, thoughtful criticism and evaluation is most appreciated, especially if I’m to write another one. And yes, if you like the book, pass it on. The most important thing for me is that people read my book and hear what I had to say.
Chanti: Okay friends, you heard it! If you love nothing more than a well-built, eloquent novel that addresses the hard issues of life with a strong sense of the human soul, look no further! Read Alex Sirotkin’s Award-Winning novel, The Long Desert Road. Be sure to contact the author and share your thoughts – send the book along to others with similar loves. Tell the World! You will be doing all of us a tremendous favor because good books simply must be read.
Find our review of The Long Desert Road by Alex Sirotkin here, and buy it from Bookshop, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble! Remember, Reader Reviews really help your favorite authors!
CHANTICLEER 10 QUESTION AUTHOR INTERVIEW SERIES
with Award Winning author, E.E. Burke
Two of my greatest honors came in succession last year when I won the Laramie Award for Tom Sawyer Returns and was featured by the Mark Twain House & Museum. Both honors were beyond my hopes and they fulfilled a dream. Leigh S. Stites w/a E.E. Burke
I’m excited for you to get to know award-winning author and historical maven, Leigh S. Stites aka (E.E. Burke) read on.
Chanti: Tell us a little about yourself: How did you start writing?
Stites: I’ve been an avid reader from an early age. My mother likes to tell the story of how I went to bed with books instead of my teddy bears. As a journalism major, I wrote for newspapers, and later, in public relations and advertising. Storytelling is my passion, but I didn’t start producing fiction professionally until I was nearly 50. I prefer to call it a midlife metamorphosis rather than a crisis.
Two of my greatest honors came in succession last year when I won the Laramie Award for Tom Sawyer Returns and was featured by the Mark Twain House & Museum. Both honors were beyond my hopes and they fulfilled a dream.
Chanti: Those are mighty fine honors, indeed! Congratulations! Let’s chat a bit about genre. What genre best describes your work? And, what led you to write in this genre?
Stites: All of my novels have historical settings, primarily the American frontier. I’ve been fascinated with that period since I was in grade school. In fact, my novel Tom Sawyer Returns was born out of a burning need to know what happened to the two boys I read about when I was in seventh grade.
Huck and Tom had grown up, what professions would they have pursued? What great historical events would they get caught up in? What kind of women would they fall in love with? I envisioned a future for them as adults. It took me ten years to finish the two novels (Taming Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Returns), but I think they represent the type the writing I do best—historical fiction with adventure, romance, and mystery. I recently released the 5th in my Steam! series, which is inspired by stories of the Katy Railroad, as it expanded across the Southwest. If you loved historical classics like James Michner’s Centennial or John Jakes’ North and South, you’ll enjoy this expansive, romantic saga.
Chanti: How do you come up with your ideas for a story?
Stites: From history mostly, and characters I read about, both fictional and real. After I came up with the idea of writing Tom and Huck as adults, I went beyond the facts in Twain’s classics for backstory. I delved into autobiographical elements from his life that inspired much of his fiction. For instance, Samuel Clemens’ adventures as a pilot shaped his love of the river and inspired Huckleberry Finn. Riverboat pilot seemed a perfect choice for Huck’s profession.
I approached Tom’s book in a slightly different way. Tom is the eternal adventurer. In a sense, he will never completely grow up. If he married, the woman he chose would have to stand toe-to-toe with him in courage and have an independent nature, or risk being left behind. Would the original Becky be right for Tom, I wondered. Could calamitous events bring forth her strengths and transform the spoiled girl into an independent woman? Do you see? This is how I come up with story ideas. I find characters, place them in historical situations, and then I ask myself, “What if…?”
Chanti: I swear, asking the “What if…” is a powerful tool in any author’s tool chest! How structured are you in your writing work?
Stites: Probably not as structured as I should be, but this is true of my entire life. As a writer, I worked for years to find a structure that works with my creative process. If there is one thing I’d advise writers, it is this: do not assume you can template someone else’s process and it will work for you in the same way. You can borrow tools, but how you apply them should serve your own unique gifts and proclivities.
E.E. Burke & Mark Twain!
For example, all those craft books on plotting. There are too many to list, but I’ve probably read them all. For a long time, I felt stupid because I couldn’t follow their structure precisely and come out with a good book. I would veer drunkenly off the path and then experience weeks of despair, as I flayed myself for not being a bright enough pupil to get the lesson right. I finally gave up on being the best student in someone else’s structure and began to insert the most helpful parts into my own messy process. I do the same thing with recipes and drinks. I taste, test, borrow and experiment. Some efforts fail. Others are amazing.
Chanti: I think we are kindred spirits. I could never follow a pattern or a recipe to save my life. Do things turn out? Better than expected! Well, tell us, how do you approach your writing day?
Stites: With at least two cups of coffee under my belt. If I’ve had a good writing day, I end it with a cocktail 😉
Chanti: Now, that’s what I’m talking about!
Readers, did you know? Tom Sawyer Returns is a double finalist in the 2022 M&M AND the Chatelaine Awards? Congratulations – and best of luck moving forward!
CIBA Multi-Awarded Book!
Give us five of your favorite authors and describe how they influence your work.
Stites: Mark Twain—his brilliance at characterization, his portraits of American culture in the 19th century, and of course, his biting humor. Charlotte and Emily Bronte—their tortured, romantic heroes. Michael Shaara—how to weave historical facts into spellbinding fiction. Charles Fraser—creating a world that does more than serve as a setting. Jill Marie Landis—the importance of emotion and how to convey it. Mary Oliver—observing and writing about nature, poetic language. Ok, I’ll stop at seven if I must. My favorites list is much longer.
Chanti: It’s important to work on your craft. What do you do to grow your author chops?
Stites: Read books by authors whose skills far exceed my own.
Chanti: Excellent! What craft books have helped you the most?
Stites: So many I can’t list them all without exceeding your word count. Scene & Structure by Jack M. Bickham taught me how to write the critical building block for a novel—the scene. GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon taught me how to keep readers turning the page. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron inspired me to pursue my dream of becoming an author. Bird by Bird by Anne LaMott is simply a must-read. My copy of The Art of Fiction by John Gardner was passed on by one of my favorite authors. It is an absolute classic on writing fiction. Pay particular attention to the chapter: Common Errors.
Chanti: Good ones. What are you working on now? What can we look forward to seeing next from you?
Stites: At the moment, I am stretching my Mystery Muscles and working on a Noir novel set in the 1930s in Kansas City, the town that gave birth to Scarface, the Pendergast machine, and modern jazz. I’m in the research process now so it will be a while before the book is written.
Chanti: That sounds exciting! I hope we get to see it in our upcoming CIBAs. Who’s the perfect reader for your book?
Stites: Someone who is historically engaged, with a literary interest, who doesn’t mind the mushy stuff. Put another way, a multi-genre reader with a romantic soul.
Chanti: I love that… What is the most important thing a reader can do for an author?
Stites: Write an honest review. At the very least, recommend a book you like to someone else.
Chanti: That’s so important! Word travels fast these days. What excites you most about writing?
Stites: I get to play God for a few hours a day.
Chanti: There you have it, dear readers! A day in the life of a highly talented, on-fire author. If you would like to reach out and read some of these delightful books, go to her website here and follow the directions.
Join us for the Chanticleer Authors Conference held at the Hotel Bellwether, April 27 – 30, 2023. CAC23 is the proud sponsor and host of the 2022 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony that will be held on Saturday evening of the conference.
The excitement builds as the 2022 CIBAs Best Book and Grand Prize Winners are determined and announced at this annual gala event!
Izzy Monroe has lost herself. Three months after an accident that damaged a portion of her brain, she isolates herself in her parent’s home on Chappaquiddick Island, on the eastern end of Martha’s Vineyard.
She has spent her life in the world of academia, working on a doctorate in literature at Harvard, but now with her short-term memory gone, she has to give up her dreams. Her emptiness and doubt have left her rudderless and deeply depressed.
When her former college roommate, Maria, suggests she intern at Portarello, Maria’s grandfather’s self-sustaining farm in the Italian countryside, Izzy isn’t immediately convinced she can make the journey alone much less work at the successful inn and thriving farm. However, Izzy remembers the peace she felt there on the one visit she and Maria made years ago, and she knows this is her only chance to regain any sense of normalcy.
Daniel Richetelli, a Jesuit priest and Maria’s cousin, is facing a crisis himself. After ten years of self-sacrifice, he has lost his faith and is desperate to find a new path.
He knows his grandfather can help him find his way, so he leaves the Church and goes to Portarello. A chance encounter with Izzy leaves him reeling. In her, he feels he has found that for which he is searching, but the guilt of his physical attraction to her and the criticism of his sister, Linda, make him once again question who he really is. Meanwhile, Izzy hasn’t felt so much like her old self since the accident. The farm and Daniel are bringing her back to life, but she fears his past will forever stand in the way of their happiness.
The search for self is the central theme of the novel.
Izzy remembers the strength she had prior to the accident. She was adventurous and outgoing, a lifelong learner. Not even a disability left over from her bout with childhood polio could keep Izzy down. Half-Wampanoag, half-Irish, Izzy was a warrior from the beginning. She was fearless. Now, she knows she is hiding from this new Izzy, a woman who doubts herself and cannot see past her brain damage to the new life she must build. She is scared to risk the possibility of failure and pain, but Maria convinces her she cannot rediscover herself without taking the risk.
When she does finally gather the courage to leave her hovering, protective family, she thinks she must keep her inability to remember a secret from the other interns and Maria’s family. She hopes to reinvent herself among strangers and the physical labor of farm life. That journey to self-discovery feels like stepping off the edge of the world, and finding to courage to take that step is a part of reclaiming her life.
Though she cannot truly interact with the other interns or inn guests because of her memory, she plays the part in yet another step toward normalcy.
Izzy is amazed by the power she finds in physical labor. Working in the vegetable gardens and tending to the pigs form a sense of connection as her brain begins to heal and form new pathways. This also leads to a deeper appreciation for her Native American heritage, a deeper contemplation of the natural world – a world so foreign to her after years spent in study and academics.
Her immediate attraction to Daniel and the physical relationship they share also give her purpose.
United in their vulnerability, the two draw on and strengthen each other. Daniel’s path to the farm began with a forced leave of absence from the Church. He struggles with Jesuit ideology to find God in everything. In fact, he can find his maker in nothing recently. He is not looking forward to the mental grilling his grandfather will give him, but he knows it is the only way to truly rediscover himself. He lacks Izzy’s courage, though, and doesn’t immediately face his indecision.
Daniel recognizes a mystical power within Izzy, likely from her brush with death, and he is inexplicably drawn to that power. The guilt he feels over his fascination with her and his lack of courage nearly push him to self-destruction, and it is only her love that pulls him back from the brink. She gives him the freedom to be himself, and he gives her the freedom to face her new limitations.
Just like the archaeological dig occurring on the farm, the two must uncover the treasures buried beneath layers of doubt and uncertainty, and just as those artifacts show a connection to the past, Daniel and Izzy must use their pasts to create a new future.
The Hearten Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Uplifting & Inspiring Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Hearten Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Hearten Non-Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2022 Hearten Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the First Place and Grand Prize Winners of the 2022 Hearten Book Awards novel competition for Uplifting and Inspirational Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following Finalist authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
Kerrin Margiano – Enjoy the Gift of Childhood
Megan Whitmer – Mom Life Versus the Everyday Apocalypse
Laura Whitfield – Untethered: Faith, Failure, and Finding Solid Ground
Ann E Feldman – Building Communities of Trust: Creative Work for Social Change
Randi Benator – Awaken to Your Calling: A Guide to Discovering Your Career Path and Life Direction
Beverly J. Armento – Seeing Eye Girl: A Memoir of Madness, Resilience, and Hope
C.J. Hudson – Destiny Lives on Fairhaven Street
Kim Fairley – Swimming for My Life
Mark Berridge – A Fraction Stronger
Kyomi O’Connor – A Sky of Infinite Blue- A Japanese Immigrant’s Search for Home and Self
Mohan Ranga Rao – Inner Trek – Trek Himalayan
Roselle Madrone – The Open Book: A Family Memoir of Adventure, Trauma, and Resilience
Jocelyn Jones – Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within
Benjamin Plumb – The Satisfied Introvert: A Memoir About Finding Safety in an Extroverted World
Mike Coleman – The Way from Me to Us
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
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Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.
The Grand Prize Winner for the 2021 HEARTEN Awards is Diane Trull & Meredith Wargo for DAWGS: A True Story of Lost Animals and the Kids Who Rescued Them
We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Hearten Book Awards for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction & Memoir. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC24.
Winners will be announced at the 2022 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
The Hemingway Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works for 20th Century Wartime Fiction. The Hemingway Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
The Hemingway Book Awards competition is named for Ernest Hemingway who was born July 21, 1899
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring 20th Century Wartime Fiction in Historical Fiction; Romance and Romantic Fiction; Mysteries, Thrillers, and Suspense Fiction of the time; Literary works and Satire and anything else that author imaginations can dream up for the HEMINGWAY Book Awards division. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. For Post-1750s Historical Fiction, see our Goethe Awards here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Hemingway 20th Century Wartime Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2022 Hemingway Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the First Place and Grand Prize Winner of the 2022 Hemingway Book Awards novel competition for 20th Century Wartime Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following Finalist authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
Dennis D. Skirvin – The Short-timer: A Story of Love and War
Denise Frisino – Storms From A Clear Sky
Iain Stewart – Knights of the Air: Book 4 EXILE
Bob Van Laerhoven – The Shadow Of The Mole
M.N. Snitz – The Price for Glory
Robert W Smith – Running with Cannibals
Kathryn Gauci – The Viennese Dressmaker: A Haunting Story of Wartime Vienna
Teri M Brown – An Enemy Like Me
Samrat Mitra – Laddie Roy
Murray Pura & Patrick E. Craig – Men Who Strove With Gods
Peter Curtis – Pavel’s War Book Three
Elizabeth St. Michel – On Prevailing Winds
Michael J Cooper – Wages of Empire
D.V. Chernov – Commissar: A Novel of Civil War Russia
Helena P. Schrader – Moral Fibre
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
The Nellie Bly Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Long Form Journalistic and Investigative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Nellie Bly Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Social Science, Data Driven Reporting, Equality and Justice, Ethics, Human Rights, and Activists Groups. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2022 Nellie Bly Non-Fiction Short List to the 2022 Nellie Bly Book Awards Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the First Place and Grand Prize Winners of the 2022 Nellie Bly Book Awards for Journalistic Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
Susan Lehmann – The Execution of Robert Butts
Steven W. Thrasher – The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide
Brandi Collins-Dexter – Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political future
Rita Katz – Saints and Soldiers
Nicholas Chittick – A Prisoner’s Fight: The Pandemic as Seen From Inside the Illinois Department of Corrections
Lana Melman – Artists Under Fire: The BDS War against Celebrities, Jews, and Israel
Joshua Frank – Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America
Jonathan Geoffrey Dean – Salt & Light; The Complete Jesus
Paul Pringle – Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels
Lyndsie Bourgon – Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods
Jeff Kavanaugh and Corey Glickman – Practical Sustainability: Circular Commerce, Smarter Spaces and Happier Humans
Janice S. Ellis – USING MY WORD POWER: Advocating for a More Civilized Society, Book III in the Real Advocacy Journalism® series
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Nellie Bly Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction & Memoir. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
AWP, aka the Association of Writers & Writers Programs, conference is held this year at the Seattle Convention Center. The AWP conference alternates between the East Coast, Mid-West, and the West Coast. Whenever it is held in Seattle or in the Pacific Northwest, you can count on us participating! We load up the car with the booth and books of Chanticleerians (to display) and off we go!
You will find us at Booth 210. The convention hosts approximately one thousand exhibitor booths and tables. That is a LOT of exhibitors!
The exhibit floor is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Meanwhile there are plenty of break-out sessions (perhaps a thousand or so) to choose from to attend. Many of them are quite esoteric such as:
So, one could say that it is quite the “literary conference.” Many universities are present trying to lure new students into their MFA or MLA programs. Bellingham’s own Western Washington University will be there along with University of Washington. Also, the classic colleges are also represented such as Sarah Lawrence College.
We exhibit at AWP because 1) we are proud members of the venerable organization, 2) Our Chanticleer Review magazine is in the company of others such as the Harvard Review, The Chestnut Review, Prairie Schooner, and the American Literary Review.
And then there are the quirky literary magazines that make the AWP scene so wonderful: Bullsh*t Lit, Door is A Jar Literary Magazine, and Typewriter Tarot to name a few.
Saturday is the Book Fair Day when AWP lowers the registration fee to $25 for that day only.
Seniors (65 and Up) can register onsite for $175
Student Registration is $150 on site (with ID)
AWP Members Registration is $435
Non-Member Registration is $540
Individual Membership is $75 per year.
Our Membership to AWP is $225 per year.
No food or drink is included. There are vendors in the convention center.
But back to us Chanticleerians!
Toni Ann Johnson will present Thursday at 1:45 – 3 p..m. Rooms 343 and 344 Summit.
Minding the Gaps and Mining Landscape in Linked Short Story Collections (Ramona Reeves, Leslie Pietrzyk, Camille Acker, Rion Amilcar Scott, Toni Ann Johnson)
Linked short story collections have become more popular, perhaps in part because of their hybrid nature. They can employ recurring themes, characters, and settings to situate readers in worlds that move beyond the borders of many short stories while stopping short of the breadth and propulsion of a novel. Minding the gaps, or the spaces, is key in writing linked story collections. How does space function between and within linked collections, and what stories does one choose to tell and why?
Author Signings at the Chanticleer Booth 210 by CIBA Award Winning Authors
Janet Oakley, Friday 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Beth Bacon, Friday 3 p.m. -3:30 p.m.
Marian Exall, Saturday noon – 12:30 p.m.
If you are attending AWP 23, please do stop by our booth and say Hi! to David Beaumier, Sharon Anderson, and me (Kiffer Brown).
Harry Hardacre, better known as Hare to his few friends, hunts for a score big enough to lift him out of poverty, in Isolated Domain by Tyler Drinkard.
Hare hopes to leave his disreputable business contacts and desperate neighbors behind in the decaying slum known as the Conurb. He yearns for the bright lights of the Central City, where the streets are paved with the possibility of high-paying jobs, and more importantly, highly skilled doctors who can replace his broken-down prosthetic leg and free him from its pain.
But every resident of the Conurb shares his hope, always just one great scheme away from exactly the same dream – and they’re always disappointed when they wake up to grind away another day in the dark and grime.
Hare’s score turns into his worst nightmare, as his partner disappears with the seed for their new “business” while setting the local law on Hare’s trail.
Fleeing from the relatively safe, if downtrodden, Conurb, Hare struggles through a hellish dystopia with no end of novel threats. From endless deserts to carnivorous plant life and cannibal bikers, Hare’s trail ends in a terrible truth that is determined to use him for its own ends – even if it ends him.
Isolated Domain begins as a pulse-pounding wild ride of a caper story, as Hare and his best friend Chunk hunt for that one big score. But their dream takes them to the brink of dissolution and destruction. The story doesn’t relent, each dark turn leading to one darker yet – over and over, in myriad visions of a dystopian future.
Hare will compel readers to follow his journey and empathize with him throughout his tribulations.
His world may be vastly different from the reader’s, but his goals and his dreams still feel familiar. He wants a better life but fears it will only get worse. His descent into pain and struggle lands with a heavy emotional impact. Hare’s quest for that big score toys with his hope and refuses to fulfill it. Anyone searching for a light at the end of the tunnel for Hare and his world may close the book feeling a bit depressed.
Readers looking for an odyssey of misfortune will find Hare an engaging and (mostly) good man as he tries to navigate the layers of chaos and despair. His story finishes with a twist that will leave those readers in a state of dark astonishment.
The I & I Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Instruction and Insight non-fiction that are self-help, how-to, guides, or explanatory. In non-fiction works, the author assumes responsibility (in good faith) for the truth, accuracy, people, places, or information presented. The I & I Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best Instruction and Insight books featuring How-To, Guidance, Travel Guides, Cookbooks, Self-Help, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2022 I&I Non-Fiction Short List to the 2022 I&I Book Awards Semi-Finals. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the Finalists of the 2022 I&I Book Awards novel competition for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
Tana Hope – Healthy Habits for Desk Potatoes
Kenneth Nixon Jr. – Born Into Crisis
John W. Feist – Pocket Japan: a concise guidebook for business travelers to Japan
Deborah Vinall, PsyD, LMFT – Trauma Recovery Workbook for Teens
Kip and Pam Rosser – Vegetarian Tales From the Mushroom Rooms
Natalie Dale, MD – A Writer’s Guide to Medicine. Volume 2: Illness & Injury
Kerrin Margiano – Enjoy the Gift of Childhood
Simran Sadana & Meena Iyer – Ramayana Through Ikebana
Michael J. Freeman Ph.D. – Freeman Explains! The Things That Can Change That Should Be Changed
Matthew J. Louis – Mission Transition: Navigating the Opportunities and Obstacles to Your Post-Military Career
Gene Berardelli – Schnooks, Crooks, Liars & Scoundrels: A Field Guide to Identifying Political Buffoons
Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Dating While Autistic: Cut Through the Social Quagmire and Find Your Person
Ellen Notbohm – Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew
Gustavo J. Gomez, Ph.D. – Hair Loss: Options for Restoration & Reversal 2nd Edition
Ann E Feldman – Building Communities of Trust: Creative Work for Social Change
Margaret Tran – The Actions
E. Alan Fleischauer – Reconfigurement
D. Terrence Foster, MD – The Stress Book: Forty-Plus Ways to Manage Stress & Enjoy Your Life
Tracy Cram Perkins – Dementia Home Care, How to Prepare Before, During, and After
Sandy Gerber – Emotional Magnetism – How to Communicate to Ignite Connection in Your Relationships
Donna McCart Welser – Rue’s Butterfly
Jocelyn Jones – Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within
Benjamin Plumb – The Satisfied Introvert: A Memoir About Finding Safety in an Extroverted World
Daryl Potter – Even the Monsters. Living with Grief, Loss, and Depression
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post.
We are now accepting submissions to the 2023 I&I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight Non-Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
Congratulations! Let’s chat a bit about genre. What genre best describes your work? And, what led you to write in this genre? 
The Hearten Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Uplifting & Inspiring Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Hearten Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).
The Hemingway Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works for 20th Century Wartime Fiction. The Hemingway Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
The Nellie Bly Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Long Form Journalistic and Investigative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Nellie Bly Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs).
The I & I Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Instruction and Insight non-fiction that are self-help, how-to, guides, or explanatory. In non-fiction works, the author assumes responsibility (in good faith) for the truth, accuracy, people, places, or information presented. The I & I Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
