Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

The Journey 2024 First Place Round Up for Overcoming Adversity!

The Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoirs. The Grand Prize Winner, Kathryn Caraway’s book, Unfollow Me will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Journey contest page year ’round!

The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!

The 2024 Journey Winners were announced at the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

Join us in celebrating the 2024 First Place Journey Winners!

Kirsten Throneberry – Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms and the Open Road

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Kirsten, a happily married mother of two, receives an unsolicited message foretelling the collapse of her life as she knows it. This startling news is delivered by the unseen guides who have been with her for over 14 years.

In the devastating aftermath of their prediction, these same guides return to offer Kirsten an unconventional path forward through her grief: a yearlong road trip around the country in an RV―something she has never owned, wanted, or even driven before.

Though anxious and uncertain, she decides to heed their advice to sell her home and head out into the unknown in 300 square feet of living space with her two young sons, two large dogs, and one aging flower-child mother.

On this wild and often harrowing journey, Kirsten discovers the true depths of her resilience and a way to finally reclaim her life.

From Chanticleer:

In her stunning memoir, Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road, Kirsten Throneberry weaves together the highs and lows of a road trip packed with life wisdom, where she explores grief, spirituality, and rekindled hope.

Throneberry’s achingly vulnerable memoir splits its readers’ hearts and tenderly sews them back together.

In the aftermath of the devastating loss of her husband, Kirsten sells her home and takes her two small sons, two elderly pups, and eccentric mother on a year-long road trip around the United States in their new-to-them Bigfoot RV.

Encouraged by the same spirit guides whose earlier advice for her husband’s health left her broken and untrusting, Kirsten must learn to face the open road with an equally open heart and mind.

Read More Here!

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Jennifer Gasner – My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis

Jennifer Gasner is seventeen when her dreams are shattered overnight.
Receiving a diagnosis of Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare genetic neuromuscular disease, means she must prepare herself for a life of loss. When she starts college, she can still walk on her own, but as her disease progresses, she spirals further into sadness, denial, and alienation. She turns to alcohol and a toxic relationship to distract her from what she refuses to accept—that her body, her self-esteem, and her hope for her future are failing.

When Jennifer develops a friendship with rock star Dave Matthews, her outlook changes. She begins to understand that using a wheelchair doesn’t mean her life is over. In fact, when she discovers disability culture, she realizes it’s not her body that needs to be fixed but her assumptions about being disabled.

In her captivating memoir, My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis, Jennifer invites you into her world, where she must learn to view her changing body with compassion and choose gratitude over anger as she finds strength and acceptance in a whole new way of moving through life.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Anne Gately – Sunburnt: A Memoir of Sun, Surf, and Skin Cancer

Also a 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design First Place Winner!

After living an average Aussie life playing sport, spending languid days on the beach, and falling in love with ocean swimming, Anne Gately received unwelcome news. She had Stage IV melanoma.

Yet Anne is one of the lucky ones. After a dire prognosis, she dug deep to face the clear and present prospect of death, head-on. In Sunburnt, her revealing memoir, Anne recounts the emotions and challenges of her life-saving immunotherapy treatment under the care of Professor Georgina Long to come through the other side.

Not only has Anne survived, she is issuing a clarion call for a change to the bronzed Aussie culture. In Sunburnt Anne combines a nostalgic view of a charmed Aussie childhood, a jolting review of Australia’s sun-worshipping norms, and enough scientific research to encourage us all to redefine our relationship with the sun.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Sonja Wasden and Rachel Siddoway – An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness

Also a 2024 Hearten First Place Winner!

An award-winning and best-selling memoir, An Impossible Life, tells the powerful true account of one woman’s descent into depressive and manic episodes and how she found lifesaving therapy and medication to overcome and triumph. When thirty-five-year-old Sonja Wasden is involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital by her husband and father, she is sure it is a mistake. Wife of a CEO, mother of three, and living in a beautiful suburb, Sonja’s life appears ideal. How did she get here?

In this gripping and breathtaking narrative that makes the reader feel as though they are listening in on a private conversation, Sonja reveals her delusions and battles with mental illness, motherhood, and marriage. When all hope seems lost, this true story of perseverance is inspiring and unforgettable.

An Impossible Life is a lighthouse of hope for those facing an all-consuming mental illness, either for themselves or for someone they love.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Lindsey M. Henke – When Skies Are Gray: A Grieving Mother’s Lullaby

Lindsey Henke is freshly married and a newly practicing psychotherapist when she finds out she is pregnant with her first child. Nine months later, on a cold Minnesota night in December 2012, after a perfect pregnancy, Lindsey goes into labor—only to be told upon arrival at the hospital that her baby has no heartbeat.

After the stillbirth of her daughter, Lindsey grapples with the unbearable agony of losing a child. Unprepared to cope with a sorrow this deep, she uses the only tools she has—her skills as a therapist—to plot her own path through grief. Over the next year and half, as Lindsey mourns the loss of one child while simultaneously trying to hold space for the joy of expecting another baby, she learns that grief can live side by side with joy.

When Skies Are Gray offers a poignant message to any mother who is grieving: Your pain is real. The sharp ache of the grief you feel will soften over time, though your love for the child you lost will always remain. And it’s okay to feel that love; it’s a mother’s love, and like lullabies, a mother’s love never dies.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Claudia Marseille – But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

By age four, Claudia Marseille had hardly uttered a word. When her parents finally had her hearing tested and learned she had a severe hearing loss, they chose to mainstream her, hoping this would offer her the most “normal” childhood possible. With the help of a primitive hearing aid, Claudia worked hard to learn to hear, lipread, and speak even as she tried to hide her disability in order to fit in. As a result, she was often misunderstood, lonely, and isolated—fitting into neither the hearing world nor the Deaf culture.

This memoir explores Claudia’s relationships with her German refugee parents—a disturbed, psychoanalyst father obsessed over various harebrained projects and moneymaking schemes and a Jewish mother who had survived the Holocaust in Munich—and with her own identity. Claudia shares how she emerged from loneliness and social isolation, explored her Jewish identity, struggled to find a career compatible with hearing loss, and eventually opened herself to a life of creativity and love.

But You Look So Normal is the inspiring story of a life affected but not defined by an invisible disability. It is a journey through family, loss, shame, identity, love, and healing as Claudia finally, joyfully, finds her place in the world.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Journey First Place Winners!

Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Journey Awards!

Got a great Non Fiction Book? The 2025 Journey Book Awards are open through the end of August!

Submit to the Journey Awards Today!

July 23, 2025
TIME-MARKED WARLOCK: The Chronos Chronicles Book 1 by Shami Stovall – Urban Fantasy, Murder Mystery, Supernatural Mystery

Shami Stovall’s Time-Marked Warlock rewinds urban fantasy with fresh magic.

Adair Finch is the world’s most powerful warlock – and he’s done with it all. In Time-Marked Warlock, Shami Stovall crafts a brilliant urban fantasy that feels like Groundhogs Day meets Harry Dresden, delivering a take on magical investigation that will leave readers spellbound from the first page.

A reluctant mentor meets his match in a twelve-year-old witch.

After losing his brother in a case gone wrong, Finch has sworn off the paranormal world entirely. But when young Bree Blackstone pounds on his door in the middle of the night – her mother murdered, her father kidnapped – Finch wades back into the magical chaos he’d tried to escape. What starts as a favor for an old friend becomes a twisting mystery that threatens everything he thought he knew about his world.

Stovall excels at creating an unlikely partnership, one crackling with energy and humor. Bree isn’t your typical helpless child in need of rescue – she’s a young witch with questions, opinions, and magical abilities that complement Finch’s considerable power. Their banter and growing mentor-student relationship provides both emotional depth and genuine laughs throughout the investigation.

Time magic creates a game-changing twist on fantastical investigation.

The real genius of Time-Marked Warlock lies in Finch’s unique ability to rewind time and witness events as they actually happened. When someone tries to kill both Finch and Bree, his ability to see the attack unfold adds layers of complexity that keep readers guessing right alongside the characters.

Stovall uses this temporal element not as a gimmick but as a sophisticated plot device that deepens the mystery while raising the stakes. Each revelation through time manipulation reveals another clue towards conspiracy, transforming what appears to be a straightforward murder case into something even more sinister and far-reaching.

A standout series launch that reinvents urban fantasy tropes.

Time-Marked Warlock succeeds because of the originality it infuses into familiar urban fantasy elements – powerful warlocks, magical investigations, supernatural threats. The world-building feels both lived-in and vivacious, populated with complex characters whose flaws make them more compelling than perfect heroes ever could be.

Stovall’s writing sparkles with wit and energy, moving at breakneck pace while never sacrificing character development. Finch’s journey from bitter retirement to reluctant heroism feels earned, while the emotional resonance of Bree’s evolution from terrified child to capable young witch elevates the entire narrative.

As the opening volume of The Chronos Chronicles trilogy, Time-Marked Warlock establishes a magical world readers will want to revisit again and again. Fans of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files and Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles will find their new favorite series in Stovall’s perfect combination of urban fantasy adventure and time-bending mystery.

Time-Marked Warlock by Shami Stovall won Grand Prize in the 2024 CIBA Shelley Awards for Supernatural Fiction.

July 23, 2025
From Dream to Shelf: Your Guide to Courting Independent Bookstores
Few sights are more thrilling than seeing your book lined up on an independent bookstore shelf—your name on the spine, your story ready to find its perfect reader.

Getting there takes more than luck. It requires strategy, relationship-building, and understanding how bookstores actually operate.

After speaking with event coordinators, consignment managers, buyers, and successful authors, we’ve gathered the most practical advice for getting your book into independent bookstores. The good news? There are three distinct pathways to explore, and each offers unique opportunities for building lasting relationships with booksellers.

The Three Pathways to Bookstore Success

Understanding your options helps you choose the right approach for your situation and goals:

Events – Host readings, signings, or launch parties
Consignment – Place books directly with individual stores
Wholesale Orders – Get picked up through distributors like Ingram

Each pathway requires different preparation, but all share one crucial element: treating booksellers with genuine respect and professionalism.

The Golden Rule of Bookstore Relationships

Before diving into strategies, remember this fundamental truth: day-to-day booksellers are often the people who will hand-sell your book to customers. Making a positive impression isn’t just good manners—it directly impacts your sales potential. Consciously or unconsciously, people are less inclined to recommend books by authors who’ve treated them poorly.

The publishing world is surprisingly small, and bookstore networks are even smaller. Always maintain your professionalism, even during challenging interactions. Your reputation travels faster than you might expect.

Pathway #1: Starting with Events

Our own David Beaumier at an author event

Most authors connect with bookstores through events first. This approach builds relationships while giving you immediate face-to-face time with both booksellers and potential readers.

Research Before You Reach Out

Visit the bookstore’s website and thoroughly explore their events section. Understanding their process, requirements, and calendar helps you ask informed questions rather than basic ones that signal you haven’t done your homework.

Respect Their Time and Schedule

Bookstore staff often wear multiple hats, so timing matters enormously. If an events coordinator prefers meeting in person, work within their schedule. Showing up unannounced or at inconvenient times can create resentment rather than opportunity.

Take Ownership of Your Promotion

Think of bookstore events like editorial reviews or book awards—the venue provides some promotion, but their audience is broader than yours. Not everyone who follows their social media will be interested in your specific book.

Your promotional responsibilities include:

Using any media kit templates the bookstore provides

Reaching out to local publications and media

Connecting with regional bookseller associations (like the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association)

Leveraging your own social media and newsletter

The most successful events happen when you leverage multiple forms of promotion simultaneously.

Pathway #2: Consignment Programs

Rather than jumping straight to wholesale orders, research whether bookstores offer consignment programs. In consignment arrangements, you act as your own distributor—delivering books directly and managing inventory.

The Consignment Advantage

Better profit margins: You can receive as much as 70% of sales revenue

Direct relationships: Regular contact builds stronger connections with staff

Flexibility: Easier to adjust inventory based on what’s actually selling

Smart Consignment Management

Ruth Amanda, the 2024 CIBA Little Peeps Grand Prize Winner, offers brilliant practical advice: keep a master list of every consignment location with contact names and phone numbers. Once quarterly, make your rounds in one efficient sweep, calling ahead to check inventory levels.

Pro tip: When visiting to restock, give advance notice of your arrival time. This courtesy allows bookstore staff to plan their day and potentially spend time discussing how your book is performing or ways to improve its placement.

Pathway #3: Getting Picked Up by Buyers

The ultimate goal for many authors is having bookstores order directly through distributors like Ingram. This creates ongoing sales without requiring you to manage individual store relationships.

Understanding “At Terms”

Bookstores look for books available “at terms,” which means:

Returnable: You accept returns of unsold inventory

Regular discount: Typically 45% off retail price for bookstores

The Returns Reality

Don’t return the toys!

Returns can feel scary because it means you pay shipping both ways, and money you thought you’d earned gets clawed back. For paperbacks, you can opt for “destroy returns” where bookstores remove the cover and recycle the rest rather than shipping books back.

However, non-returnable books face significant disadvantages. With bookstores operating on thin margins and limited shelf space, they’re less likely to risk inventory space on non-returnable titles when proven authors offer returnable options.

The Magic of “REG” Status

When you set your wholesale discount at 45%, a special code appears on Ingram’s ordering system: “REG” (regular discount). This green flag signals to bookstore buyers that your book meets industry standards for wholesale ordering.

Most bookstores will work with discounts as low as 35%, but that 45% threshold creates preferential treatment in ordering systems.

Getting on Ingram

Ingram dominates English-language book distribution worldwide. For independent authors, they’re the primary distributor that bookstores trust and use regularly. The good news? Getting your books into their system is straightforward through services like IngramSpark.

Building Champion Relationships

Village Books is an incredible champion for authors everywhere!

The most successful authors understand that bookstore relationships often extend beyond business transactions. Ruth Amanda’s experience illustrates this perfectly: a gift shop owner whose grandson loves Ruth’s writing became a champion who helped her get into five additional gift shops, plus museums that now carry her books.

When someone champions your book:

Express genuine gratitude

Keep them updated on new releases

Offer them first copies or special editions

Remember that these relationships can open unexpected doors

Champions can emerge from the most unlikely places—gift shop owners, bookstore customers, even other authors. Stay open to possibilities and nurture relationships that feel authentic.

Professional Presentation Materials

When approaching bookstores, treat your materials like a gift that shows respect for their time and consideration.

Essential Media Kit Components

Your book (obviously)

Professional sell sheet with key details and selling points

Promotional materials like bookmarks, pins, or branded items

Personal touch like tissue paper, color coordination, or small treats

The presentation signals that you take your work and their consideration seriously.

In-Store Promotional Opportunities

Once you’ve established a relationship, ask about additional promotional support:

Shelf talkers highlighting your book

Bookmarks for customers

Window display opportunities

Cross-promotion with related events

A shelf talker for Chanticleer Author Susan Faw’s Award Winning book, Seer of Souls

Don’t assume these opportunities exist, but don’t hesitate to ask. The worst they can say is no, and many bookstores appreciate authors who think proactively about sales support.

Timing Your Approach

Best timing for initial contact: When you have a finished cover and confirmed publication date

Follow-up protocol: Reach out twice over two weeks, then call to ask about preferred contact timing if you haven’t heard back

Relationship maintenance: Quarterly check-ins for consignment, annual updates for wholesale accounts

Setting Realistic Expectations

Courting bookstores requires persistence, patience, and thick skin. Not every store will be interested, and that’s normal rather than personal rejection. Focus on building genuine relationships with stores that align with your book’s audience and your values as an author.

Success often builds slowly. One store can lead to referrals, one event creates ongoing relationships, one champion opens multiple doors you never expected.

Your Next Steps

Getting a self-published book into bookstores is essentially a job in itself. But independent authors have already proven they possess the essential qualities: persistence, patience, and unwavering belief that their book deserves shelf space.

Start with research, approach with professionalism, and remember that every successful author-bookstore relationship began with that first respectful conversation.

Professional Support for Bookstore-Ready Books

When approaching bookstores, presentation quality matters enormously. Booksellers can immediately spot the difference between professionally prepared books and amateur efforts.

Chanticleer Editorial Book Reviews provide the professional third-party validation that bookstores respect. Our comprehensive reviews serve as powerful marketing material while offering robust SEO optimization that maintains long-term value. When bookstore buyers see professional review credentials, it signals serious authorship.

You know you want it…

Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) recognition creates the “award-winning author” credentials that help books stand out in competitive markets. Our 28 divisions across fiction and non-fiction categories provide multiple opportunities for recognition that bookstores and customers value.

Both services generate the professional credibility that serious bookstore relationships require—exactly the kind of validation that transforms good books into shelf-worthy titles.

Discover how professional recognition enhances your bookstore prospects
July 22, 2025
Ten days remain! The countdown continues with Series, Shorts, and Collections
Three Divisions Close at the end of July

Three excellent divisions close at the end of July!

Discovery is just a click away!
Only 10 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!

The Series Awards, The SEA Shorts Awards, and the Collections and Anthologies Awards are still open!

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2024 Series Award for Fiction and Non-Fiction!

And a huge round of applause for the 2024 Series Grand Prize Winner:

A Vengeful Realm by Tim Facciola

See the full list of 2024 Book Series Winners here!

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2024 SEA Shorts Awards!

And a huge round of applause for the 2024 SEA Shorts Awards Grand Prize Winners:

Something About Lizzy by Robin Elizabeth Kobayashi

Dream Rut: Navigating Your Path Forward by Dr. Yumiko Shimabukuro

Illustrated by Jieyu Deng

See the SEA Shorts Winners for shorter work here and for longer work here!

The CIBAs offer more than just recognition — they provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.

We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.

Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Enter to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 2026) where Winners from all 28 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.

In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.

Let’s celebrate exceptional storytelling together!

Don’t Delay! Enter Today!

The Series Awards, The SEA Shorts Awards, and The Collections and Anthologies Awards

Your book deserves to be discovered
July 21, 2025
The 2025 Hearten Spotlight for Inspiring and Uplifting Non-Fiction
Where Hope Meets the Written Word!

The Hearten Awards Celebrate Stories That Inspire and Heal

The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway and Hearten closes on August 31, 2025!

In a world that often feels overwhelming, there’s profound power in stories that remind us of human goodness, resilience, and the possibility of transformation. The Hearten Awards—a wonderful offshoot of our Journey Awards—celebrate the uplifting and inspiring non-fiction narratives that restore faith, spark hope, and illuminate the bright threads woven through even the most challenging experiences.

While our Journey Awards honor the courage to transform pain into purpose, the Hearten Awards recognize stories that already shine with light—memoirs of healing, guides to personal growth, family chronicles that celebrate love, and adventures that remind us why life is worth living fully. These are the books that leave readers feeling more hopeful about the world and their place in it.

The Healing Power of Hopeful Stories

Inspirational non-fiction serves a vital role in our literary landscape, offering readers not just entertainment but genuine nourishment for the spirit. These stories matter because they show us what’s possible when we choose hope over despair, connection over isolation, and growth over stagnation.

Whether it’s a memoir of someone finding love later in life, a humorous look at family dynamics that celebrates rather than criticizes, or practical wisdom delivered with warmth and encouragement, Hearten Award submissions share a common thread: they make the world feel a little brighter. In times when positive news feels rare, these stories become beacons of possibility.

The best uplifting non-fiction doesn’t ignore life’s challenges—it shows how those challenges can become catalysts for joy, connection, and personal transformation. These authors understand that hope is not naive optimism, but rather the hard-won wisdom that comes from choosing to see possibility even in difficult circumstances.

Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!

We’re delighted to honor Lynne Spriggs O’Connor, whose beautiful memoir Elk Love: A Montana Memoir claimed the 2024 Hearten Grand Prize with a story that perfectly embodies the transformative power of following your heart toward healing. At forty-two, Lynne left her East Coast life behind to pursue her dream of deeper connection with nature in Montana’s Big Sky Country, finding unexpected love with Harrison, a rancher thirteen years her senior.

Elk Love chronicles how loneliness can give way to wonder when we’re brave enough to listen—to nature, to others, and to our own hearts. With her dog Willow as companion, Lynne discovers “a wild language that moves beyond words” in the seasonal rhythms of ranch life. In addition to ongoing promotional features, Elk Love will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame posts. Lynne Spriggs O’Connor will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and Elk Love will receive a coveted Chanticleer Editorial Review.

Categories That Celebrate Every Path to Inspiration

The Hearten Awards welcome uplifting stories across a diverse range of approaches and themes:
- Humorous – Stories that find joy and laughter in life’s absurdities, proving that humor can be profoundly healing
- Motivational – Narratives that inspire readers to pursue their dreams, overcome obstacles, and believe in their potential
- Advice/Inspiration – Wisdom-filled works that offer practical guidance delivered with warmth and encouragement
- Family and Chosen Family – Celebrations of the relationships that sustain us, whether biological or built through choice and love
- Self-Discovery/Coming-of-Age – Journeys of personal growth that inspire readers to embrace their own transformation
Each category represents a different pathway to inspiration, united by the belief that our stories have the power to encourage, heal, and uplift others.

Other August Non-Fiction Opportunities

The Hearten Awards are part of Chanticleer’s comprehensive celebration of narrative non-fiction, all closing at the end of August:

Journey Awards – Courageous stories of overcoming adversity and transforming trauma into purpose

Nellie Bly Awards – Investigative journalism and exposé works that uncover important truths

Military & Front Line Awards – Stories of military service and front-line experiences

September non-fiction divisions include: Instruction and Insight (I&I), Harvey Chute, and Mind & Spirit Awards.

Looking at Stories That Inspire

Check out some of these uplifting works we’ve celebrated recently that showcase the power of hopeful storytelling!

A Path to Excellence
By Tony Jeton Selimi

A Hearten First Place Winner!

On the belief that life isn’t just the random cards one is dealt, A Path to Excellence by Tony Jeton Selimi offers a blueprint—the octagon of excellence—to succeed personally, professionally, and spiritually.

Transcending the pitfalls and spontaneous stumbling blocks along the path of life can open the door to self-actualization and progression. As someone who experienced bullying, sexual abuse, early disability, and homelessness, Selimi sets on to become a beacon of light to the hopeless and marginalized.

Within each soul lies a bud of genius waiting to blossom. This book focuses on purpose, vision, and persistence to clear the way to that fullest potential. Affirming challenges as immutable truths of life, Selimi employs Buddhist teaching and personal anecdotes to encourage a head-on confrontation with one’s struggles and promotes a feeling of gratitude. As a blend of philosophical wisdom and practical experience, the initial chapters help readers acknowledge their current life situation, perceiving challenges as epochs of potential.

Read More Here

Running Away From The Circus
By Nove Meyers

Heartens 2023 Grand Prize Winner!

Debut author Nove Meyers breathes life into the big tent of human aspirations and desperations, from his birth into a raucous circus atmosphere to his diligent study for Catholic priesthood.

Running Away from the Circus is a vibrant chronicle that opens with a vignette of his grandmother, clad in sequins and flying on a trapeze. She spun like a top to enthusiastic applause under the circus tent, until the fateful day when she included her young child in the act, dropping her thirty feet to the sawdust-covered floor below. But this did not prevent Nove Meyers from being born and having a story to tell.

The boyhood described was as wild as the circus acts. He was encouraged to smoke cigarettes like his father and watched in astonishment as his mother burned up paper money, possibly to protect his uncle, a counterfeiter. Yet despite his unusual upbringing as one of the family’s third generation of circus owners, Meyers was taken regularly to Catholic church services. There, he discovered God, an entity as mysterious as the traveling circus and carnie crowds he was raised among.

Read More Here

The Best I Can Do
By Cheryl Landes

Cheryl Landes’s The Best I Can Do: A True Story of Navigating the Complexities of Mental Illness and Homelessness, follows the devastation of a happy marriage as mental illness slowly takes over the mind of her husband. Landes must then make the journey back to peace.

Cheryl and her husband, Tom, had known each other since their college days. A classic love story, Landes does a beautiful job with the set up, and then delivers the tragedy of Tom’s spiral into paranoia as their plans for the future begin to fall apart.

The Best I Can Do tells the story of what happens when Tom insists someone is trailing him, believing a car passes by his and Cheryl’s home every day even though no one else sees it. He claims someone installed listening devices in their house and refuses to speak unless his white-noise devices are on. As his paranoia increases he locks the refrigerator with a chain and a padlock to protect himself from the certainty someone—perhaps Cheryl—wants to poison him.

Read More Here

Teaching in the Dark
By Genet Simone

A Hearten First Place Winner and Cover Design Grand Prize Winner!

How does place shape who we are—and who we’ll become? In this memoir, Teaching in the Dark, Genét Simone puts that question to the test by recounting her first year as a teacher.

The initial year of teaching is never an easy feat, but for Simone it was especially challenging, and transformative. She spent it with Native students in the remote island village of Shishmaref, on the Arctic edge of Alaska—no small wonder the school year became an unforgettable one.

Today, Simone has decades of teaching experience to draw upon. Yet, in this memoir she rarely employs her present voice to reflect on the past. Instead, the narrator remains in the moment: a young and inexperienced Simone, who only knows that she feels destined to be a teacher. When she signs up for the Shishmaref teaching job, she doesn’t even realize that it’s on an island.

Equipped with snow boots and passion, she arrives on the island only to realize just how unprepared she is.

Read More Here

Fishing With Hyenas
By Theresa Mathews

A Journey First Place Winner!

Theresa Mathews’ memoir, Fishing with Hyenas, is filled with adventure, love, and the spirit of an explorer, all on the high seas. In the audio version, the author herself tells this gripping story of love and death, grief and recovery.

Mathews begins the book in a place most difficult for her. She takes us through her emotional devastation at the news of her husband’s death. We see all the stages of her grief from the initial call: denial, disbelief, bargaining, and finally acceptance. Readers will be hooked in the first chapter.

She then deftly fills in the gaps with the backstory of how she met her husband Bart, their first date, their decision to commit to one another, and her first time she went for a ride on his Harley. These are often hilarious recaps of her anger and frustration, and her examination of what this relationship with a man who loved the sea would mean for her city-girl life.

Mathews alternates between the present and past with perfect pacing, giving readers a balance between the immersion in and relief from the intense emotion of her husband’s unexpected death.

Read More Here

These stories demonstrate how the best inspirational non-fiction creates genuine connection between author and reader, offering both comfort and motivation for life’s journey.

See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!

We’re honored to receive the hopeful stories that authors trust us with each year. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!

The Hearten Awards provide recognition for the often-undervalued but deeply important work of creating hope through storytelling. Whether you’re sharing your own journey of transformation, offering wisdom gained through experience, or simply celebrating the beauty you’ve found in life, these awards honor the courage it takes to choose optimism and share light with the world.

Your Story of Hope Matters

In a time when the world needs more hope, your uplifting story could be exactly what someone needs to hear. Whether it’s a memoir of healing, a humorous look at family life, or practical wisdom delivered with warmth, your positive narrative has the power to encourage, inspire, and heal.

Share your story of hope and healing—the deadline is August 31, 2025!

You know you want it…

Submit to the Hearten Awards today and help us celebrate the transformative power of uplifting stories!
July 21, 2025
The 2025 Journey Award Spotlight for Overcoming Adversity
The Courage to Transform Pain into Purpose

The Journey Awards Honor Stories of Resilience and Survival

The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway, and Journey closes on August 31, 2025!

Some stories demand to be told, not because they’re easy to share, but because silence serves no one. The Journey Awards, Chanticleer’s oldest non-fiction division, honor the extraordinary courage it takes to transform personal trauma into powerful narrative, giving voice to experiences that too often remain hidden in shadows.

These are the memoirs that refuse to let suffering be meaningless, the true stories that illuminate paths forward for others walking similar roads, and the brave testimonies that demand society confront uncomfortable truths. When authors choose to share their most difficult journeys, they create lifelines for readers who need to know they’re not alone.

The Power of Survival Stories

Every Journey Award submission represents an act of tremendous courage. To transform trauma into narrative requires not just writing skill, but the strength to revisit painful experiences, the wisdom to find meaning in suffering, and the generosity to share hard-won insights with the world.

These stories matter because they break silence around experiences that too often remain hidden. They provide validation for survivors, education for supporters, and hope for those still struggling. When authors transform their most difficult experiences into compelling narrative, they perform a profound service—proving that healing is possible and that survival can become a form of advocacy.

Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!

We’re honored to recognize Kathryn Caraway, whose brave memoir Unfollow Me claimed the 2024 Journey Grand Prize by shining necessary light on the devastating crime of stalking. Writing under a pseudonym to protect her identity, Caraway documented three years of terror as she fought for survival against a stalker whose escalating crimes systematically destroyed her sense of safety. As she writes, “Each day is a fight to stay alive. Even while sleeping, you must be ready.”

Despite having her concerns dismissed by law enforcement and friends, Caraway refused to remain silent. She documented hundreds of incidents and ultimately transformed her nightmare into a powerful story that brings much-needed awareness to stalking as a serious crime. Unfollow Me demonstrates how the most difficult stories can become the most important ones—transforming one person’s fight for survival into practical guidance and hope for others. In addition to ongoing promotional features, Unfollow Me will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame posts. Kathryn Caraway will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview and receive continued recognition across our promotional platforms.

See Our Review here:

When you’re a target of stalking, “Each day is a fight to stay alive. Even while sleeping, you must be ready.” So reveals Kathryn Caraway in Unfollow Me, a spine-tingling true crime novel tracing a life shattered by severe stalking.

Although the author uses the pseudonym “Kathryn Caraway” throughout this novel to protect her identity, her harrowing tales of being the target of a stalker and fighting for her rights to freedom and safety are a testament to the real danger she was exposed to. Caraway’s experience creates a compelling story of one woman’s brave quest for justice against her torturer.

Kathryn emotionally, mentally, and physically falls apart at the hands of a violent, ubiquitous presence. Despite the severity of the crimes committed against her, Kathryn’s concerns are routinely dismissed as irrational and hysterical by law enforcement officials, lawyers, and even long-time friends.

Before a malicious intruder targets her, Kathryn is a beloved mother, a wonderful friend, and a confident employee. But after she is introduced to Todd, he begins to slowly strip her life from her control.

Read More Here

Categories That Honor Every Journey

The Journey Awards recognize that trauma takes many forms, and healing happens through many different paths:
- Overcoming Adversity – Personal Journey – Individual stories of resilience against overwhelming odds
- Dysfunctional Family/Siblings – Narratives exploring complex family dynamics and their lasting impact
- Societal/Class/Race Issues – Personal accounts of confronting systemic injustice and discrimination
- Personal Journeys/Experiences/PTSD – Stories of living with and healing from post-traumatic stress
- Drug Addiction – Memoirs of addiction, recovery, and the ongoing journey of sobriety
- Sexual Abuse – Brave testimonies of survival and healing from sexual trauma
- Childhood Trauma – Stories that give voice to experiences from our most vulnerable years
Each category represents not just a literary classification, but a community of survivors whose stories deserve recognition and readers who need to hear them.

Other August Non-Fiction Opportunities

The Journey Awards are part of Chanticleer’s comprehensive celebration of narrative non-fiction, all closing at the end of August:
- Hearten Awards – Uplifting non-fiction that inspires hope and positive action
- Nellie Bly Awards – Investigative journalism and exposé works that uncover truth
- Military & Front Line Awards – Stories of military service and front-line experiences
Looking ahead to September, our prescriptive non-fiction divisions offer opportunities for instructional and guidance works: Instruction and Insight (I&I), Harvey Chute, and Mind & Spirit Awards.

Looking at Journeys of Courage

Check out some of these powerful stories we’ve celebrated recently!

Guided
By Kirsten Throneberry

A 2024 Journey First Place Winner!

In her stunning memoir, Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road, Kirsten Throneberry weaves together the highs and lows of a road trip packed with life wisdom, where she explores grief, spirituality, and rekindled hope.

Throneberry’s achingly vulnerable memoir splits its readers’ hearts and tenderly sews them back together.

In the aftermath of the devastating loss of her husband, Kirsten sells her home and takes her two small sons, two elderly pups, and eccentric mother on a year-long road trip around the United States in their new-to-them Bigfoot RV.

Encouraged by the same spirit guides whose earlier advice for her husband’s health left her broken and untrusting, Kirsten must learn to face the open road with an equally open heart and mind.

Read More Here

Dumb Girl
By Heidi Yewman

In this powerful and heart wrenching memoir Dumb Girl, Heidi Yewman confronts her past to turn the pain and shame of an abusive childhood into resilience and purposeful action. She connects with readers through her transformation and triumphantly advocates for change.

During the #MeToo Movement, Yewman attended a stage production of the well-known “Vagina Monologues.” When audience members were asked to stand if they’d been abused, Yewman felt ashamed about her past but also obligated to rise. It was there that she decided to write her story as a release from that lingering sense of guilt.

Yewman’s narrative takes us on an inspiring journey between her adulthood passion to advocate for gun control, and a traumatic childhood attempting to escape from a cycle of abuse.

Read More Here

Freeing Teresa
By Franke James, Teresa Heartchild and Billiam James

“Let me speak. Let me speak,” says Teresa Heartchild, a self-talk poet, writer, and disability activist with Down Syndrome in the epigraph of the memoir, Freeing Teresa: A True Story About My Sister and Me by Franke James.

And speak she does, freeing herself from the boundaries set by other family members and the healthcare system. “In this heart-wrenching audiobook, a cast of thirteen actors recount the journey of Teresa’s unfortunately common experience. She was a victim of unjust medical treatment and nonconsensual housing placement—both by the Ontario government and her immediate family members. Actor Jackie Blackmore plays Franke James, the author and environmental activist. Teresa is played by the U.S. star Lauren Potter, and Dayleigh Nelson plays James’s husband, Bill.

By elevating Teresa’s activist voice as a prominent feature in the story, Freeing Teresa reveals how injustice and ableism can tear a family apart—but also how courageous love and the decision to listen to those who have been marginalized serves to build unbreakable bonds.

Franke James writes, “It all began with the question, ‘Where will Teresa live?’” In Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2013, six siblings wondered how to care for their youngest sister with Down Syndrome following their father’s anticipated death. Unfortunately, as is too often the case, these conversations took place without the knowledge and input of those directly involved: Teresa and her caretaker father.

Read More Here

Finding The Light
By Kasey J. Claytor

Some stories are impossible to look away from, and from its very first sentence, Finding the Light, Navigating Dementia with My Son by Kasey J. Claytor proves itself one of them. “…when my 49-year-old son, Justin, was first diagnosed with a form of early-onset dementia, I was stunned.” Without hesitation, the book draws readers into a saga of family, illness, and resilience.

Although a memoir, Finding the Light is in many ways an instructional text, too. Readers don’t need similar medical situations to draw from Claytor’s lessons of improvement. The conversational, approachable writing style serves this purpose well.

Although it’s in chronological order, this is an unconventional, modern text.

Traditional scene-based paragraphs are offset by poetry, informative sidebars, and even the full text of letters sent throughout Justin’s illness. Claytor deftly shifts between these sections, building a cohesive narrative from which readers can easily learn.

The past is vibrant and immediate: Claytor chronicles events in rich yet simple prose as Justin falls deeper into frontotemporal dementia, or FTD.

Read More Here

These works demonstrate how personal narrative can transform individual suffering into universal understanding and hope.

See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!

We’re honored to receive the courageous stories that authors trust us with each year. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!

The Journey Awards provide more than literary recognition—they offer validation that your story matters, that your survival has meaning, and that your courage to speak deserves to be heard. Whether you’re sharing your own journey or amplifying the voices of others, these awards celebrate the transformative power of truth-telling.

Your Story Matters

To every author considering sharing their journey: your courage to transform pain into purpose serves a vital function in our world. Your story may be the one that helps another survivor realize they’re not alone, that shows a supporter how to help, or that opens society’s eyes to injustices that must be addressed.

The courage to share your journey deserves recognition—the deadline is August 31, 2025!

Submit to the Journey Awards today and help us honor the transformative power of survival stories!
July 21, 2025
HELLO? WHO IS THIS? MARGARET? by Dani Alpert – Personal Essays, Memoirs, Writers & Entertainers

In Dani Alpert’s Hello? Who Is This? Margaret?, she shares her story through a series of essays, each one a piece in the larger puzzle of who she is as a performer, writer, director, Pilates instructress, and unapologetic optimist.

Throughout Hello? Who Is This? Margaret?, we follow the author as she learns the important lessons of life, laughing, shaking our heads, and taking away a few lessons for ourselves, too.

Though these essays may seem unconnected at first, they ultimately weave together the story of a flawed woman who suffers through heartbreak and failure only to keep trying, and trying again. She writes with humor, honesty, and hope. Regardless of what is thrown Alpert’s way, she perseveres, finding new ways to plow through difficulties and chase after her dreams—even those that need to be dusted off and rearranged.

From her very first performance at the age of seven, Alpert knew she wanted to be a performer, and international fame was her only acceptable outcome.

Even when no one else believed in her, she stubbornly believed in herself. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she was certain her big break was just around the corner—and any corner would do.

Along the way she got married, divorced, lived with a man with two kids and played at being a girlfriend mom—which, it turned out, was a role she was actually pretty good at. She moved to Prague to teach English to foreign students (something she was very pretty good at), and began to write.

There, in writing, is where she flourished.

Though she never gave up her dream of being an international superstar performer, writing—then Pilates—became her life. And how lucky we are that she found her voice and picked up her pen!

With brutal self-awareness and sometimes dark humor, Alpert shares these stories of her life.

From hanging with Chas Bono (now Chaz) in the hopes she’ll meet Cher, to failing to impress Norman Lear, finding Pilates and learning to pole dance, Alpert weaves along the many paths she took to find herself. At each and every turn, she is certain beyond a doubt that all will work out and she will succeed. She will be discovered. She will find fame. But in the end, what she finds is much more personal. Dani finds herself as we all must.

Anyone who has struggled to believe in their dreams, and yet persevered, will relate to Alpert’s stories. Finding humor and truth in one’s life is not always easy, particularly when surviving a global pandemic or a heartbreaking relationship, but in Hello? Who Is This? Margaret? Alpert shows us how she did it—and leaves us wanting more.

July 21, 2025
The 2025 Ozma Long List For Fantasy Fiction
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. Our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2025 OZMA Fantasy Fiction entries to the 2025 Ozma Book Awards Long List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Ozma Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Ozma Book Awards novel competition for Fantasy Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A. Keith Carreiro – The Penitent Part II
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- Abigail O’bryan – Iron Rose
- Andrew D.H. Moore – Children of Solo
- Andy Brooks – Love and Fire
- Anton Anderson – The Seekers Perrin Peters
- Anya Rousselle – The King’s Blade
- B.L. Mostyn – Heroes of Another Age
- David Nos – The Final War of Wizards and Dragons
- C.R. Ware – All We Have to Remember: Volume One of the Seventh Layer Saga
- C.V. Vobh – Somnus Palace
- Catharina Steel – Vanishings
- Clifton Wilcox – The Immortal Witness
- Crystal D. Grant – Lightshed
- D. Dalton – Heartstealer
- David Waugh – The Will of the Wayfarer the Forgotten Legacy Part One
- Evette Davis – The Campaign
- Evette Davis – The Gift
- Gracie Dix – Vork Chronicles Welcome To Superhero School
- Helen Garraway – Sentinals Origins Part One
- J Prakash – Sedna of Hanaway
- J.A. Nielsen – The Winter Heir (Fractured Kingdoms, Book 2)
- J.C. Wade – Summer’s Reaping
- Jason Farrell & Michael De Weever – Secret of the Emerald Star
- Jason P. Crawford – The Trials of Poseidon
- Jeffrey L. Kohanek – The First Wizard
- John Nassari – The Dream Traveller Dark Rising
- Kristin Wahlne – When the Tree Calls
- Michael a Wexler – Jatora
- Michele L. Sayre – Darke Realms: One Tough Temporary She Alpha (Arcana 2)
- Misty J Thurmond – Saku Binder of Voids
- Molly M. Hammond – Daughter of Starlight
- Nicholas Varner – Warriors of the Red Wolf
- Nikhil Prabala – The Duchess of Kokora
- Nikki Mccormack – Child of Vanris (The Warden’s Son Book 1)
- Oleg Veretskiy – Tales of the Wandering Mists a Ukrainian Fairy Tale
- Palmer Pickering – Dark Town
- Philip Carlisle – Surviving Eros
- R. M. Krogman – Sundering
- Richard M Wagner – The Chronicles of Amerista: Griefold
- S.E. Reed – The Darkness of Dying in the Light
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Samantha Schinder – The Drowners
- Sean M. Tirman – Dreamweavers LLC
- Simran Sadana – Itehas
- T.A. Styles – Shift: An Urban Supernatural Fantasy (The Shift Series Book 1)
- Tamar Anolic – The Keepers
- Ted Neill – Lost Elawn
- T. V Holiday – T.V. Holiday’s Cataclysm: Legend of The Iron Warrior Vol. 2
- William H. Johnston – Shards of Unbroken Will
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook and LinkedIn. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews on these platforms.

Please LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on these platforms!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Ozma Grand Prize Winner

A Circle of Stars

By Erin Lark Maples

Click here to see the full list of 2024 Ozma Book Award Winners for Fantasy Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

Submissions for the 2026 Ozma Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

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.

Join us for our 14th annual conference and discover why!
July 20, 2025
The 2025 Shelley Long List for Paranormal Fiction
The Shelley Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Paranormal Fiction. The Shelley Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

The Shelley Awards were formerly known as the Paranormal Awards. We are delighted to be able to honor the mother of science fiction with this award!

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring magic, the supernatural, weird other-worldly stories, super humans (ex. Jessica Jones, Wonder Woman), magical beings & supernatural entities (ex. Dresden Files), vampires & werewolves (ex. Twilight), angels & demons, fairies & mythological beings, magical systems and elements. We will put them to the test and discover the best among them for the 2025 Paranormal Book Awards!

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2025 SHELLEY Paranormal Fiction entries to the 2025 Shelley Book Awards Long List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Shelley Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Shelley Book Awards novel competition for Paranormal Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- AJ Humphreys – Trip: A Psychological Horror Novel
- Alexandra Pugachevsky – Lilou the Shadyside Chronicles
- Amy S Cutler – A Shadow of Love
- Amy S Cutler – To Have and To Hold To Love and To Kill an Agreement of Souls
- Antoinette Chalmers – Midnight Stone
- Bryan Alaspa – The Given
- C.V. Vobh – Somnus Palace
- Charlie Robinson – Bow Tie Sex
- D.D. Franklin – Silver Lake Awakening
- Dan Morris-Young – The Music Building
- Derek Wachter – While We Wait
- Diane Corso – Broken Things
- E.L. Deards – The Lavender Blade
- Evette Davis – The Campaign
- George Petersen – The Summer of Haight
- Gina Detwiler – Forever
- H.J. Ramsay – Love and Other Cures for the Recently Undead
- Heather Murphy – Bring Out Your Dead
- Isaac Thorne – Tab’s Terrible Third Eye
- Jared Tlc – Destiny Lane
- Jonathan Fossler – Where the Children Play
- Katy Nyquist – A Holy Maiden’s Guide To Getting Kidnapped
- Keith Steinbaum – The Poe Consequence
- Kevin S. Moul – Lander’s Gate
- L. J. Aldon – Riddle of the Jeweled Cipher
- Lloyd Jeffries – Embers of Shadow Ages of Malice Book III
- Logan D. Irons – City of Wolves
- Lou Pugliese – Blame It on the Moon
- Louisa West – Kiss of Death
- M. Flagg – Memories of a Hunter’s Moon
- Mark Mustian – Boy with Wings
- Matt Ozanich – Priestess: The Tears of Promises Book One
- Matthew Minson – The Lupin Gene
- Melanie Forde – Guardian of the Crossroads
- Raquel Y. Levitt – The Seer
- Rebekah L Webb – Burrows of Blood and Shadow
- Sheila English – The Deadly Pieces
- Sherri L Dodd – Moonset on Desert Sands
- T.V. Holiday – Cataclysm Legend of the Iron Warrior Vol. 2
- Tom Dolan – Boba Wars Zero
- Tracy Shew – Book Group
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews on these platforms.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE! We are @ChantiReviews everywhere!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Shelley Grand Prize Winner

Time-Marked Warlock

By Shami Stovall

Click here to see the full list of 2024 SHELLEY Book Award Winners for Paranormal Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

Submissions for the 2026 Shelley Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

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.

Join us for our 14th annual conference and discover why!
July 18, 2025
The 2025 SEA Shorts Hall of Fame for Short Stories, Essays, and Novellas

Short Work? No problem

We’ve got winners!

**Got a Short to Share?**

Submissions for the 2025 Shorts Awards are open through July 31st!

The SEA Shorts Awards is one of the newest divisions at Chanticleer, but it didn’t take long to become one of the biggest powerhouses in our Book Awards! If you want to put your work to the test, submit it to the Shorts Awards today!

The Shorts Awards has recently been renamed the SEA Short Story Awards, in honor of Sharon Anderson, one of the first winners of the Shorts Award, our Chief Editor of Reviews and a beloved member of the Chanticleer Family. We are grateful for the opportunity to remember her with this Award.

See our newest addition, the Collections and Anthologies Award here!

Something About Lizzy
By Robin Elizabeth Kobayashi

Our Review for the SEA Short Story Grand Prize Winner (Novellas and Collections) for this Pride and Prejudice Sequel is forthcoming. In the meantime you can find more from this author at her page here.

Here’s what GoodReads readers have been saying-

“I normally do not like first person narratives (and those by sixteen-year-olds none the less!) but this is an exception. Sofia is a delight, insightful, old beyond her years, and yet very much a 16 y/o in impulsivity and sometimes judging too quickly on too little information (but oh so certain that she has the right of it).” -Jen

“Against her father’s wishes, Sofia forges a strong friendship with Elizabeth Darcy (Lizzy) and discovers all is not as it seems in the idyllic Darcy marriage. Will Sofia stand by Lizzy after all the family secrets are revealed? Something About Lizzy is an imaginative story with characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice like you have never seen them before. The immersive nature of the writing draws you in and keeps you invested in what’s going on. The style of writing is very much Austenesque which makes for enjoyable reading, especially if you love Pride and Prejudice. The pacing is slow and easy. Something About Lizzy is a book worth savoring.”- Nancy

Dream Rut: Navigating Your Path Forward
By Dr. Yumiko Shimabukuro
Illustrated by Jieyu Deng

Our review for the SEA Short Story Awards Grand Prize Winner (Short Stories and Essays) is forthcoming, in the meantime you can find more about this book from their website, dreamrut.com or see more from the artist at her website jieyudeng.com

Here’s what GoodReads readers have been saying-

““Trust grows when we recommit to reinvigorating our dreams.” Above all, Dr. Shimabukuro’s work calls on us to trust — in ourselves, and in the dreams deep within us. Through insightful prose, thought-provoking illustrations, and wisdom that can only be gained through mentoring hundreds of people through their dream ruts, as she has, she offers readers a path out of the wilderness, and back onto the path toward their dreams. Highly recommend for anybody who is, or has ever been, lost, and is looking for a way back towards accomplishing their deepest dreams.” -Jas

“Dream Rut brings new life to “it’s about the journey, not the destination.” It’s both a meditation and a motivational essay on connecting with your inner desires and dreams and choosing to foster a relationship with that dream instead of treating it as a distant, unreachable burden. Dr. Yumi Shimabukuro, a former professor of mine, writes with compassion and wisdom and Jieyu Deng’s incredibly beautiful, dreamy illustrations bring the mantra to life.” -Aastha

Shelter in A Hostile World
By Mack Little

Shelter in a Hostile World, second installment in Mack Little’s Love and Peace series, is an epic tale of resistance, desire, and tragedy, saturating readers in the complexity of Igbo culture.

Little paints a character-rich portrait of the horrors of enslavement and the unthinkable violence against women in the Caribbean, locking people together in relationships molded by adversity.

Set in 17th century Igboland—the invaded region of Nigeria — and on the island of Barbados, Shelter in a Hostile World is a searingly brief novel packed with mesmerizing prose. It blends genres to create a literary language entirely its own.

Throughout Little’s story, readers follow the life and loves of Badu Obosi, a haunted revolutionary escaping enslavement to protect his daughter from sexual violence.

Read More Here

The Heart of Kublai Khans Menagerie Keeper
By Catherine Brown

A Manuscript

God, The Mafia, My Dad and Me
By Lori Lee Peters

God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me by Lori Lee Peters begins in the voice of a child, compelling not just for its narrative honestly, but for the fact that it might not be reliable. As the book opens, we learn that this narrator firmly believes she will be killed.

Readers can easily see through the childlike hyperbole, but that doesn’t detract from the intrigue. How did a kid come to such an extreme conclusion? Is there any seed of truth to it? These questions will hook readers from the start.

Author Peters set out to write a book about her dad. God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me tells the true story of her father, and his fascinating work helping the FBI tackle Mafia activity in Lodi, California. Yet in the end, this is a memoir in which the compelling lead character – young Lori – overshadows her father in many ways.

Read More Here

Old Man Baseball
By Mike Murphey

New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst
By Elizabeth Crowens

Prepare to be carried away to bustling, vivacious streets as you read Elizabeth Crowens’ New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst.

This captivating literary anthology is a love letter to the great city from a group of brilliant artists and authors, which delves into the multifaceted lives of New Yorkers.

Short fiction and a few poems describe the ins and outs of New York living. Murder mysteries, revenge, family struggles, family sagas, and, of course, the most important questions regarding real estate. Finding the perfect place to live in the city may be difficult, but this story brings into vivid relief the heart of what makes New York special: the people.

Read More Here

Homegoing
By Toni Ann Johnson

Homegoing by Toni Ann Johnson is an intimate portrait of a middle-aged African-American woman dragging herself hand over hand out of grief and despair.

This story begins with her aching, echoing pain after the one-two punch of a miscarriage and the dissolution of her marriage. Her journey takes her back to the upper-middle-class white suburb where she grew up, through childhood memories that refuse to be denied and to, of all times and places, a funeral.

Something and someone is supposed to be buried. Certainly the deceased. But quite possibly the woman who has held on to her losses and her grudges long enough to poison her own future.

Read More Here

Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of SEA Shorts Winners is to submit today!

Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

Submit to the CIBAs Today!

Now is your chance to touch the hearts of readers everywhere. Your short prose deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the submit today! by the end of the month. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.

The Global Thriller Awards is your chance to shine!

July 18, 2025