An intricate mystery set in a small fictional town in northern Michigan, End of the Race is contemporary fiction at its finest. Annika Wolfson is a young mother and accomplished swimmer that has faced adversity in many areas of her life. Growing up in the Berglund household was rarely quiet for Annika because her father struggled with mental health and his unwavering feud against the affluent Wolfson family. Despite the long feud between the two families, Brian Wolfson and Annika bond as kids over swimming and their dream of the Olympics. Fast-forward a handful of years, Brian and Annika are now married and have a daughter. Their dreams of Olympic gold have been close to reality but always just out of reach.
After facing defeat in Athens a few years prior, Annika dives back into training for one last shot at Olympic gold, but then tragedy strikes. While in a low and vulnerable place, her husband Brian leaves to go on a sailing trip with friends from college and ends up missing. As Annika tries to unravel what has happened to her husband, she begins to suspect that the Wolfsons are not all they appear on the surface. Navigating a complicated family dynamic, she races to find answers as her life comes crumbling down around her and her daughter.
Kirscht keeps readers on the edge of their seats as she delicately deepens the mystery of Brian Wolfson’s disappearance. This mystery is far from the only one within the story. What happened that caused Annika to miss the Sydney and Athens Olympics? What happened all those years ago between Tom Berglund and Karl Wolfson that has created an almost Shakespearean divide between their houses? As the story progresses, Kirscht answers these questions bit by bit as the narrative alternates between the past and present. Towards the end of the novel, the timelines catch up with one another. There are still many things left unsaid and plenty of room for interpretation after the novel’s conclusion.
The mystery is presented mostly through Annika’s eyes, so readers only learn what she does. The full picture of the Wolfson family and their secretive attitude towards any outsiders is never fully explained. Even though Annika is a Wolfson by marriage, she is an outsider to her in-laws and her own family. The frustration and confusion she feels as a result adds complexity to the story as a whole.
Journey to the rustic setting of northern Michigan, where the idea of family may not be as simple as it seems. End of the Race is a quiet and refreshing story that will have readers longing for a trip out on the water.
End of the Race won First in Category in the CIBA 2019 Somerset Awards for Literary novels.
In the unique and compelling voice of an aging woman teetering on the edge of financial ruin, Maggie St. Claire’s debut novel, Martha, takes the reader from affluent residential areas of Los Angeles to its urban streets of despair, shadowing a 71-year-old, retired bank teller as she comes to grips with the challenges and adversities that threaten her existence.
This is the story of Martha Moore, many years divorced, estranged from her only child, and living a lie, as she enters her golden years. The most important things in her life, outside her pride in her desirable Hancock Park bungalow, are her book club friends. She attends their meetings dressed in her finest, projecting what she hopes is the image of a well-educated, well-to-do, Los Angeles dowager. The three wealthy women who comprise the remainder of the group are her best, perhaps only friends, and sometimes that’s a stretch.
In reality, anxiety and fear permeate her psyche as Martha struggles with uncertainty, failing health, food insecurity, and dwindling finances. Impoverished and alone, she is learning to live by her wits, filching food from many sources and raising money in unorthodox ways.
Martha’s handbag is filled with things from the kitchen that will never be missed when she leaves book club meetings and after times she volunteers at her church—she helps with the food bank and clothing donations, earning stars in her crown. She’s the sweet little old lady schmoozing her way to the buffet at local weddings and/or funerals, or the seasoned businesswoman whose nametag has been misplaced at conventions and rallies—a chameleon in sheep’s clothing, one might say.
Such events are her food sources. Of course, they don’t pay the overdue bills or the taxes. She worries how long it will be before she loses her home.
Then, seemingly, the planets align.
After finding her friend’s large emerald and diamond ring on the bathroom counter at a book club meeting, Martha sticks it in her pocket, intending to return it. Later, at home, she finds it still in her pocket. She had intended to return it—hadn’t she? Conflicted, she vacillates between fears of losing face or being thought of as a thief, and the urge to keep the ring until she can sell it and raise some badly needed cash. When she decides, the die is cast. She’ll sell the ring somewhere in one of the many jewelry venues abounding in the city.
Because she doesn’t dare, doesn’t know-how, and fears being found out, it was a fruitless decision until an indigent, young woman with her own problems enters Martha’s life. Then, everything changes …
Throughout the story, the direction of Martha’s life has been dictated by both changing circumstances and the choices they engendered. Ultimately, she must make a choice that will permanently change the rest of her life.
While the reader may “bump” out of the story by grammatical and formatting errors, they are drawn back in by the author’s complex characters, vivid imagery, and authentic dialogue and setting. In Martha, Maggie St. Claire has deftly chronicled troubling social issues that often go unnoticed in today’s world, within the context of one woman’s life.
More than just a good read, Martha is a relevant, provocative, and memorable story that lingers long after the book is closed.
Martha won First in Category in the CIBA 2019 Somerset Awards for Literary fiction.
Donna LeClair for The PROPRIETOR of the THEATRE of LIFE
A MANUSCRIPT
This is no ordinary book and the word “extraordinary” can’t begin to do it justice. It’s a gift for anyone fortunate enough to read it and libraries around the globe should add it to their collections. It should be available to everyone. Emma is a highly sympathetic character, an everywoman, in need of answers. The reader learns as much as she does about individual and universal struggles on earth, the lessons to be gleaned from suffering, and the value of sharing our stories. ~ Carrie M., Chanticleer Editorial Team
The 2019 Somerset First in Category Winners are:
Carl RobertsforThe Trial of ConnorPadget
Judith Kirscht forEnd of the Race
Patrick Finegan forCooperative Lives
Santiago Xaman forAfter Olympus
Claire Fullerton forLittle Tea
Maggie St. Claire forMartha
Jamie Zerndt forJerkwater
R. Barber Anderson forThe Sunken Forest, Where the Forest Came out of the Earth
Here is a listing of the Somerset Book Awards Hall of Fame Grand Prize winners!
Stay at home mom turns entrepreneur, but without her husband’s support, and continunually needing to manage her three adult sons, Abbie Rose Stone’s dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider faces a world of adversity in Barbara A. Stark-Nemon’s Hard Cider.
Babylonian astrology and Jewish mysticism combine with Roman history to create a timeless story of passion and fate in Chuck Gould’s The Rabbi’s Gift. Babylonian astrology and Jewish mysticism combine with Roman history to create a timeless story of passion and fate in Chuck Gould’s The Rabbi’s Gift.
Words thrown as hard as boulders are easy to catch – if you’ve had practice. Just ask our hero, Muzhduk the Ugli the Fourth…In the great tradition of existentialism, Boldizar brings us a book that is hard to classify. It has aspects of the existential with a fair amount of satirical wordplay and a bit of theater of the absurd thrown in.
With a fast-paced storyline and a rich cast of characters, this award-winning winning novel offers a uniquely hilarious, but scary, perspective on the how the businesses of public relations and marketing can take technology to its precipice to take advantage of a media addicted public.
Individually Wrapped tells us the bizarre tale of Sam Gregory’s descent over the condensed course of a couple of days. Set in a 21st-century futuristic city, technology has permeated every aspect of the city dwellers’ lives… Self-delusion is an interesting state of mind because everyone can see it except yourself, as it propels you ever deeper into oblivion, where not even technology can save you.
We would be amiss by not featuring and recognizing Judith Kirscht, our very own Pacific Northwest Somerset inspired author. Judith specializes in family sagas and societal issues.
Judith Kirscht – Somerset Hall of Fame Author
Judith was born and educated in Chicago during the Great Depression and then WWII. She taught school during the upheavals of the Vietnam protests and the Civil Rights movement. Later in life, she found herself in California, divorced and with two daughters. Judith taught creative writing at universities of very different cultures: University of Michigan and U of California, Santa Monica. Her novels continuously are awarded CIBA First Place Category ribbons for the Somerset Book Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.
In a world where too many rocks are thrown at those who represent anything other than the norm in middle-class white America, two friends decide to take matters into their own hands and stand up to the hatred with which they are targeted in order to save their home and ultimately their lives.
Hawkins Lane is excellent and, ultimately, a redemptive story about the heart-wrenching tragedies a family can survive, and about the healing powers of nature and friendship. The characters and the story will linger long after the last page is read and you will be captivated from the first page.
“The Inheritors” by Judith Kirscht is a novel of one woman grappling to find her cultural and personal identity. Tolerance of others and the need for communication is required from each of us is an overriding theme in this latest work of Kirscht that explores the complexities of human nature and family bonds.
“Home Fires” is an intelligently written, fast-paced family drama that unfolds into a suspenseful page-turner. Although this novel masterfully renders the emotional hardships and tragedies that are sometimes part of dysfunctional relationships, it is not a depressing read.
The last day to submit your work is November 30, 2020. We invite you to join us, to tell us your stories, and to find out who will take home the prize at CAC21 in April.
As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your literary novel deserves! Enter today!
The winners will be announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony on April 19, 2021, that will take place during the 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference. All Semi-Finalists and Finalists will be recognized. The first place winners will be recognized and receive their custom ribbon, and then we will see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting evening of networking and celebration!
CIBA Ribbons!
First Place category winners and Grand Prize winners will each receive an awards package. Whose works will be chosen? The excitement builds for the 2020 SOMERSET Book Awards competitions and now for the Mark Twain Book Awards.
Our Chanticleer Review Writing Contests feature more than $30,000.00 worth of cash and prizes each year!
~$1000 Overall Grand Prize Winner ~$30,000views, prizes, and promotional opportunities awarded to Category Winners
In our last Somerset Hall of Fame, we discussed the origin of the contest’s name, and mentioned the success of William Somerset Maugham’s first book Liza of Lambeth, (published 1897) which propelled him to become one of the highest paid authors of his time, but not without first finding himself struggling with poverty after leaving the medical profession as a fully qualified doctor. Somerset wrote the story while working as a medical student and obstetric clerk in working class London.
W. Somerset Maugham (1897 – age 23 years)
In the publication of this book, Somerset joined an extensivebody of work in line with manyfin de siècle authors such as Wilkie Collins, Richard Marsh, Matthew “Monk” Lewis, Bram Stoker, and Charles Dickens.
In Somerset Maugham’s story, Liza, like many women in novels of this era, has her life dictated by the men who surround her, unable to break free of the desires and expectations that surround her, ultimately leading to her death. This examination of consent and the harmfulness of denying women agency can be seen reflected in the urgency of the suffrage movement, which passed its 100 year anniversary in August 18, 2020.
Women’s Suffragette Movement in the USA – more than 100 years in the making. The 19th Amendment was finally ratified on August 18, 1920 (at the end of WWI – 1914 – 1918)
It bears mentioning that women’s suffrage started out as only being accessible for white women, with Chinese-American women not being able to vote until 1943, native-American women until 1948, Japanese-American women until 1952, and African Americans until 1964—though the 19th Amendment wasn’t even ratified by all states until 1984! To this day, voting and voter suppression remains a contentious issue in the United States.Stories like Somerset’s showed the tension and the injustice taking place at the turn of the century in a way that made it real, accessible, and relevant to the literature published at the time and today.
Wells & Squire marching in 1913 For more information, please click here
Anyone who studies the right of women to vote and writing has to come across Virginia Woolf (born January 25, 1882, London England) with her book A Room of One’s Own. (Published September 1929) In this, she talks about where do we, as authors, have space to write. What do our room’s look like, and is there even a writing room in our house? I always think of Stephen King writing in his laundry room when I first think of trying to find a space to write. Naturally, like voting, this becomes more complicated when you overlay things like ender identity, race, and orientation, causing further variation in the kinds of rooms that are allowed to be called one’s own.
In A Room of One’s Own (1929), Woolf blamed women’s absence from history not on their lack of brains and talent but on their poverty. For her 1931 talk “Professions for Women,” Woolf studied the history of women’s education and employment and argued that unequal opportunities for women negatively affect all of society. Click here to read Britannica’s biography of this extraordinary author.
Virginia Woolf, photographed by Gisele Freund, 1933
In the building of literary fiction, we reflect the world as we see it. Woolf, in her book,follows the fictional Judith Shakespeare, sister of the famous William, and his equal in terms of writing and genius. Like Somerset’s Liza, Judith finds herself beset in a world where her agency is constantly overruled by the masculine presences in her life. In the end, Shakespeare’s sister dies by suicide. In both these narratives, the death of the women provides an implicit critique of the way society tries to control them.
Today, that critique and commentary still resonate. In the last ten years we have had the first Black president ever in the United States, and now we are set to inaugurate the first woman vice president who is also the first Black, south Asian, and Caribbean vice president. This doesn’t mean that discrimination and all the problems faced by Somerset’s Liza have vanished from the world, but it does run in cultural tandem with the mood of publishing seen at the end of the 19th century. It is a longstanding tradition that we continue culturally and politically in the stories we tell.
It is with great pride, in the tradition of uplifting and supporting women and the oppressed, that we award Donna LeClair’s manuscript,The Proprietor of the Theatre of Life, The Somerset Book Awards 2019 Grand Prize Award. LeClair is the first author in the Somerset Awards to have a manuscript win the Grand Prize in this highly competitive division. Huge congratulations!
Below is what our editor had to say about The Proprietor of the Theatre of Life by Donna LeClair (manuscript overview)
This is no ordinary book and the word “extraordinary” can’t begin to do it justice. It’s a gift for anyone fortunate enough to read it and libraries around the globe should add it to their collections. It should be available to everyone. Emma is a highly sympathetic character, an everywoman, in need of answers. The reader learns as much as she does about individual and universal struggles on earth, the lessons to be gleaned from suffering, and the value of sharing our stories.
Presenting these lessons in the format of a novel is ingenious; they’ll be accessible to readers who might not have had a clue how to compile, organize, and synthesize so much historical and spiritual scholarship. So many, too many, are suffering from grave, debilitating effects of PTSD; I wish this book could be gifted to them. It is literary balm. – Carrie M. Chanticleer Editorial Team
Journey as Emma does, through multiple eras, continents, and thresholds embracing the authenticity of diverse ethnicities, life conditions, and testimonies. Entrusted intuition guides storylines plaguing the world today. She encounters visionaries of faith who elevate sensibility while gifting their existence to the survival of this illusion that we call home.
Join her on an exploration of the wisdom bestowed by the existence of those who brought humankind closer to understanding one another and the sacredness of our broader story.
Donna LeClair, award-winning author, mother and grandmother, friend to the Dalai Lama, and amazing woman.
We look forward to joining LeClair on her on an exploration of the wisdom bestowed by the existence of those who brought humankind closer to understanding one another and the sacredness of our broader story. This phenomenal story is in the process of seeking representation.
Want more LeClair?
To discover more of Donna LeClair’s award-winning works, please click on the links below that will take you to our reviews:
Immunity,the latest offering by award-winning author Donna LeClair, recounts one woman’s struggles to maintain her sanity during a long nightmarish sojourn among the wealthy and powerful.
LeClair is a prodigious wordsmith who uses the writing craft to good effect. Whether it is a drug-induced temper flare-up, the destruction of a motel room, or a brief erotic interlude, the author weaves a rich tapestry. She has made fiction, it seems, of a painfully recalled set of reminiscences, changing the names to protect the innocent and avoid the wrath of the guilty. She examines the word “immunity” in its many guises: protection from penalty, entitlement of the very wealthy and well-connected, exemption from “an old love,” denial of responsibility, and “declaration protecting honorably truth.”
Very engrossing, well-written, engaging, suspenseful and honest. Waking Reality is recommended reading for anyone looking for an engrossing account of a woman’s courageous story growing up in the 1960s. You will want to see that she emerges through the dark tunnel of abuse.
Through engaging and well-written prose, LeClair relates the 1963 murder trial known as State of Ohio v. Bill Bush, a police sergeant who murdered three members of one family. Bush happened to be her uncle and the family he tore apart, hers. Due to the circumstances of the trial, LeClair and her sisters were in protective custody. Chanticleer Review
Three children, five lives, five stories, five human beings whose lives exploded with a pull of a trigger because of a little black book of secrets, lies, and destructions…
One thing I know for sure, for the safety of your own sanity, you must close the haunting of one chapter before you can open the infinite possibilities of another. –Donna LeClair
Want More Somerset Award Winning Novels?
Congratulations to all our 2019 first place category winners for Somerset. You can see some of the reviews for those books below.
…Rarely does a book about the law take you this close into the mindset of an attorney. Carney isn’t a criminal attorney but his ability to think “legal” demonstrates how a well-trained mind can work even in a foreign territory like criminal law. His familiarity becomes our familiarity. This is not a blockbuster case; no mob bosses will fall; no bombastic courtroom duels await. What is showcased here, however, is good lawyering, legal competence, and a writer’s commitment to sharing his love of the law with his readers. – Chanticleer Reviews
How well do people really know their neighbors? More importantly, or perhaps more sinisterly, how well do those neighbors know each other – and each other’s secrets?…this character-driven story is most definitely a work of exquisite literary fiction that uses the exploration of its characters to drive the narrative.
…Finegan does an excellent job of drawing us inside these seemingly tiny lives, and the deeper we go, the more significant these lives seem, and the greater the impact they have on each other as well as those who have been drawn into their well-written and extremely sticky web. – Chanticleer Reviews
Fantastic magic realism, uncaged and wild, and brilliant in every way! Highly recommended.
In this groundbreaking novel, what is real – and what isn’t – is always the heart of the matter. There are elements of reality in the fantastical, and there are elements of magic realism in the rather ordinary. After Olympus is a novel about characters who don’t just think outside the box; they are outside the box.
Intrigued? You should be. We don’t see novels like this every day, but this one will find its way into the hands of the most discerning readers. – Chanticleer Reviews
A captivating tale of Industrial Greed and Forest Conservation set against a thrilling backdrop of primeval forest, violence, and sex, international intrigue where one misstep may very well cost you your life.
With these award-winning titles, you will understand why the Somerset Book Awards is one of the most competitive divisions in the Chanticleer International Book Awards.
Look for the Chanticleer Reviews of these 2019 Somerset Book Awards Blue Ribbon Winners.
Judith Kirscht forEnd of the Race
Claire Fullerton forLittle Tea
Maggie St. Claire forMartha
Jamie Zerndt forJerkwater
But Wait! Where’s Satire?
Introducing the Mark Twain Book Awards for Satirical and Allegorical Fiction, a new (2020) fiction division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
As a well-known humorist, Mark Twain employed satire to gently rib his audience and point out inconsistencies in the world as it appeared then, such as when Huck wonders why he would go to Hell for helping his friend Jim escape slavery.
Due to the huge popularity of the Somerset Awards, we’ve had to break Satirical and Allegorical fiction off into a separate division that titled The Mark Twain Book Awards.Keep an eye out on our website for our upcoming spotlight on this new Awards category and why we chose Twain!
Also, click on the Mark Twain Book Awards for classic works in Satire and Allegorical Fiction.
The last day to submit your work is November 30, 2018. We invite you to join us, to tell us your stories, and to find out who will take home the prize at CAC21 in April.
As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your literary novel deserves! Enter today!
The winners will be announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony on April 19, 2021, that will take place during the 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference. All Semi-Finalists and Finalists will be recognized. The first place winners will be recognized and receive their custom ribbon, and then we will see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting evening of networking and celebration!
CIBA Ribbons!
First Place category winners and Grand Prize winners will each receive an awards package. Whose works will be chosen? The excitement builds for the 2020 SOMERSET Book Awards competitions and now for the Mark Twain Book Awards.
Our Chanticleer Review Writing Contests feature more than $30,000.00 worth of cash and prizes each year!
~$1000 Overall Grand Prize Winner ~$30,000views, prizes, and promotional opportunities awarded to Category Winners
Were the sessions Instructive? Enlightening? Entertaining?
Here is what the attendees are saying:
“Thank you again and again for a wonderful two weeks!Tremendous range of content and presentation. I enjoyed everything and learned much that I can apply now.” ~~ Judy Santamaria, author of Jetty Cat Palace Cafe
“Your workshops have been incredibly instructive, and I’m greatly looking forward to the next one with Donald Maass.” ~~ John Middleton Simpson
“Thank you again for all your hard work on this year’s conference. Truly you three are on the cutting edge and allowing us to all see into the future of publishing. And thank you for including such an excellent array of presentations – broad-based and informative on so many levels.” ~~Gail Noble-Sanderson, author of The Lavender Meuse Trilogy
“I’m writing to say how much I enjoyed the conference this year.” ~~ John W. Feist, author of Blind Trust
“Amazing job you did on presenting a VCAC!” ~~JP Kenna, author of Joel Emmanuel
“Hi Kiffer, Well, you guys did it! In my opinion, you pulled off a really good awards ceremony and I enjoyed attending by Zoom. I look forward to next year, in-person, fingers crossed.” ~~Tim Cole, science fiction author
“Hi Kiffer, I’m really enjoying my first (V)CAC! Thanx for a great conference! Very much appreciate all the work you and Sharon have done getting this conference and classes set up for everyone!” ~~ Susannah Dawn, author of Search for the Armor of God
“How wonderful that the virtual conference was such a roaring success! You should be so very proud – and you are probably relieved as well! Thank you so much for all your hard work and making it wonderful for all the attendees!” ~~Alex Paul, author of the Middle-Grade series — Arkeen Freeth
“We had a blast at the Chanticleer Authors Conference—held in our living room…Since in-person conferences are on an indefinite hold, Chanticleer moved everything to Zoom and did a wonderful job at that…a good time was had by all. We missed the scenery and human connection, but were grateful Chanticleer was able to pull off such a great virtual conference. Hopefully, we can toast in person next year.” ~~V & D Povall, authors of Jackal in the Mirror
And the love notes continue to come in! We are grateful and appreciative of each one!
Were there any problems?
Sandra L R from Australia: “Sorry All. That last message was from my cat running over my keyboard.”
Mark S. M: “Sitting here over and over agreeing with so many points out loud. I think I might be annoying my wife.”
What Made VCAC20 So AWESOME?
The presenters and attendees!
And we all learned new ways of doing things—together!
Learn from the Best!
Below is a sampling of the sessions that we recorded and are available on the VIMEO video platform.
Many of you who attended VCAC have been able to rewatch some of your favorite sessions at your convenience that have been uploaded to VIMEO.
Now, we are making the videos available to those who did not register for VCAC. You can access these videos on VIMEO!
Book to Film Panel Discussion with Top Hollywood Producer Scott Steindorff, and Top International Best-selling authors Robert Dugoni and J.D. Barker. Both of whose novels have been optioned for film and TV. Moderated by Chris Leibig, Paranormal Grand Prize winner for his legal thriller/paranormal novel Almost Mortal.
Exploration of New and Revolutionary Ways of Storytelling including Delving into Immersive, Mixed Reality, and Digital Art –Scott Steindorff, CEO of Stone Village Productions Steindorff is well-known in the industry for acquiring and adapting literary properties, and delivering commercially successful and award-winning television series and films.
It Takes a Village to Make a Film – Authors, Actors, Screenwriters, Producers, & Directorsa Discussionwith film producer Scott Steindorff, author & actress Tina Sloan, author Chris Humphreys, and Bellingham’s own Talking to Crows film production company with Cassidy and Stacy Moderating the Panel.
Writing Craft Sessions & Master Writing Classes
Robert Dugoni – Plotting the Opening: One Chance to Make A First Impression
Chris Humphreys – Writing Fiction–Chris examines how to both fictionalize real characters and realize fictional ones.
Donald Maass — Writing Craft
Marketing & Promotion & Distribution Sessions
A Multi-prong Approach to Book Marketing with Sean Dwyer – Non-Fiction, Michelle Cox – Historical Fiction, J.I. Rogers – Science Fiction, and Kiffer Brown
How to Create Awesome Audiobooks on a Budget–C.C. Humphreys and Elana Mugdan along with Hindenburg Systems’ expert Jonathan Hurley
Voice-Driven Technology and the Future of Publishing – Paul Cutsinger – Head of Amazon’s Alexa Project
5 Reasons Why You Should Publish Your Epubs on Bookchain –Simon-Pierre Marion
Bookbub and Book Discovery Services for Readers with Pamela Beason
Why Amazon Alexa Should Be Telling Your Story – Chatables founders Amy Stapleton and Wayne Richard
Don’t be Left OUT and OFF the Airwaves – Intro to Podcasting with Hindenburg Systems’ expert Anita Michalski
Technical Workshops with Hindenburg Systems
Audiobook Creationwith Jonathan Hurley, Hindenburg Systems
Podcast Editing, Broadcasting, Distributionwith Anita Michalski, Hindenburg Systems
IF you missed the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference, now is your chance to access the video recordings of the live sessions, workshops, and masterclasses.
Here is the link, where if you did not register for VCAC, you can look through the VOD (Videos on Demand) on VIMEO and purchase just the ones that are of interest OR the whole collection for $275 – a savings of approximately $300.
Remember, if you did register for VCAC20, your access to videos is included with registration. Contact DBeaumier@ChantiReviews.com if you haven’t received your VCAC access codes for all VCAC registrants.
Please email Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com if you have any questions or comments.
Each night of the six day virtual conference, we capped off the evening with the CIBA Awards Announcements.
And if you would like to watch the videos of VCAC20, they are uploaded to VIMEO and our available to watch on demand for a fee. Just click on this link.
Congratulations to the First Place Category Winners and the Grand Prize Winner of the Somerset Book Awards for Contemporary and Literary Novels, a division of the 2019 CIBAs.
The CIBAs Search for the Best in the Somerset Book Awards!
Chanticleer Book Reviews is celebrating the best books featuring contemporary stories, literary themes, adventure, satire, humor, magic realism, or women and family themes. We love them all.
The 2019 Somerset Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the Somerset Grand Prize Winner were announced at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference that was broadcast via ZOOM webinar the week of September 8-13, 2020 from the Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Washington.
Michelle Rene, author of Hour Glass, Previous Laramie Grand Prize Winner and Overall Best Book Award Winner in 2017 announced the 2019 Somerset Book Award Winners.
This is the OFFICIAL 2019 LIST of the Somerset Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the Somerset Grand Prize Winner.
Congratulations to All!
Donna LeClair – The Proprietor of the Theatre of Life
Carl Roberts – The Trial of Connor Padget
Judith Kirscht – End of the Race
Patrick Finegan – Cooperative Lives
Santiago Xaman – After Olympus
Claire Fullerton – Little Tea
Maggie St. Claire – Martha
Jamie Zerndt – Jerkwater
R. Barber Anderson – The Sunken Forest, Where the Forest Came out of the Earth
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Beth Burgmeyer – The Broken Road, ms
Bob Holt – Firebird, ms
The Somerset Book Awards
2019 Grand Prize Winner is a manuscript: The Proprietor of Theatre Life by Donna LeClair
The Somerset Grand Prize for the 2019 Award Winner.
This is the original badge for the 2018 Somerset Grand Prize Winner – Hard Ciderby Barbara A. Stark-Nemon.
How to Enter the Somerset Book Awards?
We are accepting submissions into the2020 Somerset Book Awardsuntil November 30, 2020. All submissions into this category after November 30, 2020, will automatically be entered into the 2021 Somerset Book Awards
The 2020 Somerset Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC 21 on April 17, 2021.
A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in October. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
If you have any questions, please email info@ChantiReviews.com == we will try our best to reply in 3 or 4 business days.
Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.
Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.
After finishing a successful career in education and raising her three sons, Abbie Rose now sees an opportunity to create a new segment of her life’s work in a blossoming business venture. She’s set to take on this new venture by herself, determined to succeed, with or without her husband’s support. Yet, while she lays out her meticulous plans for her cider business, life keeps happening around her, attempting to derail Abbie Rose at every turn.
Hard Cider is a well-researched second novel for Stark-Nemon, providing intricate details on everything from orchard planning and cider creation to knitted handicrafts. Stark-Nemon leaves no stone unturned and is meticulous with her descriptions of the lands and seasons of Michigan. So much so, that readers may leave this story ready to travel to this Midwest region and will find familiarity in the real-life scenes based on her elaborate imagery.
The story builds slowly, relying upon richly descriptive settings to create the Stone family and the world in which they live. The tidbits of information presented about infertility, a shocking house-fire, parenting a troubled child, and marital woes are intriguing, and some may find, too brief, leaving the reader wanting more. Which isn’t altogether a bad thing. In fact, the strength of this work is that the reader is left wanting more, imagining what might happen next for this cast of characters we’re not quite ready to leave behind.
A central theme of this down-to-earth story is the word new. New business ventures, new life changes, new family mixed with old, and new lives for the Stone family. Abbie Rose handles each of these life-altering adaptions with courage and a reflecting thoughtfulness. She teaches those around her what it means to manage life with a grace we can all hope to emulate.
All in all, Hard Cider is a thoughtful literary novel of one woman and her ambitions to rise above what life has handed her to create an experience of beauty, one that is formed not void of hardship, but despite it. Recommended.
Hard Cider won Grand Prize in the CIBA 2018 Somerset Awards for Literary Fiction.
We are deeply honored to announce the 2018 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs). The winners were recognized at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Banquet Ceremony on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.
We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2018—the SemiFinalists. The CIBA judges wanted to add Semi-Finalists as a way to recognize and validate the entries that were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.
PublishDrive, a global distribution platform, andHindenburg Systems, audiobooks and podcasts software, awarded more than $30,000 (cash value) in additional prizes to the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Award winners. Thank you!
A Recap of the CIBA Selection Process
There are 16 divisions of the CIBAs: 14 fiction genre divisions and 2 non-fiction divisions.
First Place Category award winners were selected for each one of the 16 divisions from an overall field of titles that progressed to the Semi-Finalists positions from the Shortlists, the Long List, and the infamous beginning slush pile rounds.
One Grand Prize award winner was selected from the First Place Category Award Winners for each of the 16 CIBA divisions.
One Overall Grand Prize award winner was selected from the 16 divisions of Grand Prize Award Winners
All CIBA Semi-Finalists in attendance at the CIBA awards ceremony were recognized with their respective division at the CIBA awards ceremony along with receiving a Semi-Finalist ribbon and digital badge and a significant discount to attend the Chanticleer Authors Conference.
Additional Prize from the DONALD MAASS LITERARY AGENCY
An additional prize was awarded to the 2018 CIBA Grand Prize Award Winners by the Donald Maass Literary Agency (that represents more than 150 novelists and sell more 100 novels each year to leading publishers in the U.S. and overseas). Donald Maass has offered “a high priority submission” process opportunity to the 2018 Grand Prize CIBA winners and a “priority submission” process opportunity to the 2018 CIBA 1st Place Category winning titles for consideration by his agency.
An email will go out to all 2018 CIBA grand prize award winners prior to June 10, 2019 with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated in the Semi-Finalist notification email, “One does not need to be present at the CIBA ceremony and banquet to win. But it sure is a lot more fun!”
And now to present the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards Grand winning titles and their authors who were announced on April 27, 2019, at the CIBA ceremony and banquet.
From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream by Janice S. Ellis took home the 2018 JOURNEY Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction Grand Prize Ribbon!
CONGRATULATIONS to Ronald E. YATES for The LOST YEARS of BILLY BATTLES(Book 3 of the Finding Billy Battles Trilogy) taking home the CHANTICLEER OVERALL Grand Prize for BEST BOOK in the 2018 CIBAS
“…the reader experiences that all too rare sense of complete transport to another world, one fully realized in these pages because the storytelling is so skillful and thoroughly captivating.”
The photo below is of Ronald E. Yates with his GOETHE Grand Prize Ribbon and his Chanticleer Overall Best Book Ribbon
“Reading a Book is Like Life: You Live it One Page at a Time.” (Ron Yates) Ron is a former foreign correspondent and Professor Emeritus of Journalism, Dean of the College of Media and is an award-winning historical novelist. Read more about this Pulitzer nominated journalist and Chanticleerian by clicking on this link.
Twelve of the Sixteen Grand Prize Division Winners were present to receive their ribbons on stage at the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremony.
We will post more photographs and information. Do check back and subscribe to the Chanticleer Reviews e-news letter.
We have exciting news for the Chanticleer Community on the horizon so do stay tuned!
You know you want a coveted Chanticleer Reviews Blue Ribbon!
Submit your works (manuscripts or novels published after or on January 1, 2017, are accepted) to the prestigious Chanticleer International Book Awardstoday! Entries are being accepted into the 2019 CIBAs in all 16 divisions.
Be sure to register early for the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference that will take place on April 16, 17, 18, & 19, 2020 with the 2019 CIBA banquet and ceremony scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.
An email will go out to all 2018 CIBA award winners prior to June 10, 2019, with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated in the Semi-Finalist notification email, “One does not need to be present at the CIBA ceremony and banquet to win. But it sure is a lot more fun!”
As always, please contact us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions!
We have begun planning for the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 16, 17, & 18, 2020) and the 2019 CIBA Banquet and Ceremony that will take place on April 17, 2020, at the Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.
We are excited and honored to officially announce the Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category Winners for the 2018 SOMERSET Book Awards at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards ceremony. This year’s ceremony and banquet were held on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 at the Hotel Bellwether by beautiful Bellingham Bay, Wash.
We want to thank all of those who entered and participated in the 2018 Somerset Book Awards for Contemporary, Literary, Satire Novels, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs).
Judith Kirscht, the author of the 2014 SOMERSET award-winning Home Firesannounced the 2018 Somerset Award Winners at the Chanticleer International Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony.
An email will go out to all First Place Category Winners and Grand Prize Winners with more information, the timing of awarded reviews, links to digital badges, and more before May 31st, 2019 (approximately four weeks after the awards ceremony). Please look for it in your email inbox.
When we receive the digital photographs from the Official CAC19 professional photographer, Dwayne Rogge of Photo Treehouse, we will post the photographs of Somerset award winners on this page.
Click here for the link to theSomerset Semi-Finalists.
This post will be updated with photos and more information. Please do visit it again!
A perfect blend of realism, fantasy, and deep spirituality awaits those who open Justine Avery’s novel, The One Apart. It is what readers bring to the novel – faiths, belief systems, philosophical dilemmas – that will influence and shape their perceptions of this fascinating and compelling read. Avery’s book, like life, is full of instruction for those who want to be fully aware.
Aware of what?
Everything—including awareness itself.
This is certainly the case for the main character, Aaron, a remarkable boy who lives with his mother, Sancha, and his grandmother, Maria. Although she’d planned to give Aaron up for adoption, Sancha bonds so deeply with her son at birth that she can’t fathom life without him. His grandmother realizes his uniqueness, too, as the newborn communicates with her through blinking his eyes. He makes astonishing progress through developmental milestones, walking and reading within the first months of life.
As a toddler, he speaks with the wisdom of a timeless soul. Maria suspects that these physical and mental feats indicate that her grandson is chosen for a special purpose, but she hopes he’ll live as normal a life as possible. He’s distracted, however, by a malevolence that only he can see. As Aaron comes of age, he strives to act normal and blend in, but his very few close friends and girlfriend notice his preoccupation, his never being fully present in this world.
There’s a reason for Aaron’s constant distraction, for his never feeling a part of this life; he is connected to “the Apart,” the other-worldly dimension that is both removed from human existence, “corporeality,” but ever at hand. Since childhood, he has sensed that his true name is Tres and that his existence as Aaron is somewhat play-acting. His hyper-awareness alerts him to his “OnLooker,” a sort of guardian angel who’s a liaison between Aaron and the sagacious luminary beings of the Apart that consult and advise on Aaron’s tutelage.
Much of the book involves Aaron learning, with the instruction of his OnLooker, how to fully experience awareness, to understand that every moment is this moment despite previous lives and the variety of life’s experiences. At a critical juncture in the novel, Aaron is given a choice, one that will impact his own existence dramatically but also that of all other beings. The author adroitly merges Aaron’s worldly existence and his relation to the realm of the Apart in a poignant and satisfying conclusion to the novel.
This is a quiet book, one that allows the reader the time and space to experience life with its main characters. The stillness is at times deeply peaceful, at other times eerie and ominous. The novel illustrates the power of compassion and empathy, but also the chilling consequences when power is exercised for self-serving purposes.
While the character of Aaron has similarities to various religious and mythic figures, the author has also imbued him with a uniqueness and a relevance to our times. This book will stay with you long after you finish it, a hallmark of excellent literature. Justine Avery’s The One Apart inspires deep contemplation of self, community, and individual and collective purpose.
The One Apart won First Place in both
OZMA and SOMERSET Awards in 2017!
An intricate mystery set in a small fictional town in northern Michigan, End of the Race is contemporary fiction at its finest. Annika Wolfson is a young mother and accomplished swimmer that has faced adversity in many areas of her life. Growing up in the Berglund household was rarely quiet for Annika because her father struggled with mental health and his unwavering feud against the affluent Wolfson family. Despite the long feud between the two families, Brian Wolfson and Annika bond as kids over swimming and their dream of the Olympics. Fast-forward a handful of years, Brian and Annika are now married and have a daughter. Their dreams of Olympic gold have been close to reality but always just out of reach.
The Rabbi’s Gift
The Ugly
The Alexandrite
The Manipulator
The Camera’s Eye by 
The GOETHE Book Awards GRAND PRIZE WINNER for Post-1750s Historical Fiction
The LARAMIE Book Awards GRAND PRIZE WINNER for Western Fiction
The CHATELAINE Book Awards GRAND PRIZE WINNER for Romantic Fiction
The LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards GRAND PRIZE WINNER for Early Readers
The 
The OZMA Book Awards GRAND PRIZE WINNER for Fantasy Fiction Novels
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The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove, a manuscript by 
The Global Thriller Book Awards GRAND PRIZE WINNER for Lab Lit & High Stakes Thriller Novels
The SOMERSET Book Awards for Contemporary, Literary, Satire Novels
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CONGRATULATIONS to 
