Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: blue-spruell

The 2025 Dante Rossetti Hall of Fame for YA Fiction

Got a Young Adult in your life?

The Dante Rossetti Awards finds the best books for them!

The Dante Rossetti Awards celebrate stories that bridge the gap between childhood and adulthood. Young readers exist in a liminal space, and we are pleased to feature Young Adult Fiction in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

Join us in celebrating the previous Grand Prize Winners of the Dante Rossetti Awards!

The Realm of Gods: The Chronicles of Chaos Book 3
By Glen Dahlgren

Our review for the newest Dante Rossetti Grand Prize Winner is still upcoming. In the meantime, here is what GoodReads readers have been saying:

“I honestly cannot begin to describe how much I loved The Realm of Gods!! I’ve been so very invested over all four books and I’m so very sad it’s come to an end – but what an ending it was!

I’m not even sure what to say without spoiling it, I’m still absolutely reeling from how epic the ending was!!

think I’ve gone through just about every emotion reading these books. I’ve laughed, I’ve grieved, I’ve whooped with joy – even nearly throwing my phone (always at those halfway points) and the ending literally gave me goosebumps it was just brilliant!!”

-Toni

“The Realm of Gods is an epic conclusion to The Chronicles of Chaos series, and I absolutely LOVED it. The story picks up right where the last book left off, diving straight into the action. The world-building is fantastic, and the characters continue to grow in ways that feel natural yet surprising. I especially appreciated how even the villains were complex and interesting, making the stakes feel higher and more intense. Listening to the audiobook added another layer of immersion, and the narration really brought the characters to life.

This final book wraps up the series beautifully, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked. The pacing is perfect, and the emotional depth of the story shines through. If you’re a fan of epic fantasy like The Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time, this is definitely a series worth diving into. Highly recommend!” -Amber

“The Realm of Gods is a perfect ending to a great series however this reader is very hopeful the author will add to the series in the future. Like with the previous books I found the story to be interesting and captivating and just an absolutely fun, thought-provoking read.” -Dwayne

Sour Flower

A Manuscript

By Maryanne Melloan Woods

Sour Flower, the unpublished feel-good coming-of-age novel by Maryanne Melloan Woods, contrasts the joys of teen friendship with the hardships of growing up in a broken family.

As a fourteen-year-old in 1970s San Francisco, Marigold (call her “M”) Hayes is fed up with her life.

M is very much aware of her role as the mature buzzkill in the family. Her parents, college dropouts and now divorced hippies, barely have it together. M often has to act as the mature adult for the sake of housing and basic necessities. With a spaced-out father who barely supports them and a mother who thinks her daughter is a square, it’s a miracle that M has kept her family afloat for so long.

When her English teacher suggests M apply to Barnum—an elite prep school offering scholarships to students in need—she dares to hope. Maybe this could give her a chance to pursue her dream of becoming a financially stable businesswoman.

Read More Here

Wages of Empire
By Michael J. Cooper

Michael J. Cooper’s latest historical fiction novel, Wages of Empire, draws readers into the perilous journey of sixteen-year-old Evan Sinclair and his father into WW1. On this path, their lives will intersect with such historical figures as TE Lawrence, Gertrude Bell, the Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann, the Arab nationalist Faisal ibn Hussein, the proto-Nazi and advisor to the German kaiser Guido von List, and Kaiser Wilhelm II himself.

Set in the summer of 1914 we find Evan living in the American southwest where his father moved the family from England for his Oxford sabbatical. Evan struggles to cope with his mother’s death in childbirth and yearns to escape his father’s controlling grip. As war breaks out in Europe, Evan decides to leave home and join the fight, without telling his father.

Read More Here

Taro: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan
By Blue Spruell

Adventure, classic tales, fantasy, and exciting action combine in TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan, a well-poised debut novel by award-winning author Blue Spruell.

In the turbulent final decades of the sixteenth century, feudal Japan reeled in mayhem as the central hereditary dictatorship collapsed, and tyrannical powers fought to control the empire. TARO: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan is the story of how one man revolutionized a nation by taking its reigns and forging a new destiny through his depths of compassion and determination.

The story begins with Taro as a young boy. As an heir to the Takeda family, Taro enjoyed reading, much to his father’s disapproval, as he wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a skilled Samurai. Tragedy changes Taro’s presumed destiny when his parents are murdered in a fierce power struggle, leaving him an orphan. Shortly after, a witch saves him from drowning and begins Taro’s new life of adventure, introducing him to a world of mythical creatures. On this new journey, Taro discovers shocking secrets about his lineage, and with them, his ultimate purpose in medieval Japan.

Read More Here

The Best Week That Never Happened
By Dallas Woodburn

Dallas Woodburn’s debut novel The Best Week that Never Happened is a roller-coaster ride through Hawaii and the mysterious depths of its briny deep, sparkling with unreal magic, a poignant romance, and incessant hope.

Tegan Rossi, a freshly graduated eighteen-year-old, awakens in the secretive hideout she discovered with Kai Kapule as two eight-year-old children on her first trip to Hawaii Island. She needs to make amends with Kai as they had a major squabble over something very important that she now oddly forgets. When Tegan catches up with Kai in Hawaii, she enters her best week yet – the Best Week That Never Happened.

The first-person narrative is a fusion of Tegan’s past three years ago and ten years ago, as well as a mystified chronicling of her present with Kai on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Read More Here

You know you want it…

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

September 5, 2025
The Dante Rossetti 2024 Hall of Fame for YA Fiction!

Got a Young Adult in your life?

The Dante Rossetti Awards finds the best books for them!

The Dante Rossetti Awards celebrate stories that bridge the gap between childhood and adulthood. Young readers exist in a liminal space, and we are pleased to feature Young Adult Fiction in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

Join us in celebrating the previous Grand Prize Winners of the Dante Rossetti Awards!

Sour Flower

A Manuscript

By Maryanne Melloan Woods

The review is forthcoming, but this is our gut reaction to this beautiful story:

Makes you cry in a good way with extraordinary beats. Coming of age and slice of life coupled with a story of redemption and finding terra firma after tragedy. Visceral, humorous, and very human.

Learn more about Maryanne at her website here!

Wages of Empire
By Michael J. Cooper

Michael J. Cooper’s latest historical fiction novel, Wages of Empire, draws readers into the perilous journey of sixteen-year-old Evan Sinclair and his father into WW1. On this path, their lives will intersect with such historical figures as TE Lawrence, Gertrude Bell, the Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann, the Arab nationalist Faisal ibn Hussein, the proto-Nazi and advisor to the German kaiser Guido von List, and Kaiser Wilhelm II himself.

Set in the summer of 1914 we find Evan living in the American southwest where his father moved the family from England for his Oxford sabbatical. Evan struggles to cope with his mother’s death in childbirth and yearns to escape his father’s controlling grip. As war breaks out in Europe, Evan decides to leave home and join the fight, without telling his father.

Read More Here

Taro: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan
By Blue Spruell

Adventure, classic tales, fantasy, and exciting action combine in TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan, a well-poised debut novel by award-winning author Blue Spruell.

In the turbulent final decades of the sixteenth century, feudal Japan reeled in mayhem as the central hereditary dictatorship collapsed, and tyrannical powers fought to control the empire. TARO: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan is the story of how one man revolutionized a nation by taking its reigns and forging a new destiny through his depths of compassion and determination.

The story begins with Taro as a young boy. As an heir to the Takeda family, Taro enjoyed reading, much to his father’s disapproval, as he wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a skilled Samurai. Tragedy changes Taro’s presumed destiny when his parents are murdered in a fierce power struggle, leaving him an orphan. Shortly after, a witch saves him from drowning and begins Taro’s new life of adventure, introducing him to a world of mythical creatures. On this new journey, Taro discovers shocking secrets about his lineage, and with them, his ultimate purpose in medieval Japan.

Read More Here

The Best Week That Never Happened
By Dallas Woodburn

Dallas Woodburn’s debut novel The Best Week that Never Happened is a roller-coaster ride through Hawaii and the mysterious depths of its briny deep, sparkling with unreal magic, a poignant romance, and incessant hope.

Tegan Rossi, a freshly graduated eighteen-year-old, awakens in the secretive hideout she discovered with Kai Kapule as two eight-year-old children on her first trip to Hawaii Island. She needs to make amends with Kai as they had a major squabble over something very important that she now oddly forgets. When Tegan catches up with Kai in Hawaii, she enters her best week yet – the Best Week That Never Happened.

The first-person narrative is a fusion of Tegan’s past three years ago and ten years ago, as well as a mystified chronicling of her present with Kai on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Read More Here

But Not Forever
By Jan Von Schleh

Like most fifteen-year-olds, Sonnet McKay loves a good adventure. Still, when she, her siblings, and cousins discover a deserted Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods outside a ghost town near Seattle, they get much more than they bargained for. In an upstairs bedroom, Sonnet inadvertently steps inside a time travel portal and is whisked away to 1895. In her place stands Emma Sweetwine, an identical doppelganger for Sonnet.

Emma’s family was prominent when Monte Cristo was a booming mine town, but life is not what it seems for the oldest of the Sweetwine children. With a mother who seems to despise her and a secret engagement, Emma’s life is oppressive and controlled – a sharp contrast to the spirited, independent Sonnet. With no idea how or why they were switched, Sonnet and Emma must quickly adjust to their new environments and rely only on their closest friends and family. But like any good story, time is running out for the girls as both of their lives rush in opposite directions. They must find a way back to their own times before their chance is gone forever.

Read More Here

Whispers
By Lynn Yvonne Moon

Whispers by Lynn Yvonne Moon explores the issue of incest through the life of twelve-year-old Musetta, whose father has just died. We meet Musetta at her father’s funeral and realize that this girl is dealing with serious issues. Still, more than grief, she’s filled with rage – and relief. And we cannot blame her. Whispers is filled with enough intrigue and family secrets to glue readers’ eyeballs to the page and hug their parents when they reach the end of the tale.

Musetta can’t get the attention of her grieving mother, and she’s not sure who she can turn to for help. Who will believe her story? But she knows what happened to her. After her father’s funeral, she believes the Friday night ritual of rape is over and that the molestation will stop. However, it’s not quite that easy.

First off, there are voices in her bedroom walls – and worse, the molestation continues. Is it her father’s ghost? She can’t go to her mother for help, and she won’t go to the law unless her mother is by her side. Who would believe her over her late father’s reputation as an upstanding citizen and the favorite local judge?

Read More Here

You know you want it…

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

September 23, 2024
Dante Rossetti 2023 Awards Update! Deadline moved to September 30

You asked, we listened

We tend to be a little more high tech at Chanticleer

New Deadline for the Dante Rossetti Awards: September 30, 2023

We recently reorganized our Book Awards program at the request of our readers to keep a more even balance for reading and to lighten the load during the holiday season. As we settle into this new schedule, we’re hearing great feedback from authors regarding the best times for them to submit their work. This depends on conferences and workshops (many of which are genre specific) where they can regularly receive feedback and writing retreats that allow them to finish their manuscripts. Thank you to everyone who reaches out and makes our Awards a success every year!

Deadline Extended! Submit to the Dante Rossetti Awards by the end of September!

You now have until the end of September to submit to the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction.

The Dante Rossetti Awards are named for the young British painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, seen on our badge for the Rossetti Awards in a self-portrait.

La Viuda Romana by Dante Rossetti

Chanticleer chose Dante Rossetti as the namesake of our young adult fiction awards, because of Rossetti’s strong connection to works of beauty and emotions as swift as the changing seasons. Both aspects embody what it means to be young. We feel that the sentiment expressed by the Pre-Raphaelite movement exemplifies what inspires many authors to pick up their proverbial pens to express their emotions and their observations of the visceral dynamics of living.

In the spirit of Young Adult Literature, we’d like to celebrate some of our favorite YA reads by Chanticleer Authors in the last year.

PLAGUE Of FLIES: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846
By Laurel Anne Hill
Ozma Grand Prize Winner
Dante Rossetti First Place Winner

Sixteen-year-old Catalina Delgado’s hopes of marrying her love are troubled by strange, unnatural dangers, in Laurel Anne Hill’s novel, Plague of Flies.

Like every dutiful daughter in 1846, Catalina worries about her reputation. However, she must also gain the approval of Ángelo Ortega’s family. Unfortunately, when three strangers ride onto her family’s small ranch in Alta California, she knows that more than her dreams are at risk. Alta California has just been invaded by the men of the Bear Flag, and Catalina fears what will become of her homeland now that it has been claimed by the Yankees. The nearby ranch owned by the valiant General Vallejo has been raided, owners and their servants terrorized and held captive. Plus Bear Flaggers have murdered additional friends of Catalina’s family on a beach.

In connection with the recent killings, the three strangers are harbingers of a dire prophecy repeated to Catalina by a dying vaquero. Catalina is destined to be carried off by a spirit man riding a black Andalusian stallion. She will be tasked to do the bidding of Coyote, a trickster spirit who is trying to stop the advancement of the Bear Flaggers. Catalina grapples with her uncertainty and disbelief, but she desperately wants to save her family. When Spirit Man appears to her, she must ask herself how far she is willing to go to keep her loved ones alive.

Read more here!

THE HIDDEN LIBRARY: Book 2 of the Isle of Dragons Series
By L.A. Thompson

Isle of Dragons: The Hidden Library by L.A. Thompson is a breathtaking race to seize the reins of destiny and find a magical library that was once the subject of stories and lore. Jade and Kaylen, once friends, oppose each other in search of this hidden library and its world-changing secrets.

Demoted and dejected, Kaylen reels from her valiant but failed attempt to bring back the final item that King Jarrod needs to fulfill a prophecy. The iconic stone remains out of reach. Kaylen is summoned for an audience with the king. A glimmer of hope for the future flickers, but the king demands an even more ambitious mission of her. He will restore her rank and honors if she finds for him the mysterious hidden library that can open a gateway between worlds. It’s a deadly challenge that will once again pit her against an old friend.

Jade summons all her strength and courage with others who stand against the king who has made her family suffer. When she and Kaylen clash, sparks will ignite as hot as a dragon’s roar.

Read more here!

OPERATION MOM: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man
By Reenita Malhotra Hora
Chatelaine Grand Prize Winner
Dante Rossetti First Place Winner

Master storyteller Reenita Malhotra Hora’s YA romance Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man takes us on a charming journey through the life of one teen, Ila Isham.

Hora introduces Ila and her best friend Deepali, two boy-crazy teens on a summer quest. Readers will fall in love with the smart, sassy, angst-filled, rebellious Ila. A typical teenage girl, Ila lives in Mumbai with her mom and Sakkubai, their house manager. Ila’s mother calls her obsessed, but that seems unfair. Is she obsessed just because her every waking minute is spent thinking of Ali Zafar, famous pop icon, singer, and heartthrob? Or is she obsessed with fellow classmate Dev?

No, Ila couldn’t be taken with Dev because he’s one of three young men that her best friend Deepali is juggling in her summer experiment of exploring her “feminine mystique.” This turn of phrase becomes just one of many opportunities for Hora’s humor to shine as Ila remarks, “That’s a book by Gloria Steinem . . . no Betty Friedan.” Deepali’s response? “Yaar. Don’t be so literal.” The delightful balance between Ila’s book smarts versus Deepali’s street smarts carries us through Hora’s expertly crafted story.

Read more here!

TARO: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan
By Blue Spruell, illustrated by Miya Outlaw
Dante Rossetti Grand Prize Winner

Adventure, classic tales, fantasy, and exciting action combine in TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan, a well-poised debut novel by award-winning author Blue Spruell.

In the turbulent final decades of the sixteenth century, feudal Japan reeled in mayhem as the central hereditary dictatorship collapsed, and tyrannical powers fought to control the empire. TARO: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan is the story of how one man revolutionized a nation by taking its reigns and forging a new destiny through his depths of compassion and determination.

The story begins with Taro as a young boy. As an heir to the Takeda family, Taro enjoyed reading, much to his father’s disapproval, as he wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a skilled Samurai. Tragedy changes Taro’s presumed destiny when his parents are murdered in a fierce power struggle, leaving him an orphan. Shortly after, a witch saves him from drowning and begins Taro’s new life of adventure, introducing him to a world of mythical creatures. On this new journey, Taro discovers shocking secrets about his lineage, and with them, his ultimate purpose in medieval Japan.

Read more here!

FROM BRICK and DARKNESS
By J. L. Sullivan
Ozma First Place Winner

Dreams become a reality for a high schooler who gets more than he bargains for when he unwittingly releases a demon in J. L. Sullivan’s urban fantasy novel, From Brick and Darkness.

Fifteen-year-old Baxter (Bax) Allen encounters a creepy homeless-looking man at his apartment complex with purple eyes. The stranger, who asks for Greg, Bax’s estranged father, hands him a ring affixed with a purple stone. The man says that the costume jewelry is valuable, although Bax has difficulty believing his claim.

At school the next day, as he shares his weird experience with his best friend, Jason, Bax accidentally rubs the ring, the stone emits a hypnotic glow, and a small monkey-like creature appears, saying, “How can it serve?” Once Bax and Jason realize that the ring summoned a genie (or Janni, as the creature says), the two plan to investigate this strange phenomenon further at Bax’s house. One thing leads to the next, and before the boys know what’s going on, Ashley, Bax’s neighbor catches a glimpse of Janni. She joins the boys and is sworn to secrecy about this enchanted creature.

Read more here!

Thank you to everyone who has entered the CIBAs, and a special thanks to those who keep reading alive for the Young Adults in the world! Good books for young people matter!

The winners of the Dante Rossetti Awards will be announced during the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference. First-place winners receive the coveted Chanticleer Blue Ribbon, and the Grand Prize laureate commands the spotlight, epitomizing the exceptional YA Fiction genre talent.

Submit today!

The Grand Prize Winners of the 2022 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

September 7, 2023
Dante Rossetti Hall of Fame — Celebrating Books for Young Readers

Because Youth Reads Matter!

The Dante Rossetti Awards are here to bring the best in Teen and Young Adult Fiction.

***Enter Your Book Today!***

You have until August 31st to share your book with us and enter the 2023 CIBAs!

Elevate the literary journey of young minds with the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction. Beyond genre confines, these awards unlock gateways to captivating narratives that resonate with the vibrant spirit of youth. Whether your tale unfolds in the realms of fantasy, romance, or mystery, the Dante Rossetti Awards celebrate stories that bridge the gap between imagination and reality. With each page turned, young readers are transported to worlds unknown, where characters mirror their aspirations, struggles, and triumphs. These awards recognize the power of storytelling to forge connections, foster empathy, and kindle a lifelong love for literature. Illuminate the path for emerging voices that leave an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of the next generation.

Join us in celebrating the previous Grand Prize Winners of the Dante Rossetti Awards!

Taro: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan
By Blue Spruell

Adventure, classic tales, fantasy, and exciting action combine in TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan, a well-poised debut novel by award-winning author Blue Spruell.

In the turbulent final decades of the sixteenth century, feudal Japan reeled in mayhem as the central hereditary dictatorship collapsed, and tyrannical powers fought to control the empire. TARO: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan is the story of how one man revolutionized a nation by taking its reigns and forging a new destiny through his depths of compassion and determination.

The story begins with Taro as a young boy. As an heir to the Takeda family, Taro enjoyed reading, much to his father’s disapproval, as he wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a skilled Samurai. Tragedy changes Taro’s presumed destiny when his parents are murdered in a fierce power struggle, leaving him an orphan. Shortly after, a witch saves him from drowning and begins Taro’s new life of adventure, introducing him to a world of mythical creatures. On this new journey, Taro discovers shocking secrets about his lineage, and with them, his ultimate purpose in medieval Japan.

Read More Here

The Best Week That Never Happened
By Dallas Woodburn

Dallas Woodburn’s debut novel The Best Week that Never Happened is a roller-coaster ride through Hawaii and the mysterious depths of its briny deep, sparkling with unreal magic, a poignant romance, and incessant hope.

Tegan Rossi, a freshly graduated eighteen-year-old, awakens in the secretive hideout she discovered with Kai Kapule as two eight-year-old children on her first trip to Hawaii Island. She needs to make amends with Kai as they had a major squabble over something very important that she now oddly forgets. When Tegan catches up with Kai in Hawaii, she enters her best week yet – the Best Week That Never Happened.

The first-person narrative is a fusion of Tegan’s past three years ago and ten years ago, as well as a mystified chronicling of her present with Kai on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Read More Here

But Not Forever
By Jan Von Schleh

Like most fifteen-year-olds, Sonnet McKay loves a good adventure. Still, when she, her siblings, and cousins discover a deserted Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods outside a ghost town near Seattle, they get much more than they bargained for. In an upstairs bedroom, Sonnet inadvertently steps inside a time travel portal and is whisked away to 1895. In her place stands Emma Sweetwine, an identical doppelganger for Sonnet.

Emma’s family was prominent when Monte Cristo was a booming mine town, but life is not what it seems for the oldest of the Sweetwine children. With a mother who seems to despise her and a secret engagement, Emma’s life is oppressive and controlled – a sharp contrast to the spirited, independent Sonnet. With no idea how or why they were switched, Sonnet and Emma must quickly adjust to their new environments and rely only on their closest friends and family. But like any good story, time is running out for the girls as both of their lives rush in opposite directions. They must find a way back to their own times before their chance is gone forever.

Read More Here

Whispers
By Lynn Yvonne Moon

Whispers by Lynn Yvonne Moon explores the issue of incest through the life of twelve-year-old Musetta, whose father has just died. We meet Musetta at her father’s funeral and realize that this girl is dealing with serious issues. Still, more than grief, she’s filled with rage – and relief. And we cannot blame her. Whispers is filled with enough intrigue and family secrets to glue readers’ eyeballs to the page and hug their parents when they reach the end of the tale.

Musetta can’t get the attention of her grieving mother, and she’s not sure who she can turn to for help. Who will believe her story? But she knows what happened to her. After her father’s funeral, she believes the Friday night ritual of rape is over and that the molestation will stop. However, it’s not quite that easy.

First off, there are voices in her bedroom walls – and worse, the molestation continues. Is it her father’s ghost? She can’t go to her mother for help, and she won’t go to the law unless her mother is by her side. Who would believe her over her late father’s reputation as an upstanding citizen and the favorite local judge?

Read More Here

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:

Wages of Empire

by Michael J. Cooper

Manuscript

See the full list of 2022 Dante Rossetti Award Winners here.

Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Dante Rossetti 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!

Don’t miss your chance to light up the minds of young readers everywhere. Send us your Young Adult stories by the end of August for the chance to be recognized and celebrated for your amazing work!

The Dante Rossetti Awards is your next step!

The 2022 Grand Prize Winners from CAC23!

And remember! Our 12th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24) will be April 18-21, 2024, where our 2023 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up. Sign up and see the latest updates here!

August 22, 2023
Spotlight on the June Book Awards! Cygnus, Journey, Dante Rossetti, and Chatelaine!
The Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Are already receiving record submissions!

Fresh off the Chanticleer Authors Conference, there’s never been a better time to be an author!

Embark on extraordinary adventures and explore thrilling frontiers!

These Sizzling Book Awards are starting summer out right!
Note: We have recently revised our Book Award deadlines according to feedback from both authors and our readers! The hope with the new deadlines is that authors will be able to receive information faster and readers will be more able to read steadily without interruptions are sudden influxes. Thank you for your patience as we adjust to the new schedule.

These are four of our longest running and most competitive Book Award Divisions.
Don’t hesitate to join the authors who have already submitted to the CIBAs!

The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs with $30,000+ awarded annually, as well as expert long tail marketing to maximize your digital footprint

The Chanticleer Int’l Book Award lists provide excitement and energize author reader bases each time one of them are released. From Long List to Overall Grand Prize Winner, there are a myriad of opportunities for debut and experienced authors to promote their work through the CIBAs.

Summer is the perfect season to get ahead of the game and submit, but we should also pause to enjoy some of the excellent work that’s been submitted to Chanticleer.

Journey Book Awards for Non-Fiction Memoirs that Overcome Adversity

A FRACTION STRONGER: Finding Belief and Possibility in Life’s Impossible Moments
By Mark Berridge

Author and businessman Mark Berridge, through the lived experience of himself and others after traumatic injuries, gained a wide understanding of overcoming disaster, and how to rehabilitate not only one’s body but mind and spirit as well. In sharing his wisdom, A Fraction Stronger is a must-read for anyone facing physical, emotional, or mental barriers.

On March 10, 2019, Berridge, due to embark on a work-related flight from his Australian home to the US later that day, went on a bike ride with some buddies. Following the group around a corner, he fell, striking his head; conscious, but unable to move his feet and legs. Hospitals would become his world as he dealt with spinal injuries and the long road to rehabilitation – relearning how to sit, stand, and walk.

Read more here.

BETTER OFF BALD: A Life in 147 Days
By Andrea Wilson Woods

There exists a bond between sisters, and often that bond becomes a connection so strong that time cannot erase the love and the longing for the other. Andrea Wilson Woods defines such a bond in Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days.

Woods details the choreographed life she lives with her sister Adrienne, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Together they begin their dance, pirouetting around IV ports and long lists of medications. Sisters in life, love, and an all-out war against liver cancer.

Read more here.

Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction

The LUNA MISSILE CRISIS
By Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle

Authors Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle come together to tell the tale of alien first contact gone awry in their epic science fiction release, The Luna Missile Crisis.

The year is 1961, and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is set to become the first man in space. But when Yuri, snug inside the Vostok 1, is launched from the cosmodrome and into the coming night, he’s met with a collision that changes the course of history. The Vostok 1 crashes into an oncoming alien starship. Assuming the collision was actually a missile fired from Russia’s space race opponent, the United States, the soviet nation quickly launches an arsenal of nuclear warheads in response. But those warheads never make it to their target. Instead, they detonate against the hidden starship, sending a wave of nuclear destruction over eastern Europe.

Read more here.

FUTURE’S DARK PAST: Time Forward Trilogy, Book 1
By J.L. Yarrow

A time travel epic, Future’s Dark Past is the creative endeavor of J.L Yarrow, husband and wife duo of John and Leanne Yarrow. The time-hopping action begins in the year 2355, in a world virtually uninhabitable outside a few city pods where food is scarce and violence a certainty.

Caught sneaking into a city pod with nowhere else to go, Kristen Winters agrees to join the Time Forward Project, a group from which no volunteers have ever returned. Kristin’s new superiors send her to fight a deadly battle for the fate of humanity. In 2025, Hunter Coburn becomes an important piece of the puzzle after he gets accidentally connected to Kristen’s time jumps. Initially on opposite sides, they must figure out how to work together as the plan to save the future becomes increasingly unstable.

Read more here.

Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction

TARO: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan
By Blue Spruell & illustrated by Miya Outlaw

Adventure, classic tales, fantasy, and exciting action combine in TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan, a well-poised debut novel by award-winning author Blue Spruell.

In the turbulent final decades of the sixteenth century, feudal Japan reeled in mayhem as the central hereditary dictatorship collapsed, and tyrannical powers fought to control the empire. TARO: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan is the story of how one man revolutionized a nation by taking its reigns and forging a new destiny through his depths of compassion and determination.

Read more here.

The BEST WEEK THAT NEVER HAPPENED
By Dallas Woodburn

Dallas Woodburn’s debut novel The Best Week that Never Happened is a roller-coaster ride through Hawaii and the mysterious depths of its briny deep, sparkling with unreal magic, a poignant romance, and incessant hope.

Tegan Rossi, a freshly graduated eighteen-year-old, awakens in the secretive hideout she discovered with Kai Kapule as two eight-year-old children on her first trip to Hawaii Island. She needs to make amends with Kai as they had a major squabble over something very important that she now oddly forgets. When Tegan catches up with Kai in Hawaii, she enters her best week yet – the Best Week That Never Happened.

Read more here.

Chatelaine Book Awards for Romance Fiction

OPERATION MOM: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man
By Reenita Malhotra Hora

Master storyteller Reenita Malhotra Hora’s YA romance Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man takes us on a charming journey through the life of one teen, Ila Isham.

Hora introduces Ila and her best friend Deepali, two boy-crazy teens on a summer quest. Readers will fall in love with the smart, sassy, angst-filled, rebellious Ila. A typical teenage girl, Ila lives in Mumbai with her mom and Sakkubai, their house manager. Ila’s mother calls her obsessed, but that seems unfair. Is she obsessed just because her every waking minute is spent thinking of Ali Zafar, famous pop icon, singer, and heartthrob? Or is she obsessed with fellow classmate Dev?

Read more here.

The LONG DESERT ROAD
By Alex Sirotkin

Alex Sirotkin’s debut novel, The Long Desert Road, navigates the emotional arcs of life in contrast with the greater expanse of the cosmos. Here a young woman must face her addictions while the people around her try to move beyond her backlash.

We meet Henry Spinoza, a 44-year-old quirky science writer. He ponders his life as half over, looks for the right woman, and wonders if there isn’t more to existence.

Read more here.

Your book deserves to be discovered

First Place and Grand Prize Authors at the Chanticleer Authors Conference

Thank you for celebrating these Chanticleer Grand Prize Winners with us!

Remember, if you have a great book in the following genres, you should submit today!
The world needs good books now more than ever
June 2, 2023
The 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI CIBA Finalists for Young Adult Fiction
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Named in honor of the British poet & painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti who founded the Pre-Ralphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen (imaginary or real). Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Romance, and Literary, we will put them to the test and choose the best Young Adult Books among them for the winners of the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction. For Middle Grade Fiction check out our Gertrude Warner Awards and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Dante Rossetti Young Adult Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2022 Dante Rossetti Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

These titles are in the running for the First Place and Grand Prize Winners of the 2022 Dante Rossetti Book Awards novel competition for Young Adult Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following Finalist authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- PJ Adair – The Viking Girl
- Reenita Malhotra Hora – Operation Mom – My plan to get my mother a life and a man
- Kristina Bak – Cold Mirage
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Sighs of Fire
- Michael J Cooper – Wages of Empire
- Bird Jones – Blue-Eyed Slave
- Glen Dahlgren – The House of Prophecy
- Rebecca Garner – Why Won’t My Boobs Grow… and Other Annoyances
- Brooke Maddaleni – Next Door
- Steven Michael Beck – Soar a Burning Sky
- Eileen Charbonneau – Missing at Harmony Festival
- Michael Bialys – The Chronicles of the Virago: Book III the Triumviratus
- Tomm A. Boyer – The Deceived
- Jennifer Alsever – Burying Eva Flores
- J. L. Sullivan – From Brick & Darkness
- Lenore Borja – The Last Huntress (Mirror Realm Series Book I)
- Laurel Anne Hill – Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846
- Jennifer Haskin – Princess of the Blood Mages
- Shina Reynolds – A Light in the Sky
- W.W. Marplot – Space Story
- M.K. Lever – Surviving the Second Tier
- Jeanne Roland – Journeys: the Archers of Saint Sebastian
- Avis M. Adams – The Incident
- Tamara Hart Heiner – Year 1: Renegade
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:

TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan

by Blue Spruell

The 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards are open now. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

Winners will be announced at the 2022 CIBA Awards Ceremony sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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 11th annual conference and discover why!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
February 20, 2023
The 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction – CIBAs Semi-Finalists
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Named in honor of the British poet & painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti who founded the Pre-Ralphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen (imaginary or real). Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Romance, and Literary, we will put them to the test and choose the best Young Adult Books among them for the winners of the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction. For Middle Grade Fiction check out our Gertrude Warner Awards and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Dante Rossetti Young Adult Fiction Short List to the 2022 Dante Rossetti Book Awards SEMI-FINALISTS. The Semi-Finalists will compete for the FINALIST positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalist. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2022 Dante Rossetti Book Awards novel competition for Young Adult Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following Semi-Finalist authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- PJ Adair – The Viking Girl
- Reenita Malhotra Hora – Operation Mom – My plan to get my mother a life and a man
- Kristina Bak – Cold Mirage
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Sighs of Fire
- Michael J Cooper – Wages of Empire
- Bird Jones – Blue-Eyed Slave
- Glen Dahlgren – The House of Prophecy
- Stavros Saristavros – The Tome of Syyx
- Rebecca Garner – Why Won’t My Boobs Grow… and Other Annoyances
- Brooke Maddaleni – Next Door
- Steven Michael Beck – Soar a Burning Sky
- Eileen Charbonneau – Missing at Harmony Festival
- Michael Bialys – The Chronicles of the Virago: Book III the Triumviratus
- Michele Kwasniewski – Burning Bright – Book Two of The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart series
- Tomm A. Boyer – The Deceived
- Jennifer Alsever – Burying Eva Flores
- J. L. Sullivan – From Brick & Darkness
- Lenore Borja – The Last Huntress (Mirror Realm Series Book I)
- Laurel Anne Hill – Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846
- Jennifer Haskin – Princess of the Blood Mages
- Shina Reynolds – A Light in the Sky
- W.W. Marplot – Space Story
- M.K. Lever – Surviving the Second Tier
- Anne-Marie Amiel – Crusader’s Way: Book One of the St. Edmundsbury Mysteries
- U.W. Leo – ARKO: The Dark Union (A Sci-fi Adventure Series)
- Jeanne Roland – Journeys: the Archers of Saint Sebastian
- Avis M. Adams – The Incident
- Tamara Hart Heiner – Year 1: Renegade
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:

TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan

by Blue Spruell

The 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards are open now. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

Winners will be announced at the 2022 CIBA Awards Ceremony sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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 11th annual conference and discover why!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
January 19, 2023
The 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction – CIBAs Short List
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Named in honor of the British poet & painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti who founded the Pre-Ralphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen (imaginary or real). Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Romance, and Literary, we will put them to the test and choose the best Young Adult Books among them for the winners of the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction. For Middle Grade Fiction check out our Gertrude Warner Awards and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Dante Rossetti Young Adult Fiction Long List to the 2022 Dante Rossetti Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2022 Dante Rossetti Semi-Finalists. The Semi-Finalists will compete for the FINALIST positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalist. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALIST of the 2022 Dante Rossetti Book Awards novel competition for Young Adult Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following Short List authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- PJ Adair – The Viking Girl
- Elizabeth Maddaleni – The Beauty of a Spiral
- Reenita Malhotra Hora – Operation Mom – My plan to get my mother a life and a man
- Hermione Lee – Where the Magic Lies
- Anna Finch – Voiceless: A Mermaid’s Tale
- Jacqueline Pretty – Powerless
- Frances Schoonmaker – Sid Johnson and the Phantom Slave Stealer
- Alan Frost – The Slayer, the Seer, and the Dream Stealer
- Kristina Bak – Cold Mirage
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Sighs of Fire
- Michael J Cooper – Wages of Empire
- Bird Jones – Blue-Eyed Slave
- Glen Dahlgren – The House of Prophecy
- Stavros Saristavros – The Tome of Syyx
- Rebecca Garner – Why Won’t My Boobs Grow… and Other Annoyances
- Brooke Maddaleni – Next Door
- Steven Michael Beck – Soar a Burning Sky
- Michael Bialys – The Chronicles of the Virago: Book III the Triumviratus
- Michele Kwasniewski – Rising Star – Book One of The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart series
- Michele Kwasniewski – Burning Bright – Book Two of The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart series
- Tomm A. Boyer – The Deceived
- Jennifer Alsever – Burying Eva Flores
- Endy Wright – Blood for the Fisher King
- J. L. Sullivan – From Brick & Darkness
- Lenore Borja – The Last Huntress (Mirror Realm Series Book I)
- Laurel Anne Hill – Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846
- Jennifer Haskin – Princess of the Blood Mages
- Shina Reynolds – A Light in the Sky
- Marie Sontag – Yosemite Trail Discovered
- W.W. Marplot – Space Story
- M.K. Lever – Surviving the Second Tier
- Anne-Marie Amiel – Crusader’s Way: Book One of the St. Edmundsbury Mysteries
- U.W. Leo – ARKO: The Dark Union (A Sci-fi Adventure Series)
- Jeanne Roland – Journeys: the Archers of Saint Sebastian
- Avis M. Adams – The Incident
- Tamara Hart Heiner – Year 1: Renegade
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:

TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan

by Blue Spruell

The 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards are open now. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

Winners will be announced at the 2022 CIBA Awards Ceremony sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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 11th annual conference and discover why!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
January 5, 2023
The 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction – CIBAs Long List
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Named in honor of the British poet & painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti who founded the Pre-Ralphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen (imaginary or real). Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Romance, and Literary, we will put them to the test and choose the best Young Adult Books among them for the winners of the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction. For Middle Grade Fiction check out our Gertrude Warner Awards and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Dante Rossetti Young Adult Fiction entries to the 2022 Dante Rossetti Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2022 Dante Rossetti Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2022 Dante Rossetti Book Awards novel competition for Young Adult Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Eric A. Vasallo – The Mysterious Disappearance of Colby Blue
- PJ Adair – The Viking Girl
- Melodie Leclerc – A Rare Occupation
- Elizabeth Maddaleni – The Beauty of a Spiral
- John Henry Davis – eM
- Reenita Malhotra Hora – Operation Mom – My plan to get my mother a life and a man
- Hermione Lee – Where the Magic Lies
- Aron Myers – Crescent
- Anna Finch – Voiceless: A Mermaid’s Tale
- Jacqueline Pretty – Powerless
- Frances Schoonmaker – Sid Johnson and the Phantom Slave Stealer
- Alan Frost – The Slayer, the Seer, and the Dream Stealer
- Kristina Bak – Cold Mirage
- James Gregory Kingston – The Girl From Potter’s Field
- David Tenenbaum – The Last Plague
- Nick Delmedico and Nick Delmedico – Aliens vs Dinosaurs: The Rise of Roughstone
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Sighs of Fire
- Michael J Cooper – Wages of Empire
- Bird Jones – Blue-Eyed Slave
- Glen Dahlgren – The House of Prophecy
- Stavros Saristavros – The Tome of Syyx
- Rebecca Garner – Why Won’t My Boobs Grow… and Other Annoyances
- Brooke Maddaleni – Next Door
- Steven Michael Beck – Soar a Burning Sky
- Michael Bialys – The Chronicles of the Virago: Book III the Triumviratus
- Umut Sasoglu – Evelyn
- Michele Kwasniewski – Rising Star – Book One of The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart series
- Michele Kwasniewski – Burning Bright – Book Two of The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart series
- Tomm A. Boyer – The Deceived
- Jennifer Alsever – Burying Eva Flores
- Endy Wright – Blood for the Fisher King
- J. L. Sullivan – From Brick & Darkness
- Lenore Borja – The Last Huntress (Mirror Realm Series Book I)
- Laurel Anne Hill – Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846
- Jennifer Haskin – Princess of the Blood Mages
- Shina Reynolds – A Light in the Sky
- Marie Sontag – Yosemite Trail Discovered
- W.W. Marplot – Space Story
- M.K. Lever – Surviving the Second Tier
- Anne-Marie Amiel – Crusader’s Way: Book One of the St. Edmundsbury Mysteries
- U.W. Leo – ARKO: The Dark Union (A Sci-fi Adventure Series)
- Jeanne Roland – Journeys: the Archers of Saint Sebastian
- Avis M. Adams – The Incident
- Tamara Hart Heiner – Year 1: Renegade
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:

TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan

by Blue Spruell

The 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards are open now. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

Winners will be announced at the 2022 CIBA Awards Ceremony sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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 11th annual conference and discover why!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
November 3, 2022
Awardingly August! Three CIBA Divisions Close in August! Don’t Miss Out!
Submitting your writing for a Book Award is pretty cool!

Maybe it won’t help you physically beat the heat, but it will help your book stand out when compared to others! From gold stickers to blue ribbons, the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs) is a great step on your publishing journey.

In August we have three submission deadlines coming up:
We’ve worked hard to hit the ground running as things continue to open up and life continues its onward march! We now have work listed on Reedsy, The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, AWP, Shaw Guides, and more! We are honored to be a trusted voice in the Writing Community, and can’t wait to keep fulfilling our mission of discovering today’s best books!

We want to take a moment to recognize the Grand Prize Winners of these extraordinary awards:

Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction

Blue Spruell’s TARŌ: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan

Adventure, classic tales, fantasy, and exciting action combine in TARŌ: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan, a well-poised debut novel by award-winning author Blue Spruell.

In the turbulent final decades of the sixteenth century, feudal Japan reeled in mayhem as the central hereditary dictatorship collapsed, and tyrannical powers fought to control the empire. TARO: The Legendary Boy Hero of Japan is the story of how one man revolutionized a nation by taking its reigns and forging a new destiny through his depths of compassion and determination.

See the full list of Dante Rossetti Winners here

Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle Grade Readers

Murray Richter’s Fishing for Luck

The review for this one is forthcoming, but it’s a fast-paced novel of amazing sorts! A great book for young readers that will keep your head spinning and guessing what will happen next!

See the full list of Gertrude Warner Winners here

Chatelaine Book Awards for Romantic Fiction

Alex Sirotkin’s Long Desert Road

Alex Sirotkin’s debut novel, The Long Desert Road, navigates the emotional arcs of life in contrast with the greater expanse of the cosmos. Here a young woman must face her addictions while the people around her try to move beyond her backlash.

We meet Henry Spinoza, a 44-year-old quirky science writer. He ponders his life as half over, looks for the right woman, and wonders if there isn’t more to existence.

See the full list of Chatelaine Winners here

Why submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Program?

Don’t Delay! Enter today!

Book Awards are a great way to market indie and traditionally published books. Making sure to select a reputable Awards Program is key to having your Book Award (or Editorial Book Review) do the most for you!

While you can see the full list of CIBA Winner Benefits here, these are some of the best parts of the CIBAs. The highlights of the over $30,000 worth of Cash Prizes and Awards that go out are the $1000 for one Overall Grand Prize Winner; a host of benefits from our sponsors like Hindenburg, Kickstarter, and Lulu; Editorial Reviews for the Grand Prize Winners; and, of course, the coveted Blue Ribbon. On top of all that, your book will be posted on our high-traffic website at every tier where it advances. Even those who make the Long List join a longstanding community of writers

You Know You Want It

What do our authors have to say about it?

“I so appreciate your generosity of spirit and your wonderful gift for supporting writers.” – Dorothea L Bonneau

“Thanks to all the volunteers, readers and judges whose work make these awards possible.” – Darryl Wimberly, author of A Star in her Crown

“Thank you so much for the information, and to Chanticleer for the honor. I sincerely appreciate your formatting, the buildup and excitement that is generated by your tiered announcements and overall approach to the awards.” – Natalie Symons, author of Lies in Bone

“Thank you all for such hard work tonight! Very proud to have won the grand prize. You all did a wonderful job.” – Jaime Castle, co-author of The Luna Missile Crisis

“I’m so excited to have received First Place for the Goethe Awards for 20th Century Historical Fiction” – Pamela Jonas, author of For Love of Family: A Slovak Immigrant Novel

The CIBAs are waiting. Enter today!

SEPTEMBER SUBMISSION DEADLINES ARE FAST APPROACHING!
- CLUE BOOK AWARDS SUSPENSE / THRILLERS
- Little Peeps Early Readers and Picture Books
The 2022 Division Award Grand Prize and First Place Winners for the each of the Divisions of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards will be ANNOUNCED on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, Bellingham, Wash.
August 17, 2022