Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: elizabeth-crowens

The 2022 SHORTS CIBAs Finalists for Collections and Novellas
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Collected Works such as Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2022 Short List to the Shorts Book Awards Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

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

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

NOTE: We are posting the Short Stories and Essays in a different post.

These titles are in the running for the First Place and Grand Prize Winner of the 2022 Shorts Book Awards novel competition for Collections and Novellas!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Lori Lee Peters – God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me
- Kelly Evans – Stubborn: A Greek Comedy
- Susan Lehmann – Southern Lies and Homicides, Tales of Betrayal and Murder
- Susannah Dawn – I Am Who I’ve Always Been: Journey Excerpts
- Dale L. Roberts – Infestate
- Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr. – A Colossal Injustice: A Griffin Knight Corporate Murder Mystery
- Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr. – Do Nothing: A Griffin Knight Murder Mystery Thriller
- Chris Bennett – Advent – A Road to the Breaking Short Story
- Sara Connell – Ghost House
- Don Daglow – The Last One on the Run
- Barry Robbins – The Trump Diaries 2024
- Linnea Tanner – Two Faces of Janus
- Tessa Floreano – Slain Over Spumoni
- Jacek Waliszewski – Air Boat – Love is an Adventure
- W.A. Pepper – DoGoodR: A Tanto Thriller
- Pat Wahler – The Christmas Keepsake
- Britt Lind – A Fate Worse Than Death
- Arthur Herbert – Lockdown: A Collection of Dark Tales
- Mohan Ranga Rao – Geetha Essay – Domestic Work
- Endy Wright – The Garden Plot Diaries
- S A Melia – Aliens in Windsor
- Tamar Anolic – The Lonely Spirit
- Mekiya Walters – Cassandra Says
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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 SHORTS Awards for Short Story Collections is Elizabeth Crowens for
New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst

Click here to see the 2021 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions for the 2023 Shorts Book Awards. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.

Please click here for more information.

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

Don’t Miss out! April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!
March 27, 2023
The 2022 SHORTS CIBAs Short List for Collections and Novellas
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Collected Works such as Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2022 Entries to the Shorts Book Awards Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Finalist Positions. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

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

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

NOTE: We are posting the Short Stories and Essays in a different post.

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2022 Shorts Book Awards novel competition for Collections and Novellas!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Lori Lee Peters – God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me
- Kelly Evans – Stubborn: A Greek Comedy
- Susan Lehmann – Southern Lies and Homicides, Tales of Betrayal and Murder
- Susannah Dawn – I Am Who I’ve Always Been: Journey Excerpts
- Virginia Crow – Haunting Whispers of Highland Waters
- Philip Derrick – Saigon Spring
- Dale L. Roberts – Infestate
- Walli Ann Wisniewski – Wanderings in Opera Shoes
- Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr. – A Colossal Injustice: A Griffin Knight Corporate Murder Mystery
- Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr. – Do Nothing: A Griffin Knight Murder Mystery Thriller
- Chris Bennett – Advent – A Road to the Breaking Short Story
- Sara Connell – Ghost House
- Don Daglow – The Last One on the Run
- Edward Morrow – Tree S.T.A.R.S: Dominion
- Barry Robbins – The Trump Diaries 2024
- Linnea Tanner – Two Faces of Janus
- Tessa Floreano – Slain Over Spumoni
- Jacek Waliszewski – Air Boat – Love is an Adventure
- Andrew Farkas – The Great Indoorsman
- W.A. Pepper – DoGoodR: A Tanto Thriller
- Pat Wahler – The Christmas Keepsake
- Britt Lind – A Fate Worse Than Death
- Arthur Herbert – Lockdown: A Collection of Dark Tales
- Mohan Ranga – Geetha Essay – Domestic Work
- Endy Wright – The Garden Plot Diaries
- Suzanne Smith – The Mortal Vampire
- S A Melia – Aliens in Windsor
- Tamar Anolic – The Lonely Spirit
- Mekiya Walters – Cassandra Says
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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 SHORTS Awards for Short Story Collections is Elizabeth Crowens for
New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst

Click here to see the 2021 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions for the 2023 Shorts Book Awards. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.

Please click here for more information.

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

Don’t Miss out! April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!
February 17, 2023
The 2022 CYGNUS CIBAs Finalists for SciFi
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate-Fiction, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 CYGNUS Science Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2022 Cygnus Book Awards Finalists! FINALISTS will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC23.

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

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on April 29, 2023, at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

Save the Date! CAC23 is April 27-30, 2023 at the Hotel Bellwether

These titles are in the running for the First Place Winners of the 2022 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Jay Hartlove – The Insane God
- Melissa Diyab – Crossing Over
- Dana Dargos, Said Al Bizri – Einstein in the Attic
- D. H. Ford – Rogue Reborn
- O.E. Tearmann – Deuces Are Wild
- Lou Dischler – Mona’s Odyssey
- Ash Bishop – Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc.
- S.G. Blaise – The Last Lumenian
- S.G. Blaise – True Teryn
- Nik Frank-Lehrer – Future Show
- Sydney Raeburn-Power – The Sleepers
- Dimple Desai – The Lambda Factor
- Isaac Petrov – The Advent of Dreamtech
- PA Vasey – Harbinger
- Fulmer/Proto Dagg – Terminus
- Joanna Evans – Sinai Unhinged
- Prescott Harvey – In Beta
- Bryn Smith – Magnus Nights: The Helios Incident
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 pageto LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

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

Orclick hereto 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 CYGNUS Awards is:

A War in Too Many Worlds

By Elizabeth Crowens

Click here to see the 2021 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

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

IN-Person – April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 11th annual conference and discover why!
January 26, 2023
The 2022 SEMI-FINALIST CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate-Fiction, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 CYGNUS Science Fiction Short List to the 2022 Cygnus Book Awards Semi-Finalists! The Semi-Finalists will compete for the Finalist positions. FINALISTS will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC23.

Save the Date! CAC23 is April 27-30, 2023 at the Hotel Bellwether

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2022 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Jay Hartlove – The Insane God
- Melissa Diyab – Crossing Over
- J. N. Johnson – Pig
- Annie Williams – Maximized Entropy: Death of the Internet
- Dana Dargos, Said Al Bizri – Einstein in the Attic
- D. H. Ford – Rogue Reborn
- O.E. Tearmann – Deuces Are Wild
- Lou Dischler – Mona’s Odyssey
- Ash Bishop – Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc.
- S.G. Blaise – The Last Lumenian
- S.G. Blaise – True Teryn
- Nik Frank-Lehrer – Future Show
- Sydney Raeburn-Power – The Sleepers
- Dimple Desai – The Lambda Factor
- Isaac Petrov – The Advent of Dreamtech
- PA Vasey – Harbinger
- John J. Spearman – Pike’s Passage
- Fulmer/Proto Dagg – Terminus
- Wilson Whitlow – Consent, Vol. 1: Erdos
- Joanna Evans – Sinai Unhinged
- Prescott Harvey – In Beta
- Bryn Smith – Magnus Nights: The Helios Incident
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook 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 pageto LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

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

Orclick hereto go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 CYGNUS Awards is:

A War in Too Many Worlds

By Elizabeth Crowens

Click here to see the 2021 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

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

IN-Person – April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 11th annual conference and discover why!
January 12, 2023
Spotlight on the 2022 Short Story Awards

Celebrating the Art of the Short but Spectacular Writing

“A good [short story] would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit.” ― David Sedaris

The Short Story Book Awards is a new and fast-growing Chanticleer Book Award Division. Featuring any of our 23 Fiction or Non-Fiction genres, these Awards are different from our other programs in that they have two tracks: One that features Individual Works and another that features Collected Works.

Open until 12/31/22!

Generally, we announce 5 First Place Winners and 1 Grand Prize Winner for Individual Works and the same for Collected Works. This lets each type of work shine. You can see the Grand Prize Winners and Finalists of our 2020 inaugural Short Story Awards here and the 2021 Winners here for collected works and here for individual works.

Short Stories and Essays stand well apart from their 50,000+ word counterparts in both Fiction and Non-Fiction. N.K. Jemisin, three-time Hugo Award Winner for her brilliant Broken Earth Trilogy, credits writing short stories as the method by which she learned how to create tightly written stories with no fluff. Her talent shines in her collection How Long ’til Black Future Month?

In working with a shorter format, a writer must commit to only putting in what matters to their story. This is true of longer formats, but readers are much less forgiving when a short story or essay feels trivial.

“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.” ― Edgar Allan Poe

The Shorts Hall of Fame from Chanticleer

We’re honored to have received so many excellent submissions in the past. Is your story the next one we’ll discover? Check out these Best Books from Chanticleer.

A Week at Surf Side Beach
By Pierce Koslosky Jr.
2020 Shorts Grand Prize Winner for Collections

Vacationers from all walks of life converge on Portofino II-317C, South Carolina, a quaint blue beach house, in Pierce Koslosky Jr.’s short story collection, A Week at Surfside Beach.

From May 30th-December 26th each group of people comes to stay one week at a time, to forget their cares of the big city, to work, to celebrate, or to simply get away. Surfside Beach has much to show them, including temperamental weather.

The small town itself offers a charming supermarket where fishing supplies, whoopie pies, and local southern favorites can be found. The Christmas vacationers, the final of the thirteen beach house renters, struggle to find a tree in time; a real tree simply wouldn’t allow enough space for the family to sleep, and the fake tree would cost too much. But they find arts and crafts supplies in town, to fashion a paper Christmas tree during a day of rainy weather.

Continue Reading here

Savonne, not Vonny
By Robin Lee Lovelace
2020 Shorts Grand Prize for Novellas

Robin Lee Lovelace evokes a world in which the mystical intertwines with the everyday in Savonne, Not Vonny, a coming-of-age story set in rural Louisiana.

Nine-year-old Savonne lives in a small room at the back of Mama Gwen’s whorehouse, in Indianapolis in the ’60s. Her mama is one of the working girls, and her father is Mama Gwen’s own son. Savonne’s daddy dotes on her, and Mama Gwen loves Savonne like the daughter she never had; the two of them together make a loving home for Savonne, in the midst of their raucous brothel.

By contrast, Savonne’s birth mother rarely pays her any mind. A “crazy-ass woman” with a temper “as hot as a Mississippi afternoon,” Coco is not at all opposed to beating the bejesus out of someone. In a fury one night, she does something that cannot be undone, and in her headlong flight out of town, she takes Savonne with her.

See the novella here.

Note: Savonne, Not Vonny, is due to be released as part of Lovelace’s collection, A Wild Region. Keep an eye on her website here for the latest updates. The collection is expected to be published on April 28, 2023.

New York, Give Me Your Best or Your Worst
By Elizabeth Crowens
2021 Shorts Grand Prize Winner for Collections

A strong collection of work and art, powered by inspiration and the beauty of New York.

The Review for New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst is still forthcoming, but we featured author Elizabeth Crowens’ accomplishment in putting together this unique anthology here.

See Crowens’ website here.

Homegoing
By Toni Ann Johnson
2021 Shorts Grand Prize Winner for Novellas

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

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

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

Continue Reading here

Thank you for celebrating these Shorts Awards Grand Prize Winners with us!

Have a Short piece of Fiction, Non-Fiction, or a Collection? Your work deserves to be discovered. Submit today!

At the End: “Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.” ― Ray Bradbury

IN-Person Registration for the Chanticleer Authors Conference is Open
– April 27-30, 2023! Register Today! –

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 11th annual conference and discover why!

December 16, 2022
The Road So Far | November Deadline for Humor & Satire

Don’t let the joke be on you!

There’s still time to submit for the Humor and Satire Book Awards!

You can have the last laugh by submitting to the Humor and Satire Book Awards.

The Humor and Satire Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Humor and Satire. The Humor and Satire Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring satire, humor, political ideology, parody, fantasy, and allegory or fable. The Deadline for the 2022 Humor and Satire Book Awards is the end of November.

Looking to learn more about the Humor and Satire Awards? Click here!

A Newer Division of the CIBAs, the Humor and Satire is quickly establishing itself as a book award program for humor, satire, lampoons, and allegory.

Let’s take a look at some of the 2021 winners from the 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Author’s Conference!

Binge

By Anne Pfeffer

Twenty-seven-year-old Sabrina “Bree” Hunter has the chance to grasp her dream of being a published author, but will her binge eating spell the end of that dream?

After years of working for a demanding B-list talent agent in Los Angeles, Bree earned a publishing deal with Fast Track Books. She should celebrate, thrilled that her life will finally go down the right path since her graduation from Dartmouth. However, Bree has a problem that isn’t easily fixed. Her publisher expects the skinny beauty on her webpage, a picture taken many years previously.

Since the days of the photo, Bree has become a compulsive eater. She spends every moment of her day obsessing over junk food. Bree turns to food to comfort her, console her, and to bring her joy. This addiction has caused her to gain forty pounds since college. Finding dieting on her own harder than she expected, Bree agrees to attend a support group meeting. Her sister, Lena’s, boyfriend has recently found success in breaking his addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Hot Air

By Charlie Suisman

Arnold Falls bristles with zany events, quirky locals, and colorful newbies. Above all, this memorable enclave buoys its people through heart, soul, wit, and a true sense of collective spirit.

Jeebie Walker returns as the story’s central narrator.

The successful voice-over artist stands as a solid fixture in the town, now in a loving relationship with his partner Will. A volunteer fireman, illustrator, and candidate for an MA in Conservation Biology, Will jokingly claims that Jeebie makes “bossing others around” a superpower.

The Kissing Rabbi: Lust, Betrayal, and a Community Turned Inside Out

By Andy Becker

Based on a true story, Andy Becker’s tale The Kissing Rabbi is a smart, witty, and engaging novel that takes readers into the heart of a Jewish community in the Pacific Northwest.

Here a young, self-serving rabbi sets a town on edge when his salacious desires and personal financial agenda are brought to light by the people he was brought there to serve.

Rabbi Mishegas Dreidel, a young orthodox leader, arrives in the quiet town of Destiny, Oregon. His intentions seem noble as he opens up a synagogue in his basement and establishes a flock of dedicated followers.

Babs and Basil, and the Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles

By Elizabeth Crowens

This book is still a manuscript, but we’re excited for it to come out!

A cute premise and a light-hearted beginning. Babs and Basil, and the Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles features humor, mystery, and action throughout that’s easy to read and follow.

An excellent book for older readers and Hollywood movie buffs that can catch the myriad of references. The lightheartedness storyline buoys the reader along naturally. A kindly read to escape into and keep your spirits afloat.

My Only Sunshine: Getting Straight with the Bomb

By Lou Dischler

Lou Dischler delivers an intricately woven story about one well-meaning boy who tries to make sense of the crazy he’s been born into. Get ready for one belly laugh of an adventure in My Only Sunshine.

Welcome to the Louisiana low country, home of 9-year-old Charlie Boone, a kid growing up in 1962. Charlie, a most unreliable narrator, concerns himself with giant wingless wasps and biting red velvet ants. Combine his critter-concerns with the legend of the giant slugs, the story of his mother taken up by a hurricane, and the episode of the puddle he and his brother dug that grew into a pond, then turned into a lake, and we have one wildly imaginative ride well-worth taking.

Dischler delivers an epic tale that shifts from Charlie’s first-person point-of-view with his youthful ignorance coloring his observations to his Uncle Dan’s and “Aunt” Lola’s in third-person point-of-view. While Charlie ages and grows in wisdom as the story progresses, his uncle never seems to gain a lick of sense. Dischler skillfully applies the laws of magic realism to Charlie’s wonderful way of viewing his world. Uncle Dan’s story, on the other hand, derives from an inept conman’s rap-sheet – from failed grifts to bank robbery bungles that succeed only by accident. Dischler guides us, normalizing the ridiculous to the point that the characters jump off the page and set up camp in your living room.

The Grand Prize Winner!

Certified

By Roger Wilson-Crane

Certified by Roger Wilson-Crane is a multi-award-winning comedy-drama, following one man down three sharp turns in his life trajectory.

Based on real-life events, Certified shows the narrator’s birth, marriage, and death, three of the most significant milestones in human life. The book is divided into three sections.

“One Unexpected Birth” explores his flawed string of relationships until he meets Dawn, the love of his life. However, a woman from the past makes a comeback, threatening to shatter his newly found happiness.

“One Hapless Wedding” careens about his well-planned wedding in Puglia, Italy, which is trampled by Justin Timberlake who wants the same venue. “One Bizarre Death”, on the other hand, follows the loss of the narrator’s loved one and the pain and confusion that surrounds an unexpected death. Certified is full of humor, heart, and unexpected gems that one might find in a trunk of well-lived memories.

Need more Humor in your life? Check out these books that won the 2020 Humor and Satire Awards!

The sky is the limit when it comes to Humor

Even Data from Star Trek likes Mark Twain

HOW DO YOU HAVE YOUR BOOKS RECOGNIZED? Submit them to the Chanticleer International Book Awards – Click here for more information about The CIBAs!

The last day to submit your work is November 30, 2022. We invite you to join us, to tell us your stories, and to find out who will take home the prize ribbons at CAC23 in April.

As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your novel deserves! Enter today!

The Humor and Satire Book Awards for Satirical and Allegorical fiction is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards – the CIBAs.

ENTER NOW!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

November 23, 2022
The CYGNUS 2022 Short List for Science Fiction Book Awards – a Division of the CIBAs
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate-Fiction, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 CYGNUS Science Fiction Long List to the 2022 Cygnus Book Awards Short List These entries are now in competition for the 2022 Cygnus Semi-Finalists. The Semi-Finalists will compete for the Finalist positions. FINALISTS will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC23.

Save the Date! CAC23 is April 27-30, 2023 at the Hotel Bellwether

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2022 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Jay Hartlove – The Insane God
- Timothy S. Johnston – An Island of Light
- Melissa Diyab – Crossing Over
- Charles Ross – The Future is a Memory
- J. N. Johnson – Pig
- Annie Williams – Maximized Entropy: Death of the Internet
- Dana Dargos, Said Al Bizri – Einstein in the Attic
- D. H. Ford – Rogue Reborn
- O.E. Tearmann – Deuces Are Wild
- Lou Dischler – Mona’s Odyssey
- Ash Bishop – Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc.
- S.G. Blaise – The Last Lumenian
- S.G. Blaise – True Teryn
- Michael Simon – Extinction
- Nik Frank-Lehrer – Future Show
- Sydney Raeburn-Power – The Sleepers
- Dimple Desai – The Lambda Factor
- Isaac Petrov – The Advent of Dreamtech
- PA Vasey – Harbinger
- John J. Spearman – Pike’s Passage
- E. R. Harris – Surf the Milky Way
- U.W. Leo – ARKO: The Dark Union (A Sci-fi Adventure Series)
- Fulmer/Proto Dagg – Terminus
- Kristopher Clewell – The Penrose Triangle
- Wilson Whitlow – Consent, Vol. 1: Erdos
- Joanna Evans – Sinai Unhinged
- Prescott Harvey – In Beta
- Bryn Smith – Magnus Nights: The Helios Incident
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook 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.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 CYGNUS Awards is:

A War in Too Many Worlds

By Elizabeth Crowens

Click here to see the 2021 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

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

IN-Person – April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 11th annual conference and discover why!
October 25, 2022
Part Three of Three Official Postings of the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners
We are deeply honored and excited to continue to announce the 2021 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs) with our third and final of three official postings.

CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!

The winners were recognized at the CIBA ceremonies held on June 25th, 2022 in-person and by ZOOM webinars at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

The CIBA announcements were made LIVE with Chanticleerians participating and interacting from around the globe and North America.

Raising our glasses to cheer the CIBA Winners!

We want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 25 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2021 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 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for the

Seven Non-Fiction Divisions:

Journey, Hearten, Harvey Chute, Mind and Spirit, I & I, Military & Frontline and Nellie Bly

along with the FIRST Winners for the

Short Story, and Book Series Awards,

and concluding with the

OVERALL 2021 GRAND PRIZE WINNER

for the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards

For the Cygnus, Ozma, Paranormal, Global Thrillers, M&M, Clue, Little Peeps, Gertrude Warner, and Dante Rossetti Book Awards, please click here for Part 1.

For the Laramie, Chaucer, Goethe, Hemingway, Chatelaine, Mark Twain, and Somerset Awards, click here for Part 2.

The JOURNEY Book Awards for

Narrative Non-Fiction, Memoirs, and Biographies

Grand Prize Winner is

BETTER OFF BALD: A Life in 147 Days

The Journey First Place Category Winners are:
- Rosie McMahan – Fortunate Daughter: A Memoir of Reconciliation
- Rosemary Keevil – The Art of Losing It: A Memoir of Grief and Addiction
- Heather Haldeman – Kids and Cocktails Don’t Mix: A Memoir
- Kathleen Lockyer – The Broken Wing Dance — Love, loss, trauma and how nature led me back to my wild self
- C.L. Olsen – The Home for Friendless Children
The INSTRUCTION and INSIGHT Book Awards

for How-To Guides, Travel Guides, Cook Books, Self-Help, and Enlightenment

Grand Prize Winner is

THE BLACK FOSTER YOUTH HANDBOOK by Angela Quijada-Banks

The I & I First Place Category Winners are:
- Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Recognizing Autism in Women and Girls
- Geraldine Clouston and Susan Weintrob – indieBRAG Eat, Read & Dream Cookbook
- Jim & Jessica Braz – Baby Out of Wedlock
- Phoebe Walker – Freedom Found – Productive and Joyful Living In Spite of Chronic Pain
- M. J. Simms-Maddox, Ph.D. – A Handbook for Emerging and Seasoned Authors
Congratulations to the Inaugural

AWARD WINNERS for the

Military and Front Line Book Awards

of the CIBAs

The MILITARY & FRONT LINE Book Awards

for Service to Others Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

DEAR BOB: Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondance with the G.I.s of World War II by Martha Bolten with Linda Hope

The Military & Front Line First Place Category Winners are:
- Vicki Cody – Fly Safe: Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections From Back Home
- Grover Nicodemus Street RN, Sandra de Abreu Guidry-Street MD, & Ja-ne de Abreu – Chasing the Surge: Life as a Travel Nurse in a Global Pandemic
- Margaret Thomson – The World Looks Different Now
- Burl Harmon – Combat Missions
- George Farag – Unbecoming My Father’s Son: A Memoir
The NELLIE BLY Book Awards

for Investigative and Long Form Journalism Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

AMERICA’S FORGOTTEN SUFFRAGISTS: Virginia and Francis Minor
by Nicole Evelina

The Nellie Bly First Place Category Winners are:
- Dori Jones Yang – When the Red Gates Opened
- Dr. Kate Dolan – Beating Drug Addiction in Tehran: a Women’s Clinic
- Abe Streep – Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana
- Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D. – Advancing the Good Society: Real Advocacy Journalism in Action
The HARVEY CHUTE Book Awards

for Business & Enterprise Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

BEYOND BALANCING THE BOOKS by George Marino

The Harvey Chute First Place Category Winners are:
- Stan Bernard, MD, MBA – Brands Don’t Win: How Transcenders Change Games
- Thomas Wideman – Welfare Cheese to Fine Caviar: How to Achieve Your Dreams Despite Your Upbringing
- Kate Dixon – Pay Up! Unlocking Insider Secrets of Salary Negotiation
- Cash Nickerson – Negotiating As a Martial Art
The MIND & SPIRIT Book Awards

for Spirituality and Enlightenment Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

ENLIGHTEN UP! by Beth Gibbs

The Mind and Spirit First Place Category Winners are:
- Mike Lutz – Jesus Speaking
- Reagan J. Pasternak – Griffin’s Heart: Mourning Your Pet With No Apologies
- Tammy Green – Living Without Skin: Everything I Never Knew About Fierce Vulnerability
- Starr Regan DiCiurcio – Divine Sparks: Interfaith Wisdom for a Postmodern World
The HEARTEN Book Awards

for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

DAWGS: A True Story of Lost Animals and the Kids Who Rescued Them
By Diane Trull and Meredith Wargo

The Hearten First Place Category Winners are:
- Fred Guttenberg – Find the Helpers
- Linda Morrow – Heart of This Family – Lessons in Down Syndrome and Love
- Lisa Dailey – Square Up: 50,000 miles in search of a way home
- Labar Laskie – Above the Din: Diary of the HepC Wonder Drugs
- Meg Nocero – Butterfly Awakens: A Memoir of Transformation Through Grief
The SHORT STORY Book Awards

for the CIBA Short Story Collections

Grand Prize Winner is

NEW YORK: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst by Elizabeth Crowens

The Shorts First Place Category Winners are:
- Leah Angstman – Shoot the Horses First
- Susannah Dawn – I’m Not What I Used To Be, Yet I Am Who I’ve Always Been – Excerpts From My Journey
- Domenick Venezia – The Edwerd Chronicles
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Through a Glass Darkly
- Helena P. Schrader – Grounded Eagles
The SHORT STORY Book Awards

for Short Stories, Novelettes, and Novellas

Grand Prize Winner is

HOMEGOING by Toni Ann Johnson

The Shorts First Place Category Winners are:
- Gina Detwiler – Before: Jared’s Story
- M. K. Wiseman – Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel
- Elizabeth Wolf – The Royal Foetus: A very short novel based on the very short life of King Louis XVII
- Lindy Miller – Sleigh Bells on Bread Loaf Mountain
- Vicky Oliver – A Valentine to my Mothers and Other Dubious Role Models
- Kourtney Spadoni – In The Underwood
The BOOK SERIES Book Awards

for Fiction Series

Grand Prize Winner is

THE GUINEVERE’S TALE TRILOGY by Nicole Evelina

Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, and Mistress of Legend

The Series First Place Category Winners are:

Ozma Book Awards for Series – Fantasy Fiction
- M. K. Wiseman – The Bookminder series
Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Series – Young Adult
- Pamela Beason – Run for Your Life
Chatelaine Book Awards for Series – Romantic Fiction
- Janet K. Shawgo – Look For Me Series
CLUE Book Awards for Series – Thriller/Suspense
- Kaylin McFarren – Threads
Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards for Series – Mysteries / Cozy and Not-so-Cozy
- Amy S. Peele – A Transplant Medical Murder Mystery series
Laramie Book Awards for Series – Americana / Western Fiction
- E. Alan Fleischauer – JT Thomas’s Series – Western series
CONGRATULATIONS to ALL!

And NOW for the

2021 CHANTICLEER INT’L BOOK AWARDS

BEST BOOK

and

OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER

THE DEVIL PULLS THE STRINGS

by J.W. Zarek

J.W. Zarek will also be awarded $1,000 USD in recognition of her 2021 BEST BOOK of the YEAR – Chanticleer International Book Awards – Sponsored by Chanticleer Reviews & Media.

A Chanticleer Review of The Devil Pulls the Strings will be featured in the in the Chanticleer Reviews OnWord Magazine (print and epub) along with other promotional and marketing opportunities along with an interview with the author, J.W. Zarek.

Thank you J.W. Zarek for participating in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards. We look forward to receiving future work in our CIBAs.

CONGRATULATIONS J.W. Zarek!

Six Grand Prize Winners with J.W. Zarek, the 2021 Overall Grand Prize Winner!

From all of us at Chanticleer International Book Awards and Chanticleer Reviews.

Looking for your Division? Check out our previous posts:

For the Cygnus, Ozma, Paranormal, Global Thrillers, M&M, Clue, Little Peeps, Gertrude Warner, and Dante Rossetti Book Awards, please click here for Part 1.

For the Laramie, Chaucer, Goethe, Hemingway, Chatelaine, Mark Twain, and Somerset Awards, click here for Part 2.

THANK YOU to VCAC21 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

And to FRIENDS of CHANTICLEER REVIEWS:

Cathy Ace, J.D. Barker, Robert Dugoni, Chris Humphreys, Bradley Metrock, Jessica Morrell, Scott Steindorff, and Paul Hanson of Village Books

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, 2019, are accepted) to the prestigious Chanticleer International Book Awards today! Entries are being accepted into the 2022 CIBAs in all 18 fiction divisions and seven non-fiction divisions.

Be sure to register early for the 11th Chanticleer Authors Conference that will start on April 23rd, 2023 with the 2022 CIBA banquet and ceremony scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 25th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

Be well. Stay Healthy. Take Care!

An email will go out to all 2021 CIBA award winners prior to October 30, 2022, with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated many times before “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 need good books, now more than ever!

The Chanticleer Reviews Team
July 13, 2022
The MARK TWAIN 2021 CIBA WINNERS for Humor and Satire Fiction
The Mark Twain Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Humor and Satire. The Mark Twain Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring satire, humor, political ideology, parody, fantasy, and allegory or fable. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

The 2021 MARK TWAIN Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the MARK TWAIN Grand Prize Winner were announced by Lisa Dailey on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at the Hotel Bellwether and broadcast via ZOOM webinar.

This is the OFFICIAL 2021 LIST of the MARK TWAIN BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the MARK TWAIN Grand Prize Winner.

Join us in celebrating the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
- Anne Pfeffer – Binge
- Charlie Suisman – Hot Air
- Roger Wilson-Crane – Certified
- Andy Becker – The Kissing Rabbi: Lust, Betrayal, and a Community Turned Inside Out
- Elizabeth Crowens – Babs and Basil, and the Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles
- Lou Dischler – My Only Sunshine: Getting Straight with the Bomb
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 MARK TWAIN Awards is:

Certified

by Roger Wilson-Crane

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook 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 Facebook and Twitter handle is @ChantiReviews

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

The 2022 MARK TWAIN Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 10 year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2022 MARK TWAIN Book Awards are open until the end of November. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in August. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for participating in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards!
July 3, 2022
The CYGNUS 2021 CIBA WINNERS for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate-Fiction, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

The 2021 CYGNUS Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the CYGNUS Grand Prize Winner were announced by Wendy Kendall on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at the Hotel Bellwether and broadcast via ZOOM webinar.

This is the OFFICIAL 2021 LIST of the CYGNUS BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the CYGNUS Grand Prize Winner.
- J.W. Zarek – The Devil Pulls the Strings
- Sarah Lahey – Nostalgia Is Heartless, Book Two
- Akosua Sankofa – Monmouth Deep
- Rhett C. Bruno – Vicarious
- Elizabeth Crowens – A War in Too Many Worlds
- Steven Seril – The Destroyer of Worlds: ‘An Answer to Every Question’
- Charlene Newcomb – Echoes of the Storm
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 CYGNUS Awards is:

A War in Too Many Worlds

By Elizabeth Crowens

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Attn CIBA Winners! More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners.

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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.

The 2022 CYGNUS Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 10 year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2022 CYGNUS Book Awards are open until the end of June. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in August. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
June 29, 2022