Tales from the Distant Past
The Chaucer Awards Honor Early Historical Fiction Excellence
The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway, and Chaucer closes on August 31, 2025!
In an age when stories spread by firelight and traveling minstrels, when legends were born from whispered tales and historical truth blended seamlessly with mythic storytelling, Geoffrey Chaucer understood the power of narrative to capture both the spirit of an age and the eternal human condition. The Chaucer Awards, inspired by the great poet whose “Prior’s Tale” gave Chanticleer its very name, celebrate this same tradition and honoring authors who bring the distant past to vivid life through masterful storytelling.
As Chanticleer’s first historical fiction division, the Chaucer Awards represent our foundational commitment to discovering exceptional historical narratives. From the mists of pre-history through the grandeur of the Renaissance, these awards recognize the unique artistry required to transform ancient civilizations, legendary figures, and distant eras into compelling contemporary fiction.
The Art of Ancient Storytelling
Writing early historical fiction demands extraordinary imagination and research skills. Authors must recreate worlds where written records are scarce, daily life was vastly different from our own, and the very foundations of modern society were still being formed. These storytellers serve as literary archaeologists, piecing together fragments of history, legend, and human nature to create authentic worlds that feel both historically grounded and emotionally true.
The best early historical fiction doesn’t just transport readers to distant times—it reveals the timeless aspects of human experience that connect us across millennia. Whether exploring the political intrigue of Tudor courts, the epic journeys of Celtic heroes, or the daily struggles of medieval peasants, these stories illuminate how courage, love, ambition, and family loyalty have remained constant throughout human history.
The challenge of early historical fiction lies in making ancient worlds accessible to modern readers while respecting the fundamental differences in how people thought, believed, and lived in earlier eras. The most successful works achieve this delicate balance, creating stories that feel authentically historical yet emotionally immediate.
Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!
We’re delighted to honor Rozsa Gaston, whose meticulously researched novel Maid of Honour: Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria’s Court claimed the 2024 Chaucer Grand Prize with a fresh perspective on one of history’s most infamous queens. Set in 1513 Europe, the novel follows young Anne Boleyn during her formative time as one of eighteen maids of honor at the court of Margaret of Austria, Europe’s most powerful woman, before her fateful journey to France and eventually to Henry VIII’s court.
Gaston’s work exemplifies the scholarly depth and narrative skill that defines exceptional early historical fiction, exploring how Anne’s ambitious character was shaped by her early experiences with political intrigue, intellectual reform, and the complex dynamics of European court life. As one reviewer noted, this is “a young Anne in whom I absolutely believe, and who does much to explain the woman she’d become.” In addition to ongoing promotional features, Maid of Honour will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame posts. Rozsa Gaston will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and Maid of Honour will receive a coveted Chanticleer Editorial Review.
Categories That Span the Ancient World
The Chaucer Awards welcome early historical fiction across the full spectrum of pre-1750s history:
- Pre-Historical Fiction – Stories from before recorded history, exploring humanity’s earliest experiences
- Ancient Historical Fiction – Classical civilizations of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and other ancient empires
- Dark Ages, Medieval, Renaissance – The transformative periods that bridged ancient and modern worlds
- Elizabethan/Tudor – The golden age of English history and literature
- 1600s – The century of exploration, scientific revolution, and political upheaval
- World/International History Pre-1750s – Global perspectives on early historical periods
- Americas – Historical Fiction Pre-1750s – Stories from the indigenous and colonial Americas
- Legend Based pre-1750s Historical Fiction – Arthurian tales, Beowulf, and other mythic narratives
- Norse/Celtic – Stories from the rich traditions of northern European cultures
Each category represents a different window into humanity’s distant past, from intimate personal stories to epic tales of kingdoms and empires.
Explore All of Our Historical Fiction Divisions
The Chaucer Awards anchor Chanticleer’s comprehensive celebration of historical fiction across all time periods:
- Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction – Post-1750s historical fiction spanning the Georgian era through the 20th century
- Laramie Awards for Americana Fiction – First Nation stories, the American frontier, pioneer tales, Civil War narratives, and Contemporary westerns
- Hemingway Awards for 20th Century Wartime Fiction – The World wars and military conflicts of the modern era
Whether your historical fiction explores recent decades or the distant past, Chanticleer offers recognition for every period and perspective.
Looking at Early Historical Excellence
Check out some of these outstanding early historical fiction works we’ve celebrated recently!
The Tale of the English Templar
By Helena P. Schrader
Far from the romantic legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Helena P. Schrader’s The Tale of the English Templar faithfully captures the harsh decimation of the Knights Templar. Schrader offers a sobering, immersive look at one of history’s darkest betrayals. This is historical fiction worthy of legend with its feet planted firmly in research—not myth.
Set in the early 14th century, the novel captures the downfall of the Knights Templar at the hands of French King Philip IV. With the Pope’s reluctant cooperation, the Templars are accused of heresy and tortured until they confess to crimes they didn’t commit. The king’s true motive? Their immense wealth.
Among those captured is Sir Percy de Lacy, an English Templar who is swept up in a raid by local French soldiers and caught in a mass arrest on Friday, October 13th, 1307. What follows is a harrowing account of imprisonment, torture, and unlikely survival.
Diomedes in Kyprios
By Gregory Michael Nixon
Gregory Michael Nixon’s Diomedes in Kyprios, book 2 in the Diomedeia Series,continues the adventures of the godlike yet all too human hero, Diomedes of Tiryns, as he seeks to discover a meaningful destiny in the chaos of the Bronze Age Collapse.
We begin after the fall of the Hittite Empire, four years after the destruction of Troy. He emerges from the dark river that runs through the underworld where the sacrifice of the Hittite Great King has just occurred, and he has rescued the Hittite Queen from certain death. Nearly drowned but still alive, he recalls only that he had vowed to reunite with the former Queen of the Hittites, the woman he loves named Lieia, at Paphos on the island of Kyprios (ancient Cyprus).
Lieia must undergo her own “odyssey” to get to Paphos to meet Diomedes. She depends on her band of protectors, but they pay for fare aboard a ship with evil men who cannot be trusted.
Elodia’s Knife
By Robert S. Phillips
A Chaucer First Place Winner!
Elodia is a young woman driven by dreadful circumstances to act with deadly force in the Robert S. Phillips novel Elodia’s Knife.
What Elodia hoped would be her leap away from danger instead left her surrounded by perilous threats that now threaten to consume her. Armed with her courage, determination, instincts, and a trusty knife, Elodia faces a hostile world in foreign territory.
Not all are against her though. Allies– even a friend– can be found, if Elodia can summon the bravery to listen to her feelings and own deep wishes.
Young Elodia is unhappily married to an abusive husband. But when he tries to attack her again, she strikes back and kills him.
Shelter in a Hostile World
By Mack Little
Chanticleers 2023 Shorts Grand Prize Winner!
Shelter in a Hostile World, second installment in Mack Little’s Love and Peace series, is an epic tale of resistance, desire, and tragedy, saturating readers in the complexity of Igbo culture.
Little paints a character-rich portrait of the horrors of enslavement and the unthinkable violence against women in the Caribbean, locking people together in relationships molded by adversity.
Set in 17th century Igboland—the invaded region of Nigeria — and on the island of Barbados, Shelter in a Hostile World is a searingly brief novel packed with mesmerizing prose. It blends genres to create a literary language entirely its own.
Throughout Little’s story, readers follow the life and loves of Badu Obosi, a haunted revolutionary escaping enslavement to protect his daughter from sexual violence.
See our Review of Book 1, the 2022 Chaucer Grand Prize Winner Here
Mistress of Legend
By Nicole Evelina
Chanticleers 2021 Series Grand Prize Winner!
In Mistress of Legend, the enticing finale of Nicole Evelina’s Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, matters are life-and-death by the second sentence, pulling readers deep into Guinevere’s fate in this retelling of Arthurian legend.
We come upon heroine Guinevere in the midst of an ill-fated romance with Lancelot. It’s far from her first troubled entanglement, but the stakes rise as she’s severely injured and faces even more threats, pursued by possible enemies. The novel’s beginning is woven with backstory, which adds suspense to the drama unfolding in Guinevere’s present. This summarizing might be slow for readers familiar with the series, but makes the story accessible for those who haven’t picked up the first two books.
Many more characters appear, waving the web of intrigue Guinevere finds herself caught in.
These works demonstrate how the best early historical fiction combines rigorous research with compelling storytelling to bring ancient worlds to vivid life.
See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!
We’re excited about all the exceptional early historical fiction we receive every year for both the CIBAs and for our Editorial Reviews. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!
The Chaucer Awards recognize the extraordinary scholarship and imagination required to recreate distant worlds and ancient civilizations. Whether you’ve spent years researching medieval manuscripts, exploring archaeological evidence, or reimagining legendary tales, these awards celebrate both your historical dedication and narrative artistry.
Your Ancient Tale Awaits
Great early historical fiction serves as a bridge between past and present, helping modern readers understand both how much the world has changed and how much human nature remains constant. Whether your story unfolds in a medieval castle, an ancient marketplace, or the legendary courts of Arthurian Britain, the Chaucer Awards celebrate the authors who keep the distant past alive through the power of exceptional storytelling.
Honor the literary tradition that inspired our name—the deadline is August 31, 2025!
