Chanticleer Book Reviews

Category: Contest News

The 2025 Ozma Semi-Finalists for Fantasy Fiction
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

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

These titles have moved forward from the 2025 OZMA Fantasy Fiction Short List to the 2025 Ozma Book Awards Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

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

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

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- Abigail O’Bryan – Iron Rose
- Anya Rousselle – The King’s Blade
- B.L. Mostyn – Heroes of Another Age
- David Nos – The Final War of Wizards and Dragons
- C.R. Ware – All We Have to Remember: Volume One of the Seventh Layer Saga
- Crystal D. Grant – Lightshed
- David Nos – The Final War of Wizards and Dragons
- Evette Davis – The Campaign
- Evette Davis – The Gift
- Helen Garraway – Sentinals Origins Part One
- J.A. Nielsen – The Winter Heir (Fractured Kingdoms, Book 2)
- J.C. Wade – Summer’s Reaping
- Jason P. Crawford – The Trials of Poseidon
- Jeffrey L. Kohanek – The First Wizard
- Molly M. Hammond – Daughter of Starlight
- Nicholas Varner – Warriors of the Red Wolf
- Nikhil Prabala – The Duchess of Kokora
- Nikki Mccormack – Child of Vanris (The Warden’s Son Book 1)
- Oleg Veretskiy – Tales of the Wandering Mists a Ukrainian Fairy Tale
- Palmer Pickering – Dark Town
- R. M. Krogman – Sundering
- Richard M Wagner – The Chronicles of Amerista: Griefold
- S.E. Reed – The Darkness of Dying in the Light
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Samantha Schinder – The Drowners
- Sean M. Tirman – Dreamweavers LLC
- Simran Sadana – Itehas
- Tamar Anolic – The Keepers
- Ted Neill – Lost Elawn
- William H. Johnston – Shards of Unbroken Will
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

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

Please LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on these platforms!

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

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Ozma Grand Prize Winner

A Circle of Stars

By Erin Lark Maples

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

Got your own Fantasy?

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

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

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

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 21, 2025
The 2025 Cygnus Semi-Finalists 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).

Science fiction is having a moment, and these incredible books prove it. From climate catastrophes to galactic adventures, from AI consciousness to time-bending mysteries, this year’s Cygnus List showcases the full spectrum of speculative imagination that authors are bringing to life.

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

These titles have moved forward from the 2025 CYGNUS Science Fiction Short List to the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards Semi-Finalists List. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

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

These titles are in the running for the Finalists of the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- AA Dasilva – The Bleed-Through Effect
- Aspry Jones – Protectors of the Light Crown
- B. Lynn Carter – The Eyes Have It
- Carrie Kwiatkowski – The Bindery Guild
- Celia Seupel – Girl with the Silver Hair
- Charles Weindorf – Comets of Omen the Presser Arc
- Claudia Leboeuf – Fields of Prosperis
- Corey Frazier – Orion Heavenfall
- James Azinheira – Alphamind the Collective Consciousness
- James R Wells – The Eternal Moment
- Kevin D. Miller – Taquoma
- Lawrence Brown – Black Phantom Dogs Book 1 Unrestricted Climb
- Lloyd Jeffries – Embers of Shadow Ages of Malice Book III
- Lou Dischler – In the Time of False Gods
- M. E. Schuman – The Catalyst
- Maxime Trencavel – The Matriarch Messiah
- Mickey Dubrow – Always Agnes
- Noah Kaplan – The Last Book. the Diary of the Last Earthling
- Pa Vasey – Homo Machina
- Philip Carlisle – Mellisya
- Q Turner – Blood Sacrifice
- Robert C Littlewood – Equilibrium (The Balance Wars Book 3)
- Russ Colson – The Vast Empty
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Sarena Straus – DeInception
- Sean Kennedy – The Fire Within
- Spaulding Taylor – Last Star Standing
- Stephen Eric Johnson – The Man From Rock Bottom
- Tak Salmastyan – The Accelerates Forty Days To Dust
- Tim Rees – Tim Rees Original Earth
- Wilson Kincaid – The Murder Algorithm
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

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

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

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

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

Ares

By Jayson Adams

Click here to see the full list of 2024 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

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

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

April 16-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 19, 2025
The 2025 Laramie Short List for Americana Fiction
The Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Western, First Nations and Americana Fiction. The Laramie Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from the 2025 LARAMIE Long List to the 2025 Laramie Book Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Laramie Semi-Finalists. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

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

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2025 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Western and Americana Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Barbara Salvatore – Together To Gather Kí-Ku
- Bill Lynam – Sojourn To War
- Charlie Steel – Two Women Conquer the West and Their Hearts
- Chuck Locklear – The Pines Know
- CK Van Dam – Iron Horse Claim
- David Fitz-Gerald – A Grave Every Mile: A Pioneer Western Adventure
- David Fitz-Gerald – Rathuun King of the Prairie
- Derek Wachter – Sons of the Promised Land
- Dwight Holing – The Broken Blood
- E. S. Raye – Gas Giant Gambit
- George T. Arnold – An Ounce of Death
- Imogen Martin – To the Wild Horizon
- J. E. Weiner – The Wretched and Undone
- Jeza Belle – The Freedom To Love
- Joan Koster – Prairie Cinderella
- John Hansen – The Medicine Line
- Julie Mcdonald Zander – The Reluctant Pioneer
- Karen Lynne Klink – War and Preservation
- Larry Boucher – The Scout
- M. B. Gibson – Pryor Knowledge Horse Racing Love and Slavery in the Antebellum South
- M. E. Torrey – Fox Creek
- Melora Fern – Whistling Women and Crowing Hens
- Robert L Jones – The Unbroken Trail
- Suzanne Elizabeth Gillis – The Landlady of Maple Avenue
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

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

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

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Laramie Grand Prize Winner

Sarita

By Natalie Musgrave Dossett

Click here to see the full list of 2024 Laramie Book Award Winners for Western Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Laramie Book Awards for Western Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

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

April 16 – 19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 18, 2025
The 2025 Chaucer Short List for Early Historical Fiction
The Chaucer Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Early Historical (Pre- 1750) Fiction. The Chaucer Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

The Chaucer Book Awards competition is named for Geoffrey Chaucer the author of the legendary Canterbury Tales. The work is considered to be one of the greatest works in the English language. It was among the first non-secular books written in Middle English to be printed in 1483.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring Pre-1750s Historical Fiction, including pre-history, ancient history, Classical, world history (non-western culture), Dark Ages and Medieval Europe, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Tudor, 1600s, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward from the 2025 Chaucer Long List to the 2025 Chaucer Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Chaucer Award Semi-Finalists. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

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

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2025 Chaucer Book Awards novel competition for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Adam Alexander Haviaras – A Dragon Among the Eagles: a Novel of the Roman Empire
- Anne M. Beggs – By Arrow and Sword: Book Two Dahlquin Series
- Barbara Stark-Nemon – Isabela’s Way: a Novel
- Bryce Gibby – Esta
- Chuck Locklear – The Pines Know
- Elizabeth Clifford Murphy – The Faithful Harlot
- Erryn Lee – What Remains
- Fawn Brokaw Doyle – Salt People of the Cloud Houses: the Story of Sarah Rapalje and Dutch Manhattan
- Gregory Michael Nixon – Diomedes in Kyprios
- Gregory Michael Nixon – The Diomedeia: Diomedes, the Peoples of the Sea, and the Fall of the Hittite Empire
- Helena P. Schrader – The Tale of the English Templar
- J. M. Elliott – Of Wind and Wolves
- J. Susanne Wilson – The Death and Life of Iphigenia
- J.C. Corry – The Storyteller’s Reputation: Geoffrey Chaucer, Reluctant Spy
- Janet Wertman – Nothing Proved
- Jean K. Dudek – The Scent of Bright Light
- K.M. Butler – The Raven and the Dove
- Keira Morgan – The Importance of Wives
- Kim Gottlieb-Walker – Caterina by Moonlight
- Lisa Llamrei – Quest for Ma’at
- Liz Sevchuk Armstrong – To Be Worthy in Honor: Book II of the Epic of Hotspur
- Logan D. Irons – City of Wolves
- Marcia Maxwell – I, Christine: a Novel
- Michael J. Cooper – The Rabbi’s Knight
- Michaela Riley – Labyrinth of Shadows: the Witch’s Rebirth Part I
- Nina Wachsman – The Courtesan’s Pirate
- Rachel Elwiss Joyce – Lady of Lincoln
- Richard G Nixon – The Legend of Fingerless Will Nixon: the Scottish Borderlands 1508-1509
- Sarah V. Barnes – She Who Rides Horses: A Saga of the Ancient Steppe Book One
- Sarah V. Barnes – A Clan Chief’s Daughter: She Who Rides Horses Book Two
- Sonya Van De Graaff – The Painter From Seville
Congratulations once more to the 2024 Chaucer Grand Prize Winner for Historical Fiction

Maid of Honor

Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria’s Court

By Rozsa Gaston

Click here to see the full list of 2024 Chaucer Book Award Winners for Early Historical Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction!

Please click here for more information.

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

April 16 – 19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 17, 2025
The 2025 Hearten Short List for Inspiring and Uplifting Non-Fiction
The Hearten Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Inspiring and Uplifting Non-Fiction and Memoirs. The Hearten Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2025 Hearten Non-Fiction Long List to the 2025 Hearten Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2025 Hearten Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC26).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 28 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 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2025 Hearten Book Awards novel competition for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction!

Join us in celebrating the Short List authors and their works in the 2025 CIBAs.
- Alia Luria – Geri O Shimasu: Adventures of a Baka Gaijin
- Andy Becker – Grandy Let’s Play: Reflections on the Joy Blessings and Wonder of Grandparenting
- Barb Drummond – I Finally Have the Smoking Hot Body I Have Always Wanted Having Been Cremated
- Brent Larsen – You Make My Heart Giggle Dad-isms the Wisdom and Wit of Dad
- Candace Macphie – Finding Color
- Cerridwen Fallingstar – Rocket in My Pocket: Defying Gravity with Levity, From the Frontiers of Space… To the Frontiers of Consciousness
- Charlene Pell – In This Altered Body: A Survivor’s Story of Resilience and Love
- Christine Amoroso – Bare Naked in Public: A Memoir
- Cynthia Waine Brandt – Song of the Cardinal: A True Story of Miracles and Magic After Heartbreaking Loss
- Doug Cameron – My Tarzan Tree and Other Farm Boy Memories
- Dr. Deb Miller – Forget the Fairy Tale and Find Your Happiness
- Jeff Richards – Nothing Left To Lose: Or How Not To Start a Commune
- Jennifer Celeste Briggs – Watching Sarah Rise: a Journey of Thriving with Autism
- Julie Ryan Mcgue – Twice the Family: a Memoir of Love Loss and Sisterhood
- Kate Grant – No Woman Left Behind: a Journey of Hope To Heal Every Woman Injured in Childbirth
- Kathy Sechrist – Sara’s Redemption: a Journey of Courage Resilience and Hope
- Kay Brooks – Behind the White Beard Dale Ballew’s Story
- Kee Kee Buckley – Seeking Shama: Me, My Dog, and the Road To Inner Peace
- Maggie Enriquez – The Rebirth of a Phoenix
- Margie Crowe Wildblood – Because He Loved Me
- Marti Tote – Up Grief Creek Without a Paddle
- Patricia Eagle – Dog Love Stories the Canines Who Changed Me
- Rabei A. Wazzeh – The Masterpiece of Nature
- Rhona Morrison – From Crime Scenes to Cruise Ships: Navigating life’s troubled waters with resilience and hope
- Ricardo Jose Gonzalez-Rothi – The Mango Chronicle
- Robert Macauley – Because I Knew You: How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor’s Soul
- Stacey Hettes – Dispatches From the Couch
- Sue Vana – Shaken by God’s Love From Fear To Favor in Grief’s Upside-Down World
- Tammy Dietz – Falling From Disgrace
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 Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us.

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

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2024 Hearten Awards is:

Elk Love: A Montana Memoir

By Lynne Spriggs O’Connor

See the full list of 2024 First Place Hearten Winners here!

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Hearten Book Awards for Inspiring and Uplifting Narrative Non-Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

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

April 16 – 19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 16, 2025
The 2025 Hemingway Short List for Contemporary Wartime Fiction
The Hemingway Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of 20th and 21st Century Wartime Fiction. The Hemingway Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

The Hemingway Book Awards competition is named for Ernest Hemingway who was born July 21, 1899.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring 20th Century Wartime Fiction in Historical Fiction; Romance and Romantic Fiction; Mysteries, Thrillers, and Suspense Fiction of the time; Literary works and Satire and anything else that author imaginations can dream up for the HEMINGWAY Book Awards division. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

For Post-1750s Historical Fiction, see our Goethe Awards here. For other Historical Fiction categories, please see more details here.

These titles have moved forward from the 2025 HEMINGWAY Wartime Fiction Long List to the 2025 Hemingway Book Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Hemingway Semi-Finalists. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

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

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2025 Hemingway Book Awards novel competition for Wartime Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Adam Frosh – The Ghetto
- Chris Karlsen & Jennifer Conner – Broken Faces
- Don Jacobson – Ghost Flight: A World War II Pride and Prejudice Variation
- Dorothea N. Buckingham – Code Name Rascal
- Elizabeth Crowens – Round Up the Unusual Suspects
- Florence Chien – Hollow Whispers of the Wind
- Hillary Tiefer – The Secret Ranch
- J.A. Nunn – The Stuff What Actually Is
- Jacek Waliszewski – Code Name Trifecta
- Jane Loeb Rubin – Over There
- Jay A. Cornils – The Cross of Lorraine
- Jerena Tobiasen – Tsarina’s Jewels
- John Winn Miller – Rescue Run Capt. Jake Rogers Daring Return To Occupied Europe
- Kate Birkin – Ava and Shalom
- Kim Dempster – The Color of Mourning
- Kit Sergeant – The Doctor of Auschwitz the Powerful True Story of One Woman’s Courage
- Kyle Palmer – The Last Rival a Time of Our Choosing
- Leslie R. Schover – Fission a Novel of Atomic Heartbreak
- M. G. Lamb – The Deserters
- Mike H. Mizrahi – The Weight of Loyalty
- Ralph R. Rick Steinke – Vital Mission: A Jake Fortina Series Love Story
- Sergio Bossi and Paolo Zanardi – Wellington HZ182 When a Little Girl Defused the Bomb
- Sharon Maas – Soldier’s Girl
- Sherry Maysonave – Tatae’s Promise
- Steven Mayfield – Sixty Seconds
- Steven Schindler – Cover for Me
- Tim Rees – The Falklands Engagement
- Travis Davis – War on the Porch: A Doughboy’s Interview
- Wade Monk – The Imperfect Hand of Fate
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 Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

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

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

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Hemingway Grand Prize Winner

Of White Ashes

By Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto

Click here to see the full list of 2024 HEMINGWAY Book Award Winners for Wartime Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 HEMINGWAY Book Awards for Wartime Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

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

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

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 15, 2025
The 2025 Goethe Book Awards Short List for Late Historical Fiction
The Goethe Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Post-1750s Historical Fiction. The Goethe 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 Victorian, Georgian, Regency, International History, 20th Century, and all the possible historical topics that an author’s imagination can dream up for the Goethe Book Awards division. 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 from the 2025 Goethe Late Historical Fiction Long List to the 2025 Goethe Book Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Goethe Semi-Finalists. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

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

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2025 Goethe Book Awards novel competition for Late Historical Fiction!
- Alex Alvin – A Countess From Moscow
- Alice Mcveigh – Marianne a Sense and Sensibility Sequel
- Alina Rubin – A Girl with a Knife
- Allie Cresswell – Tall Chimneys
- Art Young – Downeyoshun
- Barbara Southard – Unruly Human Hearts
- BL Smith – The Unpleasantness on Orchard
- Bonnie Suchman – What Remains Is Hope
- Carol Nickles – Thumb Fire Desire
- Carolyn Summer Quinn – Once Upon a Safehouse
- Charlotte Whitney – A Tiny Piece of Blue a Novel
- Chris Bennett – The Road To Revolution
- Debra Lee – Pullman
- Domnica Radulescu – My Father’s Orchards
- Florence Chien – Hollow Whispers of the Wind
- Jerena Tobiasen – Tsarina’s Jewels
- Jessica Levine – Three Cousins
- Jill G. Hall – On a Sundown Sea a Novel of Madame Tingley and the Origins of Lomaland
- Joan Fernandez – Saving Vincent a Novel of Jo Van Gogh
- Joanne Howard – Sleeping in the Sun
- Katie Churchill-King – Prince of Wales Fort 1770
- Kelly Scarborough – Butterfly Games
- Kirsten Mickelwait – The Ashtrays Are Full and the Glasses Are Empty
- Lew Paper – Legacy of Lies an Historical Thriller
- Linda Cardillo – Paint the Wind
- M. E. Torrey – Fox Creek
- N.J. Mastro – Solitary Walker a Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft
- Natalie Musgrave Dossett – Sarita
- Pat Black-Gould and Steve Hardiman – All the Broken Angels
- Radu Guiasu – The Faraway Mountains
- Raquel Y. Levitt – The Seer
- Richard Leslie Brock – The House of Ilya
- Robert Kehlmann – The Rabbi’s Suitcase
- Robert L Jones – The Unbroken Trail
- S. Scott Anderson – The Scott Boys the Saga of the Scott Family in East Tennessee
- Sabrina Lund – Consequence of Power Isabella’s Season
- Suzanne Uttaro Samuels – Seeds of the Pomegranate
- Thomas M. Wing – In Harm’s Way
Congratulations once more to the 2024 Goethe Grand Prize Winner for Historical Fiction

Abigail’s Song

By Alina Rubin

Click here to see the full list of 2024 Goethe Book Award Winners for Late Historical Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Goethe Book Awards for Post-1750s Historical Fiction!

Please click here for more information.

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

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

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 12, 2025
The 2025 Book Series Awards Long List
The CIBA SERIES Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in any of our Fiction Divisions and Non-Fiction Divisions where the author has written a series. The Series Book Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs) is seeking for the best book series in all of the CIBA Divisions. 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 first look rounds from all 2025 Series Award entries to the 2025 Series Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Series Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

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

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Series Book Awards competition!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Alexandra Pugachevsky – Lilou the Shadyside Chronicles
- Baer Charlton – Nash Running Bear Mysteries
- Bruce J. Berger – The Covo Family Saga
- Charlotte Stuart – John Smith Mysteries
- D. J. Adamson – Lillian Dove Mystery Series
- Daniel Greene – The Northern Wolf Series
- Daniel V. Meier Jr. – Frank Adams Detective Series
- Donald Firesmith – Hell Holes: The Complete Trilogy
- Elizabeth Klein – Elizion Series
- Emeryl Williams – The Chosen of Bryndir Trilogy
- Eve M. Riley – The Techboys Series
- Gay Yellen – Samantha Newman Mystery Series
- Helena P. Schrader – Bridge To Tomorrow
- J. M. Shaw – Callum Walker Series
- J. W. Zarek – Bella Brown Picture Book Series
- Jeff Nania – Northern Lakes Mystery Series
- JJ Winston – The Anniversary
- Katherine Smith Dedrick – The V-Files
- Kathleen Troy – Dylan’s Dog Squad
- L. P. Hoffman – The Third Peril Trilogy
- Lawrence Brown – Vaka Sevah
- Lucinda Brant – Falling Series Enchanting Georgian Fairytale Romances of Sorts
- Matt Ozanich – The Tears of Promises
- Michael J Cooper – Seasons of Empire
- Michael J. Bowler – The Lance Chronicles
- Michaela Riley – The Witch’s Rebirth
- Michele L. Sayre – Darke Realms
- Mim Eichmann – A Sparrow Alone Series
- Ralph R. Rick Steinke – Jake Fortina Series
- Rene Fomby – A Moose Mcgillicutty Mystery
- Robert C Littlewood – The Balance Wars
- Ruth Amanda – Caribbean Coral Carols
- Ryan J. Southworth – The Treeborn Trilogy
- Sarah V. Barnes – She Who Rides Horses
- Sherry Roberts – The Galaxy According To Cece
- Vito Dibarone – Botheration Matty Weber
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 Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

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

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

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Series Grand Prize Winner

A Vengeful Realm

By Tim Facciola

Click here to see the full list of 2024 Series Book Award Winners.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Series Book Awards for Fiction and Non-Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

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

April 16 – 19, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 10, 2025
The 2025 Journey Short List for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction
The Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2025 Journey Non-Fiction Long List to the 2025 Journey Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2025 Journey Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC26).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 28 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 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2025 Journey Book Awards novel competition for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction!

Join us in celebrating the Long List authors and their works in the 2025 CIBAs.
- Amanda Carrasco – Becoming the Brave One
- Amy Mackin – Henry’s Classroom: a Special Education in American Motherhood
- Ana Hebra Flaster – Property of the Revolution: From a Cuban Barrio To a New Hampshire Mill Town
- Anne Abel – High Hopes
- Anselm Ezemson – Chasing Closure: a Life on the Edge of Belonging
- Baldur Einarsson – Ice and Fire: Thawing a Murderer’s Heart
- Barbara Jenkins – So Long As It’s Wild
- Beth Granger – Born and Razed: Surviving the Cult Was Only Half the Battle
- Brandi Dredge – Girl Uncoded: a Memoir of Passion Betrayal and Eventual Blessings
- Brian J. Quattlebaum – A Mad Box of Rain
- Carl Gorham – My Life in a Garden: Love, Loss, and Mulch: a Single Dad Seeks Answers in Nature
- Carol Odell, LICSW – Girl Groomed: a Therapist’s Memoir of Trauma
- Carolyn Saletto – One Hazel Green Eye
- Casey Mulligan Walsh – The Full Catastrophe: All I Ever Wanted Everything I Feared
- Chanchal Garg – Unearthed: the Lies We Carry & the Truths They Bury
- Cheryl Landes – The Best I Can Do: A True Story of Navigating the Complexities of Mental Illness and Homelessness
- Christine Amoroso – Bare Naked in Public: a Memoir
- Cynthia Moore – Dancing on Coals: a Memoir of an Overperformer
- Cynthia Waine Brandt – Song of the Cardinal: a True Story of Miracles and Magic After Heartbreaking Loss
- Damien Thompson – And Then I Would Fly
- Debbie Hartung – The Factory of Maladies: Seven Days on a San Francisco Psych Ward
- Deborah M. Foster – What’s So Bad About Being Poor: Our Lives in the Shadows of the Poverty Experts
- Diane C Pomerantz Ph.D. – Lost in the Reflecting Pool: Surviving Narcissistic Emotional Abuse
- Emily Sayre Smith – Smartass: Memoir of a Mouthy Girl
- Franke James – Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me
- Gavin O’Donnell – Father’s Day
- Heidi Yewman – Dumb Girl
- Hendrika De Vries – Open Turns
- Jacquelyn Dickey – The Dash
- Jane Cafarella – Cleaved: a Story of Loss, Legs, and Finding Family
- Janine Kovac – The Nutcracker Chronicles
- Jennifer Celeste Briggs – Watching Sarah Rise a Journey of Thriving with Autism
- Julie Randall – Patient 71: an Inspiring True Story of a Mother’s Love That Fueled Her Fight To Stay Alive
- Kathy Sechrist – Sara’s Redemption: A Journey of Courage Resilience and Hope
- Kelly-Anne Kerley – Breaking Up with My Wheelchair
- Lucie Frost – How the Hell Did I Not Know That: My Midlife Year From Couch To Curiosity
- Marti Tote – Can You Ride a Raindrop To the Ocean
- Mary Garden – My Father’s Suitcase
- Mary Jumbelic M.D. – Speak Her Name
- Mia Bolton – As We Bloom: Wisdom From Extraordinary Everyday Women & Gender Nonconforming People
- Mitchell Raff – Little Boy I Know Your Name
- Nin Mok – Suddenly Silent and Still
- Peter Flom – Twice as Weird: A Memoir about Twice Exceptionality
- PJ Hamilton – From the Piney Woods 2nd Edition
- Robert Carney – Unscarred
- Robert Macauley – Because I Knew You: How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor’s Soul
- Ryan Mcdermott – Downriver: Memoir of a Warrior Poet
- Sondra R. Brooks – Not Good Enough Girl: A Memoir of an Inconvenient Daughter
- Stacey Hettes – Dispatches From the Couch
- Steven Simmons Shelton, MA, JD – Memoir of a Mangled Mind: How Concealing My Dissociative Identity Disorder Unleashed Multiple Personalities
- Wendy Crockett and Ian McPhee – Pushing Miles: A chronicle of Motorcycles, Mayhem, and Mettle
- Wilma Macliver – Life Behind the Masks
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 Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us.

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

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2024 JOURNEY Awards is:

Unfollow Me

By Kathryn Caraway

See the full list of 2024 First Place Journey Winners here!

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Journey Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

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

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

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

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 8, 2025
The 2025 Collections and Anthologies Long List
The Collections and Anthologies Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Short Story Collections. The Collections and Anthologies Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Collections and Anthologies Awards discovers the Best New Short Form Collections in Fiction, Narrative Non-Fiction, Poetry Collections and Multi-Author Anthologies. 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 from all of the 2025 Collections and Anthologies entries to the 2025 Collections and Anthologies Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Collections and Anthologies Award Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

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

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Collections and Anthologies Book Awards novel competition!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Aj Watson – False Sight
- Brittany Micka-Foos – It’s No Fun Anymore
- Carol Van Den Hende – Dear Orchid
- Chad Boles – Adrift in Skinny Water
- Charlie Steel – Three Days Under the Sun and Other Tales of the Old West
- Christy Matheson – The Horned Women and Other Stories Contemporary Retellings of Irish Fairy Tales
- David Bush – General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms
- David C. Metz – Nick and Lorraine Were Lovers Stories
- Dreena Collins – Life Lines and Other Stories
- Jalyn Renae Fiske – Side Quest Stories
- Janet K. Shawgo – My Sister’s Quilt
- Jason Colpitts – The Meaning of Beauty and Other Short Stories Anthology
- Jess Anselment – Strong Heart a Story of Coming Home
- John Bukowski – Shadows and Dust
- Jude Berman – Shot a Dictionary of the Lost
- Julia Marie Davis – Catbird
- Kat Farrow – Dark Threads a Gathering of Dark Fantasy Tales Vol. 1
- Lee Orlich Bertram – Insistence Persistence and Resistance
- Linda Lee Keenan – Dancing with Angels True Stories of the Unexpected
- Lisa Clute – Monsters Under the Magnolias
- Maggie Enriquez – The Rebirth of a Phoenix
- Mary Paula Hunter – Can I Have a Hug First
- Nancy Joie Wilkie – The River Keeper and Other Tales
- Natia Khaduri – And You Cannot Tell Me Why I Must Not Love You Anymore
- Olga Podoprigora – The Banana From Space and Other Stories From Riverstone
- Paris Rosemont – Barefoot Poetess
- Radu Guiasu – A Good Day and Other Mostly Humorous Stories and Lists
- Rich Elliott – The Secret History of Famous People
- Stephen C. Pollock – Exits
- Theresa Griffin Kennedy – We Learned To Live in the Castle Stories
Congratulations once more to the 2024 SEA Shorts Grand Prize Winner

Dream Rut

By Dr. Yumiko Shimabakuro

Illustrated by Jieyu Deng

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Collections and Anthologies Book Awards for Short Fiction and Non-Fiction Collections, Poetry Collections, and Anthologies!

Please click here for more information.

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

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

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

Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
December 5, 2025