Category: Contest News

  • The Chaucer 2022 Long List for Early Historical Fiction

    The Chaucer 2022 Long List for Early Historical Fiction

    A picture of Geoffery Chaucer as a white man with a gray goatee with the words "Chaucer Awards" across the bottom

    The Chaucer Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in pre-1750s Historical Fiction.  The Chaucer Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (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 in the judging rounds from all 2022 Chaucer Early Historical Fiction entries to the 2022 Chaucer Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2022 Chaucer Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. All FINALISTS will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. Winners 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 April 29, 2023, at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2022 Chaucer Book Awards novel competition for Pre-1750s Early Historical Fiction!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.

    • Patrice Adair – The Viking Girl
    • Eric Schumacher Ramirez – The Hummingbird & The Serpent
    • Aaron Mead – Neither Slave nor Free
    • Regan Walker – Bound by Honor, Book 2 in The Clan Donald Saga
    • David Bush – General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms
    • Daniel V. Meier, Jr. – Bloodroot
    • GK Johnson – The Zealots
    • Kerry Chaput – Daughter of the King
    • Tonya Ulynn Brown – The King’s Inquisitor
    • A. M. Linden – The Valley: Book Two of the Druid Chronicles
    • Jean Gill – The Ring Breaker
    • Patricia Bernstein – A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower
    • Lee Swanson – A Dangerous Journey Home
    • Meredith Allard – Down Salem Way
    • Elizabeth R. Andersen – The Scribe
    • Brigitte Goldstein – Princess of the Blood – A Tapestry of Love and War in 16th-Century France
    • Rozsa Gaston – Anne and Louis Forever Bound
    • Amy Maroney – Sea of Shadows
    • Amy Maroney – Island of Gold
    • Karen Martin – Dancing the Labyrinth
    • Kelly Evans – Unfinished: The Inspired Life of Elisabetta Sirani
    • Donna Scott – The Tacksman’s Daughter
    • Mary Ann Bernal – Forgiving Nero
    • Eileen Stephenson – Imperial Passions – The Great Palace
    • Philip Remus – Collegium, Brotherhood of Rogues
    • M.D. House – The Barabbas Legacy
    • Cindy Burkart Maynard – Finding the Way
    • Rebecca Kightlinger – Megge of Bury Down: The Bury Down Chronicles, Book One
    • Susanne Dunlap – Voices in the Mist
    • Philip Remus – Gods of Men, Where the Spartans are Made
    • Mack Little – Daughter of Hades
    • Prue Batten – Reliquary – Book One of The Peregrinus Series
    • Alexander Geiger – Immortal Alexandros 
    • Anna Belfrage – The Castilian Pomegranate
    • Andrew Rowen – Columbus and Caonabó: 1493-1498 Retold

    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

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

     

     

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 CHAUCER Awards is Too Soon the Night by James Conroyd Martin

    Too soon the night cover

    Too soon the night Grand Prize Badge

    Click here to see the 2021 Chaucer Book Award Winners for Early Historical Fiction.

    We are now accepting submissions for the 2023 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Early Historical Fiction. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023. 

    Please click here to submit to the 2023 Chaucer Awards

    For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:

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

    a Wreath surrounds CAC 2023 for the Chanticleer Authors Conference

    April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

    FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

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

    As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com. 

  • The 2022 Laramie Book Awards Long List for Americana Fiction – a division of the 2022 CIBAs

    The 2022 Laramie Book Awards Long List for Americana Fiction – a division of the 2022 CIBAs

    Laramie Americana, Western Pioneer, Civil War Fiction Award

    The Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Americana and Westerns fiction genre.  The Laramie Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (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 judging rounds from all 2022 Laramie Americana entries to the 2022 Laramie Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2022 Laramie Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. 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 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference. 

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2022 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!

    • Jerry E. Bustin – Outlaws, Renegades, and Prickly Pear Jam
    • Pamela Nowak – Necessary Deceptions: The Women of Wyatt Earp
    • Shanna Hatfield – Distracting the Deputy
    • James W McDonopugh – A Distant Ridge
    • Bruce Gardner – Seeing Glory: A Novel of Family Strife, Faith, and the American Civil War
    • David Nix – Dead Man’s Hand
    • E. Alan Fleischauer – JTs World
    • Susan Higginbotham – John Brown’s Women: A Novel
    • Debra Whiting Alexander – A River for Gemma
    • T.K. Conklin – Guarded Hearts
    • Larry Boucher – Ferris Station
    • Larry Boucher – The Scout
    • Ed Davis – The Last Professional
    • E. Alan Fleischauer – How the West Was Won then Lost …. Decimation
    • M.J. Hayes – Son of the Mountain
    • Sophia Alexander – Tapestry: A Lowcountry Rapunzel
    • Gail Hertzog – Crossing the Ford
    • Dena Smallwood – Syrie
    • Betty Willis – Texas Quest
    • Shanna Hatfield – Holiday Hope
    • Susanna Lane – Imperfect Promise
    • Eileen Charbonneau – Ursula’s Inheritance
    • Harriet Cannon – Exiled South
    • Margaret Arross – The Priest and the Charlatan
    • Margaret Arross – El Viento
    • Daniel Greene – Northern Blood (Northern Wolf Series Book 3)

    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.

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

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 LARAMIE Awards is Tom Sawyer Returns by E.E. Burke

    Click here to see the 2021 Laramie Book Award Winners for Americana Fiction.

    We are now accepting submissions for the 2023 Laramie Book Awards for Americana Fiction.

    Please click here for more information.

    For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:

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

    CAC23 – Turn it up to 11! 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!

    As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com. 

  • The M&M 2022 Long List for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries

    The M&M 2022 Long List for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries

    The M&M Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Cozy and not-so-Cozy Mystery & Mayhem. The M&M Book  Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

    Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring “mystery and mayhem,” amateur sleuthing, light suspense, travel mystery, classic mystery, British cozy, hobby sleuths, senior sleuths, or historical mystery, perhaps with a touch of romance or humor. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. (For suspense, thriller, detective, crime fiction see our Clue Awards.)

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 M&M entries to the 2022 M&M Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for 2022 M&M Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the next level of achievement in the CIBAs. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBAs divisions’ Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremonies on April, 27-30, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. at the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

    These titles have advanced to the LONG LIST of the 2022 M&M Book Awards for Mystery & Mayhem

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

    • Scott Kauffman – Saving Thomas
    • Miriam Verbeek – The Website
    • Michelle Cox – A Spying Eye
    • Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Book of Rules
    • Lori Roberts Herbst – Frozen in Motion
    • Kathleen Kaska – Murder at the Menger and Eagle Crossing
    • Eileen Charbonneau – Missing at Harmony Festival
    • Nancy J. Cohen – Styled for Murder
    • Charlotte Stuart – Not Me: Speluncaphobia, Secrets & Hidden Treasure
    • Charlotte Stuart – Moonlight Can Be Deadly (A Discount Detective Mystery)
    • M. A. Winslow – Cradle of Storms
    • Sallie Barr Palmer – Name Your Poison
    • Nicole Asselin – Concession Stand Crimes
    • Tony Garritano – I Saw What I Saw: A Harmony Neighborhood Mystery
    • AG Flitcher – Boone and Jacque: Cytrus Moonlight
    • Elizabeth Crowens – Hollywood Holmes
    • Lynn Slaughter – Deadly Setup
    • Doug Dorsey – Kick Ball Slay: An Introduction To West Coast Swing…AND A Murder Mystery
    • Cheryl Denise Bannerman – Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping
    • Rima Ray – Ruby Roy and the Murder in the Falls
    • Roxanne Dunn – Murder Undetected
    • Susan Wingate – Gag Me: A Friday Harbor Novel
    • Landis Wade – Deadly Declarations
    • Judy L Murray – Murder in the Master
    • Jen Shieff – The Final Call
    • Dime Sheppard – Crime Writer
    • Betty Jean Craige – Life and Death at Zoo Arroyo
    • TJ Stecker – Dishonored
    • Henry G. Brinton – Windows of the Heavens
    • Lori Robbins – Murder in Second Position
    • Traci Andrighetti – Valpolicella Violet
    • Gail Meath – Songbird
    • Betty Jean Craige – Death in Potter’s Woods
    • Kathleen Rhoads Carpenter – Summer’s Cloud Over Berry
    • E.E. Burke – Tom Sawyer Returns
    • M. K Graff – The Evening’s Amethyst: A Nora Tierney English Mystery
    • Carl and Jane Bock – Grace Fully
    • Carl and Jane Bock – Day of the Jaguar
    • Elizabeth Woolsey – Horse Doctor Adventures Small Town Secrets
    • M. K. Dean – An Embarrassment of Itches
    • Ellen Butler – Pharaoh’s Forgery

    Good Luck to All as Your Works Compete to Advance to the Next Level of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.


    Congratulations to Michale Scott Garvin whose work Ophelia’s Room took home the Grand Prize for the 2021 M&M Book Awards

    Blue and Gold Badge for the M&M Grand Prize Winner Michael Scott Garvin's book Ophelia's Room

    Ophelia's Room Cover

    “Michael Scott Garvin’s latest psychological thriller makes us question everything – and trust no one. Here’s one that will keep you up at night! Highly Recommended! – Chanticleer Reviews

    Here is the link to the 2021 M&M Book Award Winners!

    Our next Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremony will be held during CAC23 on April 27-30, 2023  for the 2022 CIBA winners.

    Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

    We are now accepting entries into the 2023 M&M Book Awards, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

    As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com. 

  • Back to School with the Little Peeps Awards that Recognize the Best Early Readers and Picture Books – Chanticleer Hall of Fame!

    Start your Early Readers out right with the Winners of the Chanticleer Little Peeps Awards—a Diverse and Imaginative Collection!

    A Grand Prize Badge, the Little Peeps Badge, and a Trophy with the Words Little Peeps Hall of Fame, Good Books for Kids Matter

    Back-to-school books are easier than ever for those who are just learning to read as we can look at the marvelous First Place and Grand Prize Winners of The Little Peeps Awards!

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience for Early Readers with the Little Peeps. Story books, Beginning Chapter Books, Picture Books, Activity Books, and Educational Books. These books have advanced to the Long List for the 2021 CIBAs. (For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards, for Middle Grade Readers see our Gertrude Warner Awards.)

    The Following our the Little Peeps Grand Prize Winners over the past 5 years!

    Victoria and the Big Brave Breath

    Victoria and the Big, Brave Breath 

    by Andrea Vaughan

    Andrea Vaughan’s Victoria and the Big Brave Breath is a beautifully illustrated children’s book, written to ease conversations about anxiety and worry with a child.

    This story teaches children how to calm their nerves by focusing on their breath, using a clever onomatopoeia to help. Vaughn’s book is a timely must-read!

    Victoria and the Big, Brave Breath starts with a little girl named Victoria recognizing that she is often worried. She lists examples (trying new foods, going to the doctor, playing in the park) of her anxieties. Physically-speaking, Victoria’s hands sweat, her knees shake and her tummy hurts when her feelings appear. Her teddy bear best friend Baxter has a suggestion for her to ease these unfamiliar (and uncomfortable) feelings.

    See the full list of 2021 Winners here. 

    Great as a Button Cover

    Great As A Button

    By Masoud Malekyari

    Masoud Malekyari’s Great As a Button is a delightful children’s book that places a soulful little plastic adornment at center stage in a thought-provoking story that offers up a positive lesson about self-worth.

    This tale unfolds from a first person POV as a lonely, black plastic button that falls off a shirt. The button ruminates over its plight of feeling too plain to be noticed, and wishes perhaps to be a sock, a key, or a pair of glasses, i.e., a more important item that the button surmises someone would go out of their way to look for.

    Amidst encounters with an inquisitive dog and some playful ants, the button has longings to reside in a big castle while adorning a king’s coat, or to sail across the ocean while attached to a boat captain’s slicker. Fate suggests that the button might be in trouble if snatched up by birds; lucky if used by a seamstress; or forlorn when not chosen like the more ornate accessories in a tailor’s shop. When given to a young boy, surprising opportunities send the button in an unexpected direction where ultimately, he discovers newfound importance on a sunny winter’s day.

    See the Full List of 2020 Winners here!

    Galdo's Gift Cover

    Galdo’s Gift: The Boovie

    By Trevor Young & Eleanor Long

    In Galdo’s Gift: The Boovie, Eleanor Long & Trevor Young create an interactive animated story that helps children learn about their unique gifts through an imaginative tale and diverse vocabulary.

    The first page opens with a poem sharing a personalized gift with the reader. Then, we meet the frog King, and his kingdom Galdovia. His land is “where the wild wind whistles while the songbird sings” and he narrates the story, voiced by Brian Murphy.

    The townsfolk of Galdovia move on the page in textured illustrations. They need a hero to undertake an important adventure, with the promise of a gift from the King to whoever completes this quest. Enter four great heroes who start their journeys in the hope of earning the King’s reward.

    Tapocketa is pleased and excited to be supported by Creative Enterprise 2022. This support will enable us to explore and build knowledge in the possibilities for our work in combining AR, animation and print media. Visit their site for more information on the interactive journey that is Galdo’s Gift. www.tapocketa.com

    See the Full List of 2019 Winners here!

    The Tooth Collector Fairies: Home from Decay Valley

    By Denise Ditto

    The need for good dental care and its effect on the tooth fairies working behind the scenes is colorfully highlighted in this action-packed book for children of all ages.

    Author Denise Ditto has created a delightful fantasy realm where fairies — like the prankster Jolene, the dedicated Batina, and proud, fast-flying Lucas — learn to collect and process teeth left for them by children everywhere. Jolene has finally gotten her Tooth Collector credentials and can join friends in their assignments. The story follows Batina into the messy room of a boy named Scooter, whose tooth shows signs of deplorable brushing habits. When she brings the tooth back to Brushelot for inspection, she fears the worst.

    Sure enough, Batina is banished to Decay Valley until Scooter learns how to treat his teeth better, based on a letter she will leave for him encouraging better habits. Meanwhile, Jolene, who tried to help Batina by painting the ugly tooth white, is in big trouble with Crown Mistress Molar. Lucas, the fastest flyer, delivers Batina’s note to Scooter. But who will collect Scooter’s next tooth and rescue Batina from Decay Valley?

    https://www.toothcollectorfairies.com/ Denise Ditto, a native Texan, is a freelance writer who loves writing for children. She started working on The Tooth Collector Fairies series in 2012. She also enjoys writing about a variety of other topics, often focusing on recollections from her childhood and growing up in Houston. Her short story The Art of Ironing was published in OMG, That Woman!, a woman’s fiction anthology released in April 2013. Her short story City of Angels was published in Tales of Texas Short Stories Volume 2 – 2019.

    Denise recently retired her position of Exe Director at Houston Writers House to concentrate on her writing.  She is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is the American Business Women’s Association – Woven since 2012.

    See the Full List of 2018 Winners Here!

    Lessons from a Cat: The Moon and Star; Midnight and Moonlight 

    By Peggy Sullivan, M. Ed.

    In Peggy Sullivan’s award-winning book, The Moon and Star: Lessons From a Cat, readers learn how a charming, tiny white cat finds solace in her connection with the Moon as she goes through life’s challenges and changes.

    Star lives happily with a tall girl and two other cats. She runs, dances, and hunts for goldfish in a backyard pond. But this mindful cat soon realizes that life is full of unpredictable circumstances. Though she moves to a college town and has new and fun experiences, Star feels sad when she loses a feline friend, even more so when the tall girl goes off on her adventures.

    Luckily Star is a cat with an attraction to the Moon. Its magical glow helps the little cat gain a sense of calm.  The peacefulness Star feels stays with her, regardless of changes in her life or surroundings. Though Star and the tall girl move many more times, this sensitive cat realizes the light of the Moon offers a unique sense of serenity wherever her journey takes her.

    Peggy Sullivan is a licensed mental health counselor (retired), relationship and children’s expert, mother, and lover of cats.  She retired from Okanogan County Juvenile Department after serving as the staff guardian ad litem, court services manager and CASA program director.  She recently retired from her private mental health counseling practice in Bellingham, Washington.  She makes her home in a cozy cottage amidst old growth cedar trees with her two Russian Blue cat sisters.

    See the Full List of 2017 Winners Here!

    Little Peeps Grand Prize Badge. Blue outlined with Gold for Victoria and the Big Brave Breath by Andrea Vaughan

    Again, a huge congratulations to Andrea Vaughan, the most recent Little Peeps Grand Prize Winner. We are honored to continue to promote and celebrate the winning books of the CIBAs.


    The Little Peeps Badge features two little chicks, fresh from their egg

    Have a Heartwarming story that kids need to read? The Little Peeps Awards closes at the end of September! Submit today!

    Chanticleerians in the News? We love celebrating our Chanticleer Authors! Anytime you have something to crow about, email us at info@ChantiReviews.com to let us know!

    2021 Overall Grand Prize Winner’s Book now being performed as a play in California

    Nellie Bly Award First Place and Grand Prize Winner featured across the nation

    Laramie Grand Prize Winner spotlighted by the Mark Twain House Museum

    Grand Prize Winner for the Shorts Collections Awarded Artistic Grant in New York

    From Little Peeps and beyond, we’re proud to have you as part of our community!

     

  • The CYGNUS 2022 CIBAs Long List for Science Fiction

    The CYGNUS 2022 CIBAs Long List for Science Fiction

    Cygnus Award 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 entries  to the 2022 Cygnus Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2022 Cygnus 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, CAC23.

    a Wreath surrounds CAC 2023 for the Chanticleer Authors Conference
    Save the Date! CAC23 is April 27-30, 2023 at the Hotel Bellwether

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST 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
    • Sebastian Dax – Grasp of Erebus
    • 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
    • Steven Paul Terry – Star Revelations
    • 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
    • Sandra J. Jackson – Dancing in the Wind, Book 3 Escape Series
    • Dana Hayward – Entropy
    • John J. Spearman – Pike’s Passage
    • Steve Ramirez – The Great Migration
    • E. R. Harris – Surf the Milky Way
    • U.W. Leo – ARKO: The Dark Union (A Sci-fi Adventure Series)
    • Fulmer/Proto Dagg – Terminus
    • J. B. Christensen – Dylan McLeod-Vexor City
    • Lucien Telford – The Sequence
    • Kristopher Clewell – The Penrose Triangle
    • Wilson Whitlow – Consent, Vol. 1: Erdos
    • Chris Black – NORAD’s Ghost
    • Joanna Evans – Sinai Unhinged
    • James McGill Jr – The Alien Agenda: The Earth is a Garden
    • Prescott Harvey – In Beta
    • Alex Usher – The Age Of Obsidian
    • 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. 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.

    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!

    A Collage of Speakers and Blue Ribbon Winners for CAC23

  • Stuck in the Middle with You – Defining the Middle-Grade Books Genre | The Gertrude Warner Awards

    Just What Makes a Middle-Grade Book Middle-Grade?

    While we aren’t actually “Stuck in the Middle” as the Stealers Wheel might say, we can always stand to learn a little more about the genres we write in.

    The Stealers Wheel: Decent band? Sure! Middle Grade Authors? Not quite…

    As many authors of literature meant for youth know, Middle Grade sits in that small spot between Children’s Literature and Young Adult – quite literally in the middle of these two genres. The target age for this work is 8-12 years old.

    We have a couple of key recommendations for creating excellent work that will hold the attention of this tenacious age group.

    The Middle Grade Basics

    Various Vials with the words Problem, Charcter, Resistance, and Conflict inside them

    There are guidelines for every genre, and, while they can bend, if you find yourself breaking them regularly, you might need to double-check if you’re actually writing in the genre that’s best for you.

    These suggestions will let people know your book fits in the Middle Grade Genre:

    • Length of 30,000-50,000 words
    • Content is clean with no profanity or sexual activity (crushes and first kisses are okay)
    • The age of the main character is close in age to the reader, about 10-14 years old
    • The story is immediate; characters may have minor interiority, but reactions to the world at large is the most important
    • The story should feature experiences that the pre-teen and tween has experienced in their own lives even if the story is fantasy (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone or Percy Jackson and the Olympians) or real-life (Diary of a Wimpy Kid). Examples are: friendships lost and made, school experiences, family circumstances, and learning about the “wide world outside of oneself.”
    • Is it a story that the reader (even if older) can place him/her self in? Total immersion.

    There are some exceptions to these rules, especially in different genres, like Science Fiction and Fantasy, which both tend to have longer word requirements. However, following the convention of a genre doesn’t just show agents and editors that your work fits with what they can sell, it meets reader expectations.

    If you have ever tried to find clothing and or gifts for this “tween” age, you know just how hard it is and how limited the selections are. And how hard it is to find something the tween will like as this is the age when they start to develop their own tastes and preferences.

    Treat Your Readers with Respect

    No one can spot someone talking down to them better than a Middle Grade Reader. They have a foolproof radar and can tell when authors are overexplaining or, worse, condescending to them.

    A Young Person Asleep on their computer
    Don’t put your readers to sleep!

    Children ages 8-12 are smart and hungry for excellent writing! They are thoughtful, clever, and it’s worth it to tell them good stories.

    This comes to having good beta readers and a solid Manuscript Overview to ensure you have a working plot before you move onto Line Editing and then the final polishing. Respecting your Reader and their time is the golden rule of any writing.

    The Story Must Move

    Stanley Yelnats in Court in the movie Holes
    Stanley Yelnats in the movie adaptation of Holes is told he must either choose reform camp or jail for a crime he didn’t commit

    That last bullet point in the basics section says the story is immediate.

    Younger readers love action – your characters need to react and act in response to the world around them. Publisher’s Weekly quotes Scholastic associate publisher Abby McAden on the topic:

    “Middle grade is for truly independent, confident readers, whereas chapter books are all about building that confidence. Stories that often revolve around friendship and deeper exploration of themes and emotions. Kids’ abilities to articulate their inner lives develop over time and are at least somewhat built on experiences they have had or are having. There’s a frame of reference a 10-year-old has that a seven-year-old doesn’t yet. Year over year, kids become ready to look around and explore alternate experiences, and I think middle grade is a giant leap forward in that process.”

    And good authors will leap with them as those young readers dive into the larger world.

    Read from the Best

    A Pair of hands writing in a notebook with the words "Read from the Best" above

    The best way to begin and continue to excel in a genre is to read, read, read. Several attendees at the Chanticleer Authors Conference mentioned they had started reading the entire Finalist List for their Division, not just for the pure sake of pleasure, but to better understand what their peers where doing and what the competition really looked like.

    Our 2021 Gertrude Warner Grand Prize Winner for Middle Grade Readers was Murray Richter’s book Fishing For Luck.

    Fishing for Luck Cover
    Read it Here!

    Kevin’s awesome life consisted of three things: fantastic fishing, hanging out with his ever-pranking friends, and having fun with the coolest mentor ever. But when the scariest piece of his past resurfaces, his world changes. Will Kevin be able to find his voice and the courage to overcome things too evil to speak of, or will he lose his friends, family, and everything else important to him?

    What Chanticleer has to say! Review is forthcoming!

    A fast-paced novel of amazing sorts! A great book for young readers that will keep your head spinning and guessing what will happen next!

    Need even more reads? See the full list of Gertrude Warner Winners here!

    Got a Great Middle Grade Read?

    The Boxcar Children from the famed series by Gertrude Warner
    Middle Grade Books
    September 30, 2022
    Enter Here

    The Gertrude Warner Awards are open through the end of September! Submit today!

  • Awardingly August! Three CIBA Divisions Close in August! Don’t Miss Out!

    Awardingly August! Three CIBA Divisions Close in August! Don’t Miss Out!

    Submitting your writing for a Book Award is pretty cool!

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

    Dante Rossetti Gold Foil Grand Prize Book Sticker

    In August we have three submission deadlines coming up:

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

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

    Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction

    TARO Legendary Boy Hero of Japan Dante Rossetti Grand Prize Badge

    Blue Spruell’s TARŌ: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan

    Taro Cover

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

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

     

    See the full list of Dante Rossetti Winners here

    Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle Grade Readers

    Murray Richter’s Fishing for Luck

    Fishing for Luck Cover

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

    See the full list of Gertrude Warner Winners here

    Chatelaine Book Awards for Romantic Fiction

    Alex Sirotkin’s Long Desert Road

    The Long Desert Road Cover

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

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

    See the full list of Chatelaine Winners here

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

    Don’t Delay! Enter today!

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

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

    You Know You Want It

    What do our authors have to say about it?

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

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

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

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

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

    The CIBAs are waiting. Enter today!

     SEPTEMBER SUBMISSION DEADLINES ARE FAST APPROACHING! 

     

    The 2022 Division Award Grand Prize and First Place Winners for the each of the Divisions of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards will be ANNOUNCED on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, Bellingham, Wash.

     

  • 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!

    A pyramid showing the different levels of CIBA Achievement

     

    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.


    Journey Narrative Non-Fiction

    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  

    I&I or Instruction & Insight Awards CIBA Badge

     

    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-BanksBlack Foster Youth Handbook Cover

    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 Military & Front Line Grand Prize Badge

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

    Dear Bob Cover

    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

    Nellie Bly Awards

    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 Nellie Bly Grand Prize Badge

     

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

    America's Forgotten Suffragists Virginia and Francis Minor Cover

    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

    Three Black stripes on a yellow badge CIBA Badge

    The HARVEY CHUTE Book Awards

    for Business & Enterprise Non-Fiction 

    Grand Prize Winner is

    Beyond Balancing the Books Harvey Chute Grand Prize Badge

    BEYOND BALANCING THE BOOKS by George Marino

    Balancing the Books Cover Image

     

    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

    Mind and Spirit Non-Fiction Awards

    The MIND & SPIRIT Book Awards

    for Spirituality and Enlightenment Non-Fiction

    Grand Prize Winner is

    Grand Prize Badge for Enlighten Up by Beth Gibbs

    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

    2021 Heart Grand Prize Badge for DAWGS by Diane Trull and Meredith Wargo

     

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

    Cover of DAWGS

     

    The Hearten First Place Category Winners are:

     


    The SHORT STORY Book Awards

    for the CIBA Short Story Collections

    Grand Prize Winner is

    New York Give me your best or your worst Shorts (collections) Grand Prize Badge

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

    New York Give me your best or your worst cover

     

    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

    Grand Prize Badge for Toni Ann Johnson's Homegoing

     

    HOMEGOING by Toni Ann Johnson

    Homegoing Cover

    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

    The three books in the Guinevere's Tale Trilogy

    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! 

      The 2021 CIBA Overall Grand Prize Winner

      And NOW for the 

      2021 CHANTICLEER INT’L BOOK AWARDS

      BEST BOOK

      and

      OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER

      The Devil Pulls the Strings Book Cover

      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

    • Part Two of The 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners

      Part Two 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 second of three official postings.

      The winners were recognized at the CIBA ceremony held on June 25th, 2022 In-Person and broadcast live via ZOOM at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

       

      The CIBA announcements were made LIVE with Chanticleerians flying in and watching from around the globe and North America.

      We cheered on the CIBA winners with our drink of choice, whether in-person or Virtual!

      Btw, Kiffer’s favorite Champagne!

      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!

      A pyramid showing the different levels of CIBA Achievement

       

      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 2021—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 Laramie, Chaucer, Goethe, Hemingway, Chatelaine, Mark Twain, and Somerset 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 Journey, Hearten, Nellie Bly, I&I, Mind & Spirit, Harvey Chute, Military & Frontline, Series, and Shorts Book Awards, place click here for Part 3

      Coveted Chanticleer Blue Ribbons!

      We are honored to present the

      2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards

      Grand Prize Winners 

      The 2021 CIBA Winners! 

       


       

      Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction Award

      The LARAMIE Book Awards for

      American, Western, Pioneer, Civil War, and First Nation Novels

      The Grand Prize Winner is

      TOM SAWYER RETURNS by E.E. Burke

       


      The Chaucer Awards for Historical Novels

      The CHAUCER Book Awards for

      Pre-1750s Historical Fiction 

      Grand Prize Winner is

      Too soon the night Grand Prize Badge

       

      TOO SOON THE NIGHT by James Conroyd Martin

      Too soon the night cover

       

      • John A. Martino and Michael P. O’Kane – Olympia: The Birth of the Games
      • Janet Wertman – The Boy King
      • Wendy J. Dunn – Falling Pomegranate Seeds: All Manner of Things
      • Rebecca D’Harlingue – The Lines Between Us: A Novel
      • Patricia Bracewell – The Steel Beneath the Silk
      • James Hutson-Wiley – The Travels of ibn Thomas

      Post 1750s Historical Fiction Award

      The GOETHE Book Awards for

      Post-1750’s Historical Fiction 

      Grand Prize Winner is

      After the Rising Goethe Grand Prize Badge

      AFTER THE RISING by Orna Ross

      After the Rising Cover

       

      • Ron Singerton – The Refused
      • Drema Drudge – Victorine
      • Lee Hutch – Molly’s Song
      • Adele Holmes, M.D. – Winter’s Reckoning
      • Mike Jordan – The Freedom Song
      • Michelle Rene – Maud’s Circus

      Ernest Hemingway looking off to the right

      The HEMINGWAY Book Awards for

      20th Century Wartime Fiction

      Grand Prize Winner is

      EO-N Hemingway Grand Prize Badge

       

      EO-N by Dave Mason

      EO-N Cover

       

      • Murray Pura & Patrick E. Craig – Far On The Ringing Plains
      • Marian Exall – Daughters of War
      • Marina Osipova – Too Many Wolves in the Local Woods
      • Richard Alan Schwartz – The Soldier: A Novel of the Vietnam War Era
      • Jerena Tobiasen – The Emerald, Book II of The Prophecy    

       

      Romance Fiction Award

      The CHATELAINE Book Awards for

      Romantic Fiction and Women’s Fiction

      Grand Prize Winner is

      The Long Desert Road Chatelaine Grand Prize Award Badge

       

      THE LONG DESERT ROAD by Alex Sirotkin

      The Long Desert Road Cover

       

      • Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Breath, Book One in the Desert Hills Trilogy
      • Valerie Taylor – What’s Not Said — A Novel
      • Evie Alexander – Highland Games
      • Tina Sloan – Chasing Cleopatra
      • Kana Wu – No Secrets Allowed
      • Emma Lombard – Discerning Grace
      • John W. Feist – The Color of Rain

       

      The MARK TWAIN Book Awards

      for Humor and Satire

      Grand Prize Winner is

      Certified Mark Twain Grand Prize Badge

       

      CERTIFIED by Roger Wilson-Crane

      Certified Cover

       

      Blue and Gold Mark Twain First Place Winner Badge for Best in Category

      • Charlie Suisman – Hot Air
      • Elizabeth Crowens – Babs and Basil, and the Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles
      • Lou Dischler – My Only Sunshine: Getting Straight with the Bomb
      • Andy Becker – The Kissing Rabbi: Lust, Betrayal, and a Community Turned Inside Out
      • Anne Pfeffer – Binge  

      The SOMERSET Book Awards

      for Literary, Contemporary, and Mainstream Fiction

      Grand Prize Winner is

      Lies in Bone

       

      LIES IN BONE by Natalie Symons

      Lies in Bone Cover

       

      Blue and Gold Somerset First Place Winner Badge for Best in Category

      • Alex Sirotkin – The Long Desert Road
      • Robert Gwaltney – The Cicada Tree
      • Judy Keeslar Santamaria – Jetty Cat Palace Cafe
      • Kent Politsch – Beebe and Bostelmann, a historical novel
      • Douglas Green – A Dog of Many Names
      • Barbara Linn Probst – The Sound Between the Notes
      • M. J. Simms-Maddox – The Mysterious Affair at the Met

       


      Congratulations to ALL!

      We will email each winner with more information about their prize packages and more information.

      Be sure to FOLLOW and LIKE us Facebook and on Twitter @ChantiReviews

      Not seeing your Division? Try the links below!

      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 Journey, Hearten, Nellie Bly, I&I, Mind & Spirit, Harvey Chute, Military & Frontline, Series, and Shorts Book Awards, place click here for Part 3

      And the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE for the 2021 CIBAs!

      Stay Tuned for Part 3 which will announce the Overall Grand Prize Winner!

      We are now accepting entries into the 2022 and 2023 Chanticleer International Book Awards.

      Click here for more information and submission deadlines: https://test.chantireviews.com/contests/

      As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com — We will try our best to respond within 3 business days.

      Thank you for joining us in celebrating the 2021 CIBA Winners! – The Chanticleer Team

    • The 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners | Part One of Three

      We are deeply honored and excited to announce the 2021 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs). The Finalists were recognized at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Ceremonies, and the First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners were announced June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

       

       

      The 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2021 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony took place over June 23-26,  2022, with the CIBA Banquet happening on June 25th. Each year, Chanticleerians from around the globe come together to celebrate and cheer each other on at the annual CIBA banquet and awards evening at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether that is situated on beautiful Bellingham Bay, Washington State.

      Meeting in-person for the first time since lockdown began brought such joy into our lives. The ability to celebrate, hug, and learn together with the extra space provided by the Hotel Bellwether made this a truly unforgettable experience. Champagne was poured and shared as the 2021 CIBA Grand Prize Division Award Winners were announced. Thank you to all who joined us in-person and virtually to make the CIBA Ceremonies a success!

      The 2021 Grand Prize Winners in attendance!

      After two virtual conferences, it was a joy and pleasure to feel the energy of an in-person crowd! It was amazing to have such a marvelous event with presenters like Cathy Ace, Judy Gaman, Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, Jessica Morrell, Nicole Evelina, Jodé Millman, Oriana Leckhert, Diane Garland, and more!

      We are already excited and gearing up for our next conference in nine short months! Save the date for CAC23 April 27-30, 2023.

      At the June 25th, 2021 Ceremonies, we were overjoyed to recognize the 18 Fiction and 7 Non-Fiction CIBA Divisions for the First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners!

      First of all, 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!

      A pyramid showing the different levels of CIBA Achievement

       

      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 increases 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. Promotional Stickers are available to those who have advanced in the CIBA Tiers of Achievement here

      A Recap of the CIBA Selection Process

      • The 2021 CIBAs have 18 Fiction Divisions and 7 Non-fiction Divisions.
      • First Place Category award winners were selected for each one of the 25 divisions from an overall field of titles that progressed to the Premier FINALIST Division Level from the Division Semi-Finalists positions from the Shortlists, the Long List, and the infamous beginning slush pile rounds.
      • One Grand Prize award winner was selected from the First Place Category Award Winners for the 25 CIBA divisions.
      • One Overall Grand Prize award winner was selected from the 25 divisions of Grand Prize Award Winners

      This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for Cygnus, Ozma, Paranormal, Global Thrillers, M&M, Clue, Little Peeps, Gertrude Warner, and Dante Rossetti Book Awards.

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

      For the Journey, Hearten, Nellie Bly, I&I, Mind & Spirit, Harvey Chute, Military & Frontline, Series, and Shorts Awards, click here for Part 3

      THANK YOU to CAC22 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

       

       

      CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!

      We are honored to present the

      2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards

      Grand Prize Winners 

      The 2021 CIBA Winners! 


      Cygnus Award for Science Fiction

      The CYGNUS Book Awards

      for Science Fiction Novels

      Grand Prize Winner is 

       

      A WAR IN TOO MANY WORLDS by Elizabeth Crowens

       

      • J.W. Zarek – The Devil Pulls the Strings 
      • Sarah Lahey – Nostalgia Is Heartless, Book Two 
      • Akosua Sankofa – Monmouth Deep
      • Rhett C. Bruno – Vicarious  
      • Steven Seril – The Destroyer of Worlds: ‘An Answer to Every Question’
      • Charlene Newcomb – Echoes of the Storm    

       


      The OZMA Book Awards

      for Fantasy Fiction

      Grand Prize Winner is 

      Plague of Flies Grand Prize Badge

       

      PLAGUE OF FLIES: Revolt of the Spirits by Laurel Anne Hill

      Plague of Flies Cover

       

      • David Fitz-Gerald – Waking Up Lost
      • Allegra Pescatore – Where Shadows Lie
      • L. A. Thompson – Isle of Dragons
      • J.W. Zarek – The Devil Pulls the Strings
      • KC Cowan – Asa’s Redemption             

      Paranormal Fiction Awards

       

      The Paranormal Book Awards

      for Supernatural Fiction

      Grand Prize Winner is

      The Devil Pulls the Strings Paranormal Grand Prize Badge

      THE DEVIL PULLS THE STRINGS by J.W. Zarek

      The Devil Pulls the Strings Book Cover


      The GLOBAL THRILLER Book Awards

      for High Stakes Thrillers, Lab Lit, and Suspense Novels

      Grand Prize Winner is

      Grand Prize Badge for Ron McManus The Chameleon

      THE CHAMELEON by Ron McManus

      • Timothy S. Johnston – Fatal Depth
      • J Lawrence Matthews – One Must Tell The Bees
      • Norman M. Jacobs, MD – A Divine Wind
      • Randall Krzak – Mission: Angola (Xavier Sear Thriller Book 1)
      • Andrew Kaplan – Blue Madagascar 

      Clue Awards for Suspense Thriller Novels

      The CLUE Book Awards

      for Thrillers, Suspense, Legal, Detective, and Procedural Crime Novels

      Grand Prize Winner is 

      Grand Prize Badge for Shelley Nolden The Vines

       

      THE VINES by Shelley Nolden

      The Vines Cover

       


      Cozy Mystery Fiction Award

      The M & M Book Awards for Mystery & Mayhem

      for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries

      Grand Prize Winner is

      Ophelia's Room M&M Grand Prize Badge

      OPHELIA’S ROOM by Michael Scott Garvin

       

      Ophelia's Room Cover

      • Lori Roberts Herbst – Double Exposure
      • Cam Lang – The Concrete Vineyard
      • Eileen Charbonneau – Death at Little Mound
      • Codi Schneider – Cold Snap: A Viking Cat Mystery
      • Darryl Wimberley – A Star in her CrownChasing Cleopatra 

      Two little chicks, fresh from their egg

      LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards for

      Early Readers and Picture Books

      Grand Prize Winner is 

      VICTORIA AND THE BIG BRAVE BREATH by Andrea Vaughan


       

      The Boxcar Children from the famed series by Gertrude Warner

      GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards

      for Middle Grade Fiction

      Grand Prize is

      FISHING FOR LUCK by Murray Richter

      Fishing for Luck Cover

       

      • Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
      • J. B. Spector – The Sunlit Curse, The Mer-Prince Adventures
      • Ben Gartner – Sol Invictus
      • Jay Spenser – The Barn Owl Mystery
      • Gloria Two-Feathers – Buck: Keeper of the Meadow
      • Didem Saracel – Story of Carbon            

      Dante Rossetti Awards for YA Fiction

      The DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards

      for Young Adult Fiction

      Grand Prize Winner is

      TARO Legendary Boy Hero of Japan Dante Rossetti Grand Prize Badge

      TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan by Blue Spruell

      TARO Legendary Boy Hero of Japan Cover

       

      • P.H.C. Marchesi – Florissant
      • Blue Spruell – TARO: Legendary Boy Hero of Japan
      • Rektok Ross – Ski Weekend
      • Nancy Thorne – The Somewhere I See You Again
      • Mark Wakely – A Friend Like Filby
      • Glen Dahlgren – The Game of War: The Trials of Dantess, Warrior Priest  

      Congratulations to ALL!

      We will email each winner with more information about their prize packages and more information.

      Be sure to FOLLOW and LIKE us Facebook and on Twitter @ChantiReviews

      Not seeing your Awards Division? Check out the links below!

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

      For the Journey, Hearten, Nellie Bly, I&I, Mind & Spirit, Harvey Chute, Military & Frontline, Series, and Shorts Awards, click here for Part 3

      And the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE for the 2021 CIBAs!

      We are now accepting entries into the 2022 Chanticleer International Book Awards.

      Click here for more information and submission deadlines: https://test.chantireviews.com/contests/

      As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com — We will try to respond within 3 business days.

      Thank you for joining us in celebrating the 2021 CIBA Winners! – The Chanticleer Team