The SOMERSET Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The Somerset Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring contemporary stories, literary themes, adventure, magical realism, or women and family themes. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2023 Somerset Literary and Contemporary Fiction entries to the 2023 Somerset Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2023 Somerset Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions.  Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

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 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference. 

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2023 Somerset Book Awards novel competition for Literary and Contemporary Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.

• Mhani Alaoui – The House on Butterfly Street
• Khristin Wierman – This Time Could Be Different
  
• Judy Keeslar Santamaria – You Can’t Fool a Mermaid
• KP McCarthy – Mortal Weather
• Leslie Tall Manning – Feral Maril and Her Little Brother Carol
• Marcia Peck – Water Music: A Cape Cod Story
• Deborah Hufford – Blood to Rubies
• David Joseph – I Didn’t Know What to Say, so I Just Said Thanks
• Charlotte Beck – A Good Day To Die
• Kimberly Sullivan – Rome’s Last Noble Palace
• Scott Swanson – Sweet Tooth
• Ruth F. Stevens – My Year of Casual Acquaintances
• Ann Marie Jackson – The Broken Hummingbird
• George R. Wolfe – Into the River of Angels
• Arthur Byrd – Crossing Lake Pontchartrain
• Nova Garcia – Not That Kind of Call Girl
• McKinley Aspen – Cogitatio: Shadows in the Wind
• Carrie Simmons – Lovers’ Jewelry
• Linda Moore – Five Days in Bogota
• David Fitz-Gerald – If It’s the Last Thing I Do
• Pam Landen – If You Find Me Worthy
• Dian Greenwood – About the Carleton Sisters
• Lou Dischler – Oracle to the Underworld
• A.J. Kohler and Susan Lynn Solomon – The Magician
• Bob Holt – Firebird
• Jo Deniau – Hologram
• J.A. Wright – Eat and Get Gas
• B. Lynn Carter – Jus Breathe
• George Brown – Who Killed Jerusalem?
• Krishma Tuli Arora – From Ash to Ashes
• Terry Tierney – The Bridge on Beer River
• Jennifer Gold – Halfway to You
• Jacqueline Boulden – Her Past Can’t Wait
• Giselle Mehta – Vectors in the Void
• Mary Avery Kabrich – The Journal of Hidden Truths
• Ron Roman – Of Ashes and Dust
• Anne Moose – When You Read This I’ll Be Gone
• Leslie Liautaud – Black Bear Lake
• Victoria Costello – Orchid Child
• Nancy Joie Wilkie – Faraway and Forever: More Stories
• Barbara Francesca Murphy – Ever After
• Chera Thompson – Dawned on the Danube
• Kevin Lavey – The Return of Jason Foxx
• Dennis Must – MacLeish Sq.
• Margaret Klaw – Every Other Weekend
• D.R. Ransdell – Carillon Chase
• L.S Case – A Hundred Days Till Tomorrow
• Patricia Sands – The Secrets We Hide
• Elayne Klasson – The Earthquake Child: A Novel
• Judy Lannon – Nine Days
• Michele Chynoweth – The Wise Man
• Karla Huebner – Too Early to Know Who’s Winning
• Leslie A. Rasmussen – The Stories We Cannot Tell
• Debra Thomas – Josie and Vic, a novel
• Julia Brewer Daily – No Names to Be Given
• Rick Shands – Frame 39
• Joe Pace – Moss
• Ann Curtin – Muldoon’s Walking
• Kathy Sechrist – Success Is The Best Revenge
• Kamille Roach – A Matchbox Full of Pearls
• Michele Kwasniewski – Falling Star Book Three of The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart Series
• Linn Aspen – The Dreamtidings of a Disgruntled Starbeing: Life with a psychopathic brother
• James Gish, Jr. – When Blackbirds Dream
• Victoria Costello – Orchid Child
• Donna Norman-Carbone – All That is Sacred
• Laura Albu – The Undines

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 2022 SOMERSET Awards is:

Everything That Was 

by Conon Parks 

Click here to see the 2022 Somerset Book Award Winners for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Somerset Book Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024. 

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2023 Chanticleer In’tl Book Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 18-21, 2024! 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!

Contemporary tales of literary proportions?

Submit to the Somerset Awards by October 31st!

***Submit Your Novel Today!***

Are the pages of your book full of rich literary themes, captivating contemporary narratives, a touch of magical realism, or heartfelt explorations of family dynamics? If so, it’s time to put your work to the test by submitting it to the Somerset Awards! These awards seek to celebrate and honor books that shine with literary brilliance, offering a platform for those that delve into the complexities of human existence through the written word. Whether your work weaves enchanting tales of magical realism, delves into the intricacies of modern life, or delves deep into the bonds that tie families together, the Somerset Awards is your chance to gain recognition and acclaim for your extraordinary storytelling.

For Humor, Satire, or Allegorical works, we suggest that you consider the Mark Twain Book Awards division of the CIBAs.

Lets take a look at the Grand Prize Winners of the Somerset Awards!

Everything That Was
By Conon Parks, Chris Sempek, Mike MacNeil and Larry Knight

Everything That Was echoes myriad broken emotions born of the world in turmoil after 9/11, intricate and politically bold, and as disturbing in its brutal humanity as it is satisfying with witty jests.

The 9/11 terrorist attack has shattered the psyche of the American people. A volcanic eruption of questions demands the whys and hows of the attack. From this anger, a massive war on terror begins. This historical fiction reflects the chaos of 9/11 and its ensuing global chaos – resulting in a series of violent endeavors and events. Throughout Everything That Was, one can find a swarm of fragmented ideologies, mini memoirs of war veterans, and witness accounts – all screeching reasons for the attack, the ensuing war, and its consequences: political, ideological, and theological.

Read More Here

Lies In Bone
By Natalie Symons

From the first paragraph of Lies in Bone, Natalie Symons’ debut novel delves into human darkness.

Lies in Bone, set in a factory town in 1986 Pennsylvania after its industrial boom faded, is told from the point of view of a girl who struggles with more than usual teenage angst. Symons relentlessly reveals the fear, ignorance, and poverty which often suffuse a community left behind.

The residents of Slippery Elm, Pennsylvania, were bewildered and ill-equipped to deal with their new reality when the steel mill shut down seven years before, leaving many unemployed and discouraged.

Frances Coolidge, known as Frank, knows the struggle of being left behind.

Read More Here

A Season in Lights
By Gregory Erich Phillips

Gregory Erich Phillips’ A Season in Lights is a well-crafted, engaging exploration of creatives, each following their heart and trying to reach their dream.

Against backdrops of the 1980s AIDS crisis and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic, the story entwines the lives of a 30-something dancer and an older musician as they strive to make their artistic mark in the cultural capital of New York City.

Here in a two-fold unveiling, the story comes to life from the first-person perspective of Cammie, a starry-eyed aspiring dancer from Lancaster, PA, and the third-person reveal of Tom, a more seasoned black pianist. He longs for a classical career but is too often labeled a jazz musician. Cammie first encounters Tom in a studio dance class where he’s taken a job as the musical accompanist. Befriended by the gay dance instructor, Tom heeds the worldly advice offered about surviving in the Big Apple. “All you’ve got to do is convince people that you belong. You’ve got to tell them who you are before they tell you.”

Read More Here

Hard Cider
By Barbara Stark-Nemon

Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.

Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.

After finishing a successful career in education and raising her three sons, Abbie Rose now sees an opportunity to create a new segment of her life’s work in a blossoming business venture. She’s set to take on this new venture by herself, determined to succeed, with or without her husband’s support. Yet, while she lays out her meticulous plans for her cider business, life keeps happening around her, attempting to derail Abbie Rose at every turn.

Read More Here

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

Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

Submit to the CIBAs Today!

Now is your chance to touch the hearts of readers everywhere. Your Contemporary story deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the 2023 Somerset Awards by the end of the month. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.

The Somerset Awards is your chance to shine!

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