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 2026Chanticleer 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.
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.
The Somerset Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The Somerset Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best new books featuring contemporary stories, literary themes, adventure, magical realism, or women and family themes to compete in the Somerset Book Awards (the CIBAs). 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 Somerset entries to the 2025 Somerset Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 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 2026Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Somerset Book Awards novel competition for Literary and Contemporary Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
Adam Strassberg – December on 5C4
AG Flitcher – Wasp Oil
AK Logan – Masks of Silence
Allie Cresswell – The Cottage on Winter Moss
Anna Binder Reardon – Wethersfield Road
Anne Freeman – The Time After Now
Anne Heinrich – Violet Is Blue
Art Young – Downeyoshun
B.E. Kennedy – County Kildare
BL Smith – The Unpleasantness on Orchard
Brian Hackett – Leaving Naples
Bruce J. Berger – Forgiven a Novel
Carolyn Summer Quinn – The Mystery From Way Back When
Catherine Matthews – Roadside Sisters
Chadwick Wall – The Fertile Crescent
Cheryl Grey Bostrom – What the River Keeps
Chip Jacobs – Later Days
Christopher Woods – Some Rainbow
Chuck Locklear – Being Hope
Curtis Andrew Burton – Bloom a Novel
Dan Schorr – Open Bar a Novel
Daniel Oakman – Fire in the Head
Dave Pearce – Fighters of Fire
David Galef – Where I Went Wrong
Debz Hobbs-Wyatt – If Crows Could Talk
Dennis D. Skirvin – The Gentlemen’s Club and the Great Ferris Wheel
Elizabeth A. Tucker – The Pale Flesh of Wood
Elizabeth Conte – Life of Her
Francis-Adrien Morneault – The Light of Faded Stars
George Petersen – The Summer of Haight
Gregg Brandalise – The Death of Us All
Isaac Thorne – Tab’s Terrible Third Eye
J.J. Cheng – Phoenixa the Nest a Mystical Quest for the Cheng Legacy
Jacci Turner – Love Virus
Jane Ward – Should Have Told You Sooner
Jimmy Cela – Hotel Bahnhof
Jude Berman – The Vow a Novel
Judith Jackson-Pomeroy – Weight of a Woman
Julie Hammonds – Blue Mountain Rose a Novel in Five Acts
Kathleen Stone – Missing From Me
Kipling Knox – How To Love in a World Like This
Leslie A. Rasmussen – When People Leave a Story of Love Lies and Finding the Truth
Linda Paul – Fabricated
LK Quinn – The Toffee Man and the Kingdom of Ends
Lya Badgley – The Thirty-Fifth Page
Magdalena & Ashe Stevens – Fragments
Mark A. Gibson – Roses in December Hamilton Place Book II
Mark Mustian – Boy with Wings
Maxsense Maximus – Two Euro Candles a Memoir of Faith Trauma and Quiet Miracles
Michelle Daniel – A Scarlet Mind
Natia Khaduri – I Forgave You
Peter Gooch – Seren
R. B. Shifman – Paper Airplane Broken Bones
Radu Guiasu – The Faraway Mountains
Rick Lenz – Mit Out Sound
Robert L Jones – 1911
Robert L Jones – Hope
Robert L Jones – Hopeless
Robin Merle – A Dangerous Friendship
Ruby Soames – Homewrecked
S.E. Beathan – Nothing Lost
Sam Martin – Bitterblue
Sarah E. Pearsall – The Summer Knows
Shawn Hays and Stephen Hays – What Light Was
Steve Schlam – The Harvesting of Haystacks Kane
Su Chang – The Immortal Woman
Susan Ellison Busch – Chance at Life
Susan Poole – Out of The Crash
Suzanne Uttaro Samuels – Seeds of the Pomegranate
Terri Hanauer – The Lightness of Rain
Thomas Trabulsi – The Fire Service of Sachem City
Tong Ge – The House Filler
Trisha T Pritikin – Then Came the Summer Snow an Atomic Age Hero’s Journey
Tudor Alexander – The Last Patient
Wendy J. Dunn – Shades of Yellow
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.
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.
Only 5 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success.
The Chanticleer International Book Awards provide ongoing recognition that amplifies authors’ digital footprints through high-traffic website features, social media promotion, newsletter spotlights, and long-tail marketing that continues promoting winners throughout the year and beyond!
SEA Shorts now covers Short Stories, Essays and Novellas together, and Collections and Anthologies is for exactly that, Multi-Story Collections and Multi-Author Anthologies!
Roderick S. Haynes – Unauthorized Disclosures a Navy Memoir of the 1980s
David Huntley – The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: a WWII Final Honor
Patrick Hogan – Coincidence, You Say?
Shari Biery – It’s Your Turn How To Rediscover Yourself Prioritize Your Well-Being Thrive with Purpose
Max Lauker & Antonio Garcia – Number 788: My Experiences in Swedish Special Operations – Preparing for NATO and the War on Terror
Bibi LeBlanc – Wings of Freedom – The Story of the Berlin Airlift | Flugel der Freiheit – Die Geschichte der Berliner Luftbrucke
And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Military and Front Line Grand Prize Winner:
Memoirs From The Front Lines
Four States, Two Years, One Pandemic
By Kim Sloan
The CIBAs provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.
We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.
Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 17-19, 2025) where Winners from all 28 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.
In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.
Only 10 days left to submit your books to these CIBA Divisions and embark on a journey to discovery.
The Chanticleer International Book Awards provide ongoing recognition that amplifies authors’ digital footprints through high-traffic website features, social media promotion, newsletter spotlights, and long-tail marketing that continues promoting winners throughout the year and beyond!
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Chatelaine Awards for Romantic Fiction!
Reenita M. Hora – Vermilion Harvest – Playtime at the Bagh
John W. Feist – Edged in Purple
Gail Noble-Sanderson – A Cup of Revenge
Nancy Herkness – Royal Caleva: Luis
George T. Arnold – The Heart Beneath the Badge
Sonja N. Griffing – Chasing Noelle
Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Day, Book Two in the Desert Hills Trilogy
And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Chatelaine Grand Prize Winner:
The Key
By Jo Morgan Sloan
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Humor and Satire Awards for Satirical and Allegorical Fiction!
Bill Burkland –The Misconceived Conception of a Baby Named Jesus
Julie L. Brown –No One Will Save Us: A novel
Dan Kopcow –Madcap Serenade
Marco Ocram –The Awful Truth About The Name Of The Rose
And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Humor and Satire Grand Prize Winner:
The Man Who Saw Seconds
By Alexander Boldizar
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Somerset Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction!
Robert Gwaltney –Sing Down the Moon
Ann Bancroft –Almost Family
Christina Boyd –Woman in the Painting
Kay Smith-Blum –Tangles
Anthony Horton –Unpaved
Erika Shepard –Abomination Child
Leslie DeBrock –The Frog-Eyed Gospel, A Texas Exodus
And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Somerset and Overall Grand Prize Winner:
Vermilion Harvest- Playtime at the Bagh
By Reenita Malhotra Hora
The CIBAs provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.
We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this step in their publishing.
Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 17-19, 2025) where Winners from all 28 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.
In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.
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 Humorous, Satirical, or Allegorical works, we suggest that you consider the Humor and Satire Book Awards division of the CIBAs.
Let’s take a look at the Grand Prize Winners of the Somerset Awards!
Vermilion Harvest: Playtime at the Bagh
By Reenita M. Hora
Chanticleers 2024 Overall Grand Prize Winner and a Chatelaine First Place Winner!
Reenita M. Hora’sVermilion Harvestweaves love and liberation into literary gold.
“Why do love and freedom have such a complicated relationship?” This haunting question pulses through every page ofVermilion Harvest, Hora’s breathtaking debut that creates, in one of history’s darkest moments, a luminous testament to the power of love in transcending boundaries.
A star-crossed romance sparks against the backdrop of empire.
Set in 1919 Amritsar,Vermilion Harvestintroduces readers to Aruna Duggal, a nineteen-year-old Anglo-Indian schoolteacher caught between worlds—too brown for British acceptance, too white for Indian belonging. Born from violence, raised in the shadows between communities, Aruna navigates life’s margins until she meets Ayaz Peermohammed, a passionate Muslim law student from Lahore. Ayaz’s dreams of Indian independence ignite something revolutionary within Aruna’s heart.
You Can’t Fool A Mermaid By Judy Keeslar Santamaria
You Can’t Fool a Mermaid by Judy Keeslar Santamaria is a glorious dance of well-intentioned ghosts. In the words of Violet, a twenty-one-year-old pianist, it’s “bewitching as hell.”
Santamaria opens with a tiny mermaid bodysurfing through the gutters of Seattle. College student and pianist Violet Bacon chalks up “gutter-mini-mermaid” to her wildly imaginative mind, but when she stumbles upon a magical theater-turned-piano-rescue with a retinue of shopkeeping cats, the separation between imagination and reality no longer seems as important as discovering her true self.
Violet has been living a lie: keeping up the pretense that she’s dating a woman to make her father angry. She reluctantly goes along with what other people want and pretends she doesn’t desperately need a cat. As she practices a complex Stravinsky concerto, her abiding love for music is all that sustains her.
But Hector Kouris, the proprietor of the theater-turned-rescue, reintroduces Violet to her childhood piano, Bossy.
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.
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.
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.”
Now is your chance to touch the hearts of readers everywhere. Your Contemporary story deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the 2025 Somerset Awards by the end of the October. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.
The Somerset Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Contemporary and Literary Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Reenita Malhotra Hora’s book, Vermilion Harvest: Playtime at the Bagh, will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Somerset contest page year ’round!
The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!
Liz Millanova has stage four cancer, a grown daughter who doesn’t speak to her, and obsessive memories of a relationship that tore apart her marriage. She thinks of herself as someone who’d rather die than sit through a support group, but now that she actually is going to die, she figures she might as well give it a go.
Mercy’s Thriving Survivors is a hospital-sponsored group held in a presumably less depressing location: a Nordstrom’s employee training lounge. There, Liz hits it off with two other patients, and the three unlikely friends decide to ditch the group and meet on their own. They call themselves the Oakland Mets, and their goal is to enjoy life while they can. Together, Dave, a gay Vietnam vet, Rhonda, a devout, nice woman who’s hiding a family secret and finds peace in a gospel choir, and snarky Liz plan outings to hear jazz, enjoy nature, and tour Alcatraz. In the odd intimacy they form, Liz learns to open up and get close, acknowledge and let go of the dysfunction in her marriage, and repair her relationship with her daughter. They joined forces to have a good time—but what they wind up doing is helping one another come to grips with terminal cancer and resolve the unfinished business in their lives.
When a harpooned whale offers proof the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is endangering all life in the Columbia River Basin, Luke Hinson, a brash young scientist, seizes the chance to avenge his father’s death but a thyroid cancer diagnosis derails Luke’s research. Between treatments, he dives back in, making enemies at every turn. On an overnight trek, Luke discovers evidence that Mary, his former neighbor, embarked on the same treacherous trail, and her disappearance, a decade prior, may be tied to Hanford’s harmful practices mired in government-mandated secrecy.
A love story wrapped in a mystery, this stunning Cold War home-front tale reveals the devastating costs of the birth of the nuclear age, and celebrates the quiet courage of wronged women, the fierce determination of fatherless sons, and the limitless power of the individual.
Tangles is a genre-defying must-read for our time.
Each passing mile triggers vivid flashbacks to a transformative summer spent with his beloved grandfather, offering the hope of a new beginning amid the turmoil of his professional life. The chaotic web of accusations and misconduct surrounding his former boss adds an unexpected layer of complexity to his pilgrimage. The weight of his past and present converge as Russell travels onward, haunted by memories and uncertain of the revelations that await him at the cabin.
With the fate of his professional life hanging in the balance, Unpaved leads to a convergence of personal and corporate truths.
From Chanticleer:
Unpaved by Anthony Horton is a pensive novel of how returning to one’s roots can reveal hints on how to move forward after a lifetime of grief.
Russell Nowak-McCreary is a man whose life has been proudly shaped by formidable women. His mother, Judith, was a prominent cardiac surgeon at the reputable St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. His wife, Anna, thrived as a student of Judith’s and has risen to the top of Boston’s best medical campus. And Russell’s work partner Sarah Westroes joined his company, Datatel, as its CEO with a relentless drive to expand its footprint in the tech industry. His childhood was spent without a father figure, only excepting the fond memories of a single summer at his grandfather’s cabin in the Canadian wilderness.
As he returns to the remote cabin of his youth to set his mother’s affairs in order, Russell takes this time alone to finally process all that he lost.
Meet the Fosters. Parents from disparate backgrounds, an eight-year-old boy and his thirteen-year-old sister, all living a suffocating version of the American dream in 1958 Missouri.
An innocent grade school Halloween party—and one small betrayal—lead to an act of sudden violence that stuns them all, and in an instant their facade of normalcy cracks, sending each of them down a separate, winding path to self-discovery.
Abomination Child follows the story of that family through the fog of anger, lost innocence, and disillusionment. It is the story of Brian, an effeminate boy who believes with all his heart he is a girl; his rebellious tomboy sister Liz who yearns only to escape; their diligent, studious mother Barbara who longs for the peace and tranquility of a normal family life, and their father John, angry and wounded by war, now mired in new-found religious zeal.
Each must find their own truth in the shifting world of the Sixties and Seventies—if they can.
From Chanticleer:
Abomination Child is a coming-of-age novel, a piece of historical fiction, and a lesson to us all.Erika Shepard tells the story of Brianna, a young girl growing up in Missouri during the 1960s, struggling to be accepted.
Within her community, Brianna is seen on the outside as a boy, and everyone knows her as Brian. She confides in her older sister Liz, who supports her and helps her face a world that doesn’t understand. Spanning many years,Abomination Childfollows Brianna’s journey of survival, hoping that one day she’ll be able to live freely as herself.
Brianna’s – known then as Brian – troubles start after his father learns that he dressed in girl’s clothes at a school Halloween dance. Deeply conservative and religious, Brian’s father hits him for what he believes is an abominable perversion caused by the Devil. For Brian, it’s as simple as knowing he is really a girl, a girl named Brianna.
In a steamy East Texas town, surrounded by oilfield grit and 1960s racial tension, devout eighteen-year-old Peter Loucas faces the prospect of the Viet Nam draft. The sudden death of his father and then his witness of a lynching, thrust him headlong into a fraught adulthood. A summer job in the oilfield leads to a taboo connection with Swat, a black veteran of the Korean War. While his community tries to keep him on track, Pete finds a confidant in Gwynn, a Berkely student temporarily stranded in Texas. The tug-of-war between Pete’s beliefs and the newly discovered complexity around morality and integrity force Pete into a dangerous spiritual reckoning.
This debut novel, in which landscape is a character in its own right, weaves together the pain, the joy and the unexpected twists in creating a life that can be lived with.
From Chanticleer:
In his debut novelThe Frog-Eyed Gospel: A Texas Exodus,Leslie DeBrock weaves together the inspiring yet complex stories of a diverse cast of characters, all making their way through a tense Texas summer in 1965.
Peter Loucas is the boy at the center of this story, a senior in high school bent on going to college and becoming the newest preacher in the Bible belt. His faith in God is passionate and strong — until his father is killed in an oilfield accident. In his grief, Pete finds himself suddenly questioning the teachings to which he had given himself blindly for years.
The setting of the story couldn’t be more poised for conflict: Sabine Gap, a small town with religious intimidation and racism everywhere you look. The Vietnam war rages and veterans flock home traumatized. Supporters and protestors clash nationwide. The residents of Tin Cup —Sabine Gap, a small town replete with religious and racial rigidity. While protests roil the nation, veterans return, some walking; some not.
Literary and contemporary fiction has the power to illuminate the depths of human experience, transforming personal stories into universal truths that resonate across cultures and generations. The finest works in this genre challenge, inspire, and offer profound insights into what it means to be human. The Somerset Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction celebrate these exceptional voices, recognizing authors who craft narratives that bridge the personal and political, the intimate and the historical, creating literature that both reflects our world and shapes our understanding of it.
Celebrating Our Overall Grand Prize Winner!
We’re thrilled to celebrate our 2024 Somerset Division Grand Prize Winner, Reenita Malhotra Hora for her powerful novel Vermilion Harvest: Playtime at the Bagh. But this recognition reaches even higher as Hora’s remarkable work also claimed our Overall Grand Prize, earning her the prestigious $1000 cash prize in addition to a Chanticleer Editorial Review and Author Interview. This extraordinary honor reflects the exceptional quality of her storytelling and the universal resonance of her narrative.
Set against the politically charged backdrop of 1919 Amritsar, India, Vermilion Harvest weaves a compelling love story between Aruna, an Anglo-Indian Hindi schoolteacher, and Ayaz, a passionate Muslim law student whose political activism threatens their forbidden romance. As military tensions escalate toward the tragic Jallianwala Bagh massacre of April 13th, 1919, Aruna must navigate not only the complexities of cross-cultural love but also the desperate urgency of warning her beloved about Colonel Dyer’s impending attack.
What makes Hora’s work exceptional is her ability to serve as a cultural bridge, capturing the nuanced position of her protagonist who exists between Indian and Anglo communities while maintaining hope even as circumstances darken. Our judges praised the author’s professional skill and eloquent narrative voice, noting how she masterfully balances historical depth with intimate romance. The novel succeeds in making unfamiliar historical events accessible while preserving their emotional weight, creating what one judge described as “a believable and compelling story” that wraps “love, hate, denial, and betrayal inside a single love story capturing today’s hope with yesterday’s despair.”
The Somerset Awards honor the full spectrum of literary and contemporary fiction, celebrating works that push boundaries and explore the human condition:
Contemporary Themes features stories that grapple with modern life’s complexities, from urban alienation to digital-age relationships, capturing the zeitgeist of our current moment.
Literary showcases works distinguished by exceptional prose, complex character development, and thematic depth that elevate fiction to art.
Women’s Fiction & Family Themes explores the intricate dynamics of family relationships, women’s experiences, and generational stories that resonate across demographics.
Social/Psychological Themes delves into the human psyche and societal issues, examining how external forces shape internal landscapes and vice versa.
Magic Realism blends fantastical elements with realistic narratives, creating stories where the extraordinary illuminates everyday truths. Think Gabriel García Márquez or Isabel Allende.
Adventure/Suspense and Action/Adventure prove that literary fiction can be thrilling, combining sophisticated storytelling with pulse-pounding plots.
Connections celebrates stories about human relationships, community bonds, and the threads that tie us together across differences and distances.
Roses in December By Mark A. Gibson
A Series First Place Winner!
Roses in December is the epic conclusion to Mark A. Gibson’s compelling two-part family saga, Hamilton Place. Now focusing on the family’s next generation, James Hamilton Jr.—Jimmy—follows in the footsteps of the father he never met, a Vietnam War hero who died in battle, and ultimately finds his own path in life.
Pressured by a conning mother-in-law only out for monetary gain, the elder Jimmy’s widow, Becca, is pushed to marry Mack Lee, her deceased husband’s older brother who proves to be a cheating and abusive husband. Trapped in this loveless marriage, Becca hopes that attending church will remove her son from the toxic influence of her new husband and set him on the right path to a good life. But it’s the discovery of young Jimmy’s superior photographic memory that opens the door to a brighter future, and he sets a course to an outstanding medical career, coupled with military service in Afghanistan.
Gibson delivers the recent past with a great sense of immediacy, showing events that ripple into our contemporary world using pop references that are relevant in today’s world.
Toni has the chance to start her own business in the building of her family’s old bakery. But history waits within those walls. In Geralyn Hesslau Magrady’s novella, When Walls Talk, Toni and her father uncover secrets they could never have expected.
The Russo Bakery, with its 1920s architecture had been the family business since the four Russo brothers first opened its doors. Decades later, Toni and her widowed father plan a complete redesign of what their ancestors made to fulfill her dream of owning a bookstore. As the walls fall around the Russo family business, a long-hidden truth brings about profound personal changes for Toni.
Toni takes this giant leap into the unknown, unsure if she’s even prepared to own a business. But the bookstore is the key to her hope for a better future, her only path to escaping a past tragedy.
In Nova Garcia’s novel, Not That Kind of Call Girl, Julia Navarro-Nilsson balances a lot heavy responsibilities on her plate. She’s the supervisor of the Cascade City Chronicle call center, has just had her first child, and is dead set on saving her newest employee from a lifetime of abuse.
As a Mexican-American, Julia knows first-hand how difficult life can be for a minority woman, so when Carmen Cooper shows up for a job interview, Julia is determined to hire the young college student even though her story and answers to Julia’s question are sketchy. This reluctance to share her personal information intrigues Julia, but Carmen’s life turns out to be much more challenging than Julia would have ever dreamed.
Sussing out the truth behind the timid young woman’s clearly fictional story, Julia turns detective with the help of her reporter friend, Jerry. The two are dogged in their search and discover a secret so deep that it will rock Hollywood — that is, if she can juggle her new baby, her neglected husband, her sexually harassing boss, and an unending visit from her critical mother.
The Faraway Mountains by Radu Guiaşu is a fascinating blend of fiction and autobiography that brings to light the restrictive nature of the Communist Era in Romania and throughout the Eastern European Bloc. Experienced through the eyes of a group of friends, their persistence to find their friend perfectly illustrates the importance of human connection, even within the cold confines of a communist country.
Guiaşu begins his story as a chronicle of the entwined lives of childhood friends Victor, Dan, and Alex—who embark on a quest to find their lost comrade, Gabriel. Along their journey, they debate the important issues of their day.
Their discussions reveal the intricacies of daily life from the broad, to the particular. Topics like the oppressive regime in the country, the egregious ineptitude of some high-ranking officials, the deterioration of living conditions, and the recent and shameful destruction of numerous architectural gems are discussed right alongside the possibility of the national football championship game being another sham, the rising cost of foreign blue jeans on the black market, and the record heat wave they left behind in the capital.
This work pays homage to those exceptional individuals who, in spite of the harsh conditions their government forced on them, retained their moral rectitude, bravery, and irreverent sense of humor. It is also a condemnation of everyone who worked in tandem with these oppressive systems.
InConfluenceby Mary Elizabeth Gillilan, Maya has lived much of her life where she feels safe—at home with her Buddhist mother in the small town of La Conner, Washington. But a surprise discovery about Maya’s past pushes her to explore a wholly unfamiliar corner of the world.
Living with cerebral palsy, and a self-professed homebody, Maya is the queen of getting out of plans. But at sixty-five, two years after her mother passed, Maya finds a suitcase with her grandmother’s diary, several photos, and a letter written by her mother hidden inside.
In the letter, Maya learns she was born in a place called Sangam and her father could still be living there. The letter names a nun who helped deliver Maya and founded a hospital in that area, Yeshe Maya. Hesitant to leave her comfort zone, Maya waits to write to Yeshe Maya for a year. It takes even longer for Maya to work past all that is holding her back from the call of adventure.
These reviews represent just a glimpse of the literary excellence and contemporary insights waiting to be discovered in today’s finest fiction.
See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!
We’re excited about all the exceptional literary and contemporary fiction we receive every year for both the CIBAs and for our Editorial Reviews. Throughout this year’s Somerset Book Awards, we had the pleasure of promoting numerous outstanding novels as they advanced through our competition tiers. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!
This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each advancement tier is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter! Your book deserves to be discovered.
Don’t Let Your Literary Voice Go Unheard!
The literary and contemporary fiction market continues to hunger for authentic voices and compelling narratives that speak to our shared human experience. Whether your work explores contemporary social issues, delves into psychological complexity, bridges cultural divides, or pushes the boundaries of traditional storytelling, the Somerset Awards provide the recognition and promotional platform your literary excellence deserves.
Literary fiction has the unique power to transform readers, offering not just escape but enlightenment, empathy, and understanding. From intimate character studies that reveal universal truths to sweeping narratives that capture historical moments, every skillfully crafted literary work has the potential to become part of the cultural conversation. Don’t let your voice remain unheard—submit to the Somerset Awards today and join the distinguished authors who’ve found their literary community through Chanticleer!
A Place Called Home, a kitten leaves his barn to adventure around the redwood forest, looking for somewhere he belongs among the diverse wildlife.
The pond’s singing frogs and leaping trout draw his interest, but kitten certainly wouldn’t fit in underwater. He gets nervous in the woods, so vast around him, but also decides against a bunny burrow because it’s not nearly big enough. After intruding on a skunk’s dumpster and a bear’s cave, kitten finds his way back to the farm. Even the friendly pigs are too muddy for his fur.
His journey returns to the barn with his mama and siblings, where kitten finds home waiting for him.
Ho’s writing creates an easy and educational read-along for young children.
Each line fits into a simple rhyming scheme. Frequent use of synonyms makes this book an effective introduction to new vocabulary, with a glossary in the back for less familiar words like ‘furrow’. Onomatopoeia words like “ribbit” and “oink” create an engaging and multisensory world of imagination for the readers.
A Place Called Home teaches kids about the living habits of different species, from burrowing bunnies to slimy slugs. The book ends with further rhymes about each animal, along with a message on respecting wild creatures and the importance of the Redwood trees. Children interested in nature will share in the kitten’s curiosity throughout his journey.
The art by Marlon at GetYourBookIllustrations gives vibrant personality to both the places kitten goes and the animals he meets.
Landscapes stretch wide around the little kitten, each with its own visual identity. Pastel blue waters ripple around the frogs, titanic Redwoods reach far above the edge of the page, a skunk guards the colorful contents of its dumpster. The imposing stones of the bear’s cave give way to a familiar green farm and finally the warm-lit wood and hay of the barn.
Marlon depicts each animal with realistic shapes in motion, stylized enough to show their reactions to kitten. With his black fur, kitten pops against the bright colors of the background, highlighting the attention to detail in his dynamic feline mannerisms—the fuzzy attitude that any cat lover will recognize.
An educational romp through nature and comforting bedtime story, Nora G. Ho’s A Place Called Home will be loved by any young reader.
Only 10 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!
The Journey, Hearten, Military and Front Line and The Nellie Bly Awards are still open!
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Journey Awards for Overcoming Adversity!
Kirsten Throneberry –Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road
Jennifer Gasner –My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis
Anne Gately –Sunburnt: A Memoir of Sun, Surf and Skin Cancer
Rachael Siddoway and Sonja Wasden –An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness
Lindsey Henke –When Skies Are Gray
Claudia Marseille –But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World
And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Journey Grand Prize Winner:
Unfollow Me
By Kathryn Caraway
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Hearten Award for Uplifting Non-Fiction!
Genét Simone –Teaching in the Dark
David Hutton –Drums of a Distant Tribe
Etsuko Diamond Miyagi –Diamond: The Memoir of a Lost Daughter of Japan
Rachael Siddoway and Sonja Wasden –An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness
Susan Cole –Holding Fast: A Memoir of Sailing, Love, and Loss
Tony Jeton Selimi –The Unfakeable Code®
And a huge round of applause for our 2024 Hearten Grand Prize Winner:
Elk Love: A Montana Memoir
By Lynne Spriggs O’Connor
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Nellie Bly Award for Long Form Journalism!
Carla Conti – Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir
Kori Reed – Men-in-the-Middle Conversations to Gain Momentum with Gender Equity’s Silent Majority
Bonnie Bley – Stolen Voices: Missing and Murdered in Big Horn County
Sarah Towle – Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands
And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Nellie Bly Grand Prize Winner:
The Sing Sing Files:
One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice
By Dan Slepian
Congratulations to our 2024 Winners of the Military and Front Line Award for Service to Others!
Roderick S. Haynes – Unauthorized Disclosures a Navy Memoir of the 1980s
David Huntley – The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: a WWII Final Honor
Patrick Hogan – Coincidence, You Say?
Shari Biery – It’s Your Turn How To Rediscover Yourself Prioritize Your Well-Being Thrive with Purpose
Max Lauker & Antonio Garcia – Number 788: My Experiences in Swedish Special Operations – Preparing for NATO and the War on Terror
Bibi LeBlanc – Wings of Freedom – The Story of the Berlin Airlift | Flugel der Freiheit – Die Geschichte der Berliner Luftbrucke
And a huge round of applause to the 2024 Military and Front Line Grand Prize Winner!
Memoirs From The Front Lines:
Four states, Two years, One pandemic
By Kim Sloan
The CIBAs offer more than just recognition — they provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.
We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.
Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 3-6, 2025) where Winners from all 25 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.
In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.
The Military and Front Line Awards recognize the extraordinary courage, sacrifice, and dedication of those who serve on the front lines—whether in military combat, medical emergencies, or other critical service roles. These powerful narratives capture the human experience behind the uniform, revealing stories of heroism, resilience, and the profound impact of service on individuals, families, and communities. From military memoirs to frontline healthcare experiences, these works honor those who answer the call to serve others, often at great personal cost.
Truth and authentic experience matter now more than ever. The Military and Front Line Awards seek exceptional non-fiction that illuminates the realities of service, the bonds forged under pressure, and the lasting effects of dedicating one’s life to protecting and serving others.
Let’s celebrate the Grand Prize Winners of the Military and Front Line Awards!
Memoirs From the Frontlines: Four States, Two Years, One Pandemic
By Kim Sloan, RSN and Travel ICU RN
From Amazon:
2020, the year the world shut down. My husband and I had been living our best lives. John had been a nurse since 2001 and I’d also been a nurse since 2008. We’d been traveling the country as Intensive Care Unit (ICU)/Emergency Room (ER) travel Registered Nurses (RNs) since 2017. We arrived in Southern Georgia for our ninth assignment in the fall of 2019. We had no idea what we had signed up for when we accepted this extension for our placement there—that this small town was about to become a major epicenter for COVID—that we would see more death in those few months than in all our prior years of nursing combined. We had no idea that the world was about to completely shut down because of a virus, or that we were about to become front-line heroes!
We also worked in Tennessee, Washington state, and Las Vegas, Nevada during those years, losing patients to the Coronavirus in all three states. COVID never changed no matter what state we were working in.
While writing this memoir has been very therapeutic, my true intentions are to provide a look at my experience so others can begin their own healing process. I also want others to understand by reading this memoir that it’s ok to make mistakes, and it’s ok to apologize for those mistakes. But most of all, even throughout a pandemic and even through a mental breakdown, it’s ok to lose your “voice,” but it’s not ok to give up finding that voice once again. Dark times are ok for a short time; however, to live in the dark is not living. You need to find your light and adjust to the world that surrounds you, COVID and all!
Chasing The Daylight: One Woman’s Journey to Becoming a US Army Intelligence Officer By Joanna Rakowski
Chasing The Daylight by Joanna Rakowski is a revealing memoir that captures the rigor, intensity, and ferocity of military training in a salient style.
Ever wondered what it takes to become a soldier in one of the most powerful armies in the world?
Joanna Rakowski was born in Poland and grew up practicing dance from a young age, eventually becoming a professional classical ballet dancer and teacher. Upon her migration to the US in 1995 and the painful fallout with her friend and mentor, Chris, Joanna knew she needed to make a drastic change in her life. Her great awakening came when she decided to transform from a fragile and sensitive ballerina into a steadfast U.S. Army soldier, a goal that many close to her doubted she could accomplish.
With arresting insights, the text builds from Rakowski’s striking introduction as it describes her first day of enlistment, which was filled with uncertainties.
Lost in Beirut: A True Story of Love, Loss and War By Ashe and Magdalena Stevens
Seeking to “fill his vessel with the truth,” young Ashe Stevens joins his friends on a thrilling adventure beyond the safety of his comfortable American life to chase stardom in Beirut, Lebanon.
Leaving behind a raucous life of plenty in Hollywood – complete with hot dates, popularity, and financial success – to the unknown of the Middle East teaches Ashe to prioritize his values and beliefs. But nothing could prepare him for what’s coming next.
Journey with Ashe and his friends as they bring the rapper 50 Cent to Beirut, the “Paris of the Middle East.” Along the way, Ashe dates not one, but two drop-dead gorgeous billionaires and falls head over heels for a blonde beauty to whom he promises to devote his life. But just as business is booming and true love reaches the height of bliss, the Israeli military bombs their beautiful city, “weaving a tapestry of death all over the night sky.” The team barely makes it out with their lives in a harrowing escape, leaving their love and livelihoods behind.
Dear Bob: Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of World War 2 By Martha Bolton with Linda Hope
During World War II, Bob Hope traveled almost ceaselessly to outposts large and small, entertaining US troops – and inspiring them; Martha Bolton brings the extent of this work to light in Dear Bob.
Writer Martha Bolton worked with and for comedian Bob Hope. Now, with Hope’s daughter Linda, she has gathered and organized the letters written to Bob by the soldiers he helped.
Hope, English born, and born to entertain, once said he could not retire and go fishing because “Fish don’t applaud.” Among his sizzling lines – and there are hundreds recorded here – he told one audience that he’d gotten a wonderful welcome when he arrived at their camp: “I received a 10-gun salute… They told me on the operating table.”
His performances could have been forgotten were it not for the letters from soldiers of every stripe, and those soldiers’ families – who did not forget him.
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).
