Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards

Celebrate the 2023 Humor and Satire Hall of Fame

Humor and Satire Awards!

The Humor and Satire Awards are here to bring you a laugh!

***No Joke! The Humor and Satire deadline is October 31st!***

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring satire, humor, political ideology, parody, fantasy, and allegory or fable. The Deadline for the 2022 Humor and Satire Book Awards is the end of November.

Looking to learn more about the Humor and Satire Awards? Click here!

Lets take a look at the Winners of the Humor and Satire Award!

Delphic Oracle, USA
By Steven Mayfield

The Coen Brothers meet Garrison Keillor in Steven Mayfield’s quirky, offbeat, and often hilarious Delphic Oracle, U.S.A.

One June afternoon in 1925, seventeen-year-old Maggie Westinghouse, out walking alone as was her custom, comes upon a stranger in a railroad switch-house asleep on a pile of gunnysacks. Maggie, who has always stood a little apart from the town, has recently begun to experience visions that come upon her “in a leisurely way,” ending in a swoon and a restless sleep filled with exotic talk of which she later has no memory. No one knows what to make of it, but they soon will. After this afternoon’s chance encounter with July Pennybaker, a charming grifter on the lam, her world will never be the same. Neither will the town of Miagrammesto Station.

Eighty-nine years later, in the days leading up to and following the July 4th weekend, domestic dramas are playing out across Delphic Oracle, Nebraska (nee Miagrammesto Station).

Read more here!

Certified
By Roger Wilson-Crane

Certified by Roger Wilson-Crane is a multi-award-winning comedy-drama, following one man down three sharp turns in his life trajectory.

Based on real-life events, Certified shows the narrator’s birth, marriage, and death, three of the most significant milestones in human life. The book is divided into three sections.

“One Unexpected Birth” explores his flawed string of relationships until he meets Dawn, the love of his life. However, a woman from the past makes a comeback, threatening to shatter his newly found happiness.

“One Hapless Wedding” careens about his well-planned wedding in Puglia, Italy, which is trampled by Justin Timberlake who wants the same venue. “One Bizarre Death”, on the other hand, follows the loss of the narrator’s loved one and the pain and confusion that surrounds an unexpected death. Certified is full of humor, heart, and unexpected gems that one might find in a trunk of well-lived memories.

Read more here!

Arnold Falls
By Charlie Suisman

Charlie Suisman’s debut novel is a wonderful escape to a small fictional community in upstate New York. Here a melting pot of quirky residents brings Arnold Falls to life, a town with a unique history and charming inhabitants whose lives are intimately intertwined.

Settled in 1803 by the unscrupulous Hezekiah Hesper, the town for unknown reasons was named after Benedict Arnold. Adding to the oddities, the closest waterfall is twenty miles away. The area is known for sudden bursts of crab apple-size hail pelting the landscape without any scientific explanation. Hence the incentive for “Hail Pail Day,” a neighborly tradition surrounding the distribution of galvanized bucket head-coverings.

Suisman engagingly presents Jeebie Walker as the story’s primary narrator. A gay man in his early 40s, he moved north of the city in the hopes of a quieter life with his partner, Miles. Though things didn’t work out, Jeebie has settled into his fixer-upper, Queen Anne-style abode, and now seems a positive fixture in this hamlet.

Read more here!

The Kissing Rabbi
By Andy Becker

Based on a true story, Andy Becker’s tale The Kissing Rabbi is a smart, witty, and engaging novel that takes readers into the heart of a Jewish community in the Pacific Northwest.

Here a young, self-serving rabbi sets a town on edge when his salacious desires and personal financial agenda are brought to light by the people he was brought there to serve.

Rabbi Mishegas Dreidel, a young orthodox leader, arrives in the quiet town of Destiny, Oregon. His intentions seem noble as he opens up a synagogue in his basement and establishes a flock of dedicated followers.

Read more here!

My Only Sunshine
Lou Discher

Lou Dischler delivers an intricately woven story about one well-meaning boy who tries to make sense of the crazy he’s been born into. Get ready for one belly laugh of an adventure in My Only Sunshine.

Welcome to the Louisiana low country, home of 9-year-old Charlie Boone, a kid growing up in 1962. Charlie, a most unreliable narrator, concerns himself with giant wingless wasps and biting red velvet ants. Combine his critter-concerns with the legend of the giant slugs, the story of his mother taken up by a hurricane, and the episode of the puddle he and his brother dug that grew into a pond, then turned into a lake, and we have one wildly imaginative ride well-worth taking.

Dischler delivers an epic tale that shifts from Charlie’s first-person point-of-view with his youthful ignorance coloring his observations to his Uncle Dan’s and “Aunt” Lola’s in third-person point-of-view. While Charlie ages and grows in wisdom as the story progresses, his uncle never seems to gain a lick of sense. Dischler skillfully applies the laws of magic realism to Charlie’s wonderful way of viewing his world. Uncle Dan’s story, on the other hand, derives from an inept conman’s rap-sheet – from failed grifts to bank robbery bungles that succeed only by accident. Dischler guides us, normalizing the ridiculous to the point that the characters jump off the page and set up camp in your living room.

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 Humor and Satire 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 Humor or Satire story deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the 2023 Humor and Satire Awards by the end of the month. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.

The Humor and Satire Awards is your chance to shine!

The 2022 Grand Prize Winners from CAC23!

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!

October 12, 2023
The 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards Long List for YA Fiction
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Named in honor of the British poet & painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti who founded the Pre-Ralphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen (imaginary or real). Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Romance, and Literary, we will put them to the test and choose the best Young Adult Books among them for the winners of the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction. For Middle Grade Fiction check out our Gertrude Warner Awards and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2023 Dante Rossetti Young Adult Fiction entries to the 2023 Dante Rossetti Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2023 Dante Rossetti 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 Finalists.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2023 Dante Rossetti Book Awards novel competition for Young Adult Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
- Trish MacEnulty – Cinnamon Girl
- Lou Dischler – Locking Up Daddy
- Marie Powell – Spirit Sight (Last of the Gifted: Book 1)
- Rande Goodwin – The Witchfinder’s Serpent
- J.A. Nielsen – The Claiming
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Mirrors: Book 2 of Journey’s Travels
- B. Lynn Carter – The Eyes Have It
- Carrie Sword – Gospel of the Reindeer
- Jack O’Brien – The Last U-Boat
- Lou Dischler – Jokes to Tell When You’re Dead
- Stephen Haunts – Diary of a Martian: Soul Soldiers
- M.J. Evans – Finding Fionn – A Mystery Inspired by the Kidnapping of the Irish Racehorse Shergar
- Maryanne Melloan Woods – Sour Flower
- S.P. Somtow – Club X: Vampire in the Closet
- Richard Harland – Ferren and the Angel
- Robert Wright Jr – Red Snow – A Twisted Fairy Tale
- Vincent M. Miceli – The Last Triceracorn (Book One)
- Brendan Corbett – The Thief and the Historian
- Sue C Dugan – Cat-astrophic
- George R. Wolfe – Into the River of Angels
- Brooke Maddaleni – Let Me Go
- Michele Kwasniewski – Falling Star: Book 3 of The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart
- Liz Alterman – He’ll Be Waiting
- S.R. Klusman – Luna: Book 2 of The Adventures of Rhone & Stone
- Janilise Lloyd – The Whisperer’s Wish
- Yun Johnson – The Book of Lost Spirits
- Lawson McDowell – The Concert
- V. Romas Burton – Fortified
- Joan Wright Mularz – Slate
- Aurora Winter – Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse: The Marvelous Multiverse App
- W.W Marplot – Time Story
- Kerry Chaput – Chasing Eleanor
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Fish Scales
- Addison Martinez – Astro
- K.M. Messina – Gemja – The Message
- Tamar Anolic – Two Sisters of Fayetteville
- Zachary Ryan – Camp Afterlife
- Vincent J. DeVito – Where the Crane Lands
- Michael J Cooper – Crossroads of Empire
- W.T. Kosmos – Blaze Union and the Puddin’ Head Schools
- M.J. Evans – The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy
- John Blossom – The Last Football Player
- Jennifer Haskin – Hierarchy of Blood
- Jennifer Haskin – The Clockwork Pen
- Sophia Krich-Brinton – A Song Like the Wind
- Rae St. Clair Bridgman – The Kingdom of Trolls
- Susan Dwyer – Strangers Saints and Sinners
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:

Wages of Empire

by Michael J. Cooper

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.

The 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC24 on April 21, 2024. Save the date for CAC24, scheduled April 18-21, 2024, our 12-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2024 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards are open now. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony 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 12th annual conference and discover why!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
October 11, 2023
A New Chance! There’s still time to submit to the Nellie Bly Awards for Journalistic Non-Fiction

There’s still time to make the front page!

New Deadline for The Nellie Bly Awards is now October 31st

We recently reorganized our Book Awards program at the request of our readers to keep a more even balance for reading and to lighten the load during the holiday season. As we settle into this new schedule, we’re hearing great feedback from authors regarding the best times for them to submit their work. This depends on conferences and workshops (many of which are genre specific) where they can regularly receive feedback and writing retreats that allow them to finish their manuscripts. Thank you to everyone who reaches out and makes our Awards a success every year!

You now have until the end of October to submit to the Nellie Bly Awards for Journalistic Non-Fiction!

Elizabeth Cochran Seaman (Better known by her Pen Name, Nellie Bly) created a new brand of Investigative Journalism. Best known for beating Jules Verne’s Around The World in 80 Days in 72 days, and even more amazingly, Going undercover to get herself put into a New York Mental Hospital to then publish an exposé on the unlivable conditions and mistreatment of marginalized women. Journalist, Novelist, Inventor and overall amazing Woman. So its only fitting that our Division for Investigative Journalism be named for the woman who made the genre.

We’re excited to share some of our favorite reviews featuring Journalistic Non-Fiction worthy of (and often winning) the Nellie Bly Awards!

The Black Foster Youth Handbook
By Angela Quijada-Banks

The Black Foster Youth Handbook: 50+ Lessons I Learned to successfully Age-Out of Foster Care and Holistically Heal is a distinguished compilation of award-winning author Ángela Quijada-Banks’ insights, seeking to assist those in foster care to stay optimistic and triumph over traumatic experiences.

The text features the author’s candid revelations regarding the disarray she encountered in foster care and the overwhelming emotional roller coaster she underwent through family upheavals and a heart-breaking rift between her siblings.

Foster care had seen her forget her goals and aspirations, as traumas and emotional misfortunes spread their venom in her soul. Banks had found herself misplaced, perplexed, wounded, irate, and unloved. Her background, past wounds, and pessimistic beliefs ruled over her. In a painful recap, she reveals how she became accustomed to constant alarming incidents, creating in her a perpetual state of survival.

Read More Here

Prison From the Inside Out
By William ‘Mecca’ Elmore and Susan Simone

Prison from Inside Out: One Man’s Journey from a Life Sentence to Freedom is an illuminating chronicle that tells the story of a man who not only survived the stoniest soil but used his experiences to thrive as a human being.

This arresting memoir is essentially a road trip of William ‘Mecca’ Elmore, a man with a tumultuous childhood, growing up in a neighborhood chock full of social problems. It is in this environment that Elmore is involved in a crime that consequently leads to his arrest and trial. The story builds upon his incarceration in various correctional facilities, his experiences, his release through a Mutual Agreement Parole Program, and his eventual redemption.

Read More Here

Federal Prison Handbook
By Christopher Zoukis

In the Federal Prison Handbook-The Definitive Guide to Surviving the Federal Bureau of Prison, Christopher Zoukis has meticulously identified, collected, and organized a compendium of information regarding life in federal prison. Zoukis’ straightforward writing, free of personal bias or opinion, is neither mysterious nor titillating—reality is not sensationalized—it’s not fiction, it’s the facts.

However, if through some twist of fate, you or a loved one finds yourself in the unthinkable situation of going to prison, it may become the best book you’ve ever read.

Consider. You’ve been sentenced to serve time in one of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ 125 stand-alone facilities, a private contract facility, or a satellite prison camp scattered throughout the United States. You, who need directions to find your way through Costco to the deli, must now enter an unfamiliar world with its own lexicon, rules, and consequences. How will you survive?

Read More Here

The Breast is History
By Bronwyn Hope

A realistic, up-close look at life as a cancer patient and survivor. The Breast Is History is a strong tool of hope and humor in the darkest days of any woman’s life.

In September 2011, Bronwyn Hope received her initial diagnosis of breast cancer; by March 2013 she had had both breasts removed, had gone through numerous chemo and radiation treatments, taken thousands of pills, and come out of it with a gritty, positive philosophy.

When she was first diagnosed, a close friend advised her to start a blog, something very far from her mind at that moment. But, her friend reasoned, she could inspire others with her story. This was not a fanciful idea, given that Bronwyn was and is a powerhouse—an avid athlete, media maven, entrepreneur, activist, mother, and writer. She took her friend’s advice and this book is the result, a sometimes day-by-day journal of her battle with a disease she admits we often think of as a death sentence.

Read More Here

A Home on the South Fork
By Margaret A. Hellyer

For untold millennia, the region that would come to be known as Whatcom was occupied by the indigenous conglomerate of tribes known as the Salish, who were peaceful and civilized. The Nooksack, who are a part of the Coast Salish, spent their time fishing, building canoes, weaving, and farming. In the 1850s, that began to change as the native peoples had to learn to co-exist with a new incursion of settlers—hardy people from the Eastern states and as far away as Europe.

They came to the region with the lure of inexpensive land ownership that had been made possible by the Homestead Act. A few had drifted in earlier when false rumors of gold were sounded, those early explorations revealing arable land and an abundance of natural resources.

Early homesteaders found the resources both sustaining and at times, daunting. For example, the trees themselves were so enormous that felling them was perilous, and logjams were frequent, cutting off the river’s flow. The winters were harsh and the summers, bug-infested. But families like the Galbraiths (the author’s ancestors) were hardy and determined. By the early 1900s, a thriving town had been established.

Read More Here

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 NELLIE BLY Awards was:

Saints & Soldiers

by Rita Katz

A gripping account of the parallel rise of Islamic Terrorist groups compared to White Supremacist Groups. Thoroughly researched, an expert author, and a chilling book.

Explore the accomplished minds that have graced the winner’s circle of the Nellie Bly Awards. Be inspired by the depth and breadth of investigative journalism as we celebrate the achievements of the 2022 Nellie Bly Award Winners.

Be Part of the Legacy: Submit your Journalistic Non-Fiction to the Nellie Bly Awards today!

As the deadline for the 2023 Nellie Bly Awards creeps closer, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the exceptional achievers.

Seeking avenues for your non-fiction prowess? Explore all our Non-Fiction Divisions that provide platforms for various genres and styles.

With over $30,000 in rewards and prizes given away every year, what are you waiting for? Submit today!

The Grand Prize Winners of the 2022 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

October 10, 2023
The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Long List for Americana Fiction
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 2023 Laramie Americana entries to the 2023 Laramie Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2023 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 20th, 2024 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2023 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Leah Angstman – The Only Way to Cheat a Hangman
- Heidi M. Thomas – Rescue Ranch Rising
- Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara
- Barbara Toomer – Season of Our Reckoning
- Deborah Hufford – Blood to Rubies
- George T. Arnold – The Heart Beneath the Badge
- Kimberly Burns – The Redemption of Mattie Silks
- Leslie K Simmons – Red Clay, Running Waters
- E. Alan Fleischauer – Chip Heller Man of Valor
- Loretta Miles Tollefson – There Will Be Consequences
- Donna E. Lane – This Hallowed Ground
- Susan Rounds – The Winds of Autumn: A Marquette Legacy Epic Romance
- Martha Engber – The Falcon, the Wolf, and the Hummingbird
- James Holland – Vigilante Love Song: Alice Roosevelt and The White House Gunfighters
- Leslie K Simmons – Red Clay, Running Waters
- Myra Hargrave McIlvain – The Knotted Ring
- K.S. JONES – Tastefully Texas
- Venetia Hobson Lewis – Changing Woman
- T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
- Steven Mayfield – The Penny Mansions
- Joan Koster – That Dickinson Girl: A Novel of the Civil War
- Thomas Goodman – The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
- J. Stanion – My Place Among Them
- Shanna Hatfield – Love on Target
- JR Holland – Alice Roosevelt and the White House Gunfighters
- John Hansen – Grays Lake
- John W. Jarrett – The Dark Prairie
- Michael L. Ross – Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding
- Julia Brewer Daily – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch
- David Calloway – If Someday Comes
- K. S. JONES – Change of Fortune
- Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper A Matter of Time
- Lloyd Mullins – A Rare and Dangerous Beast
- T. M. Brown – The Last Laird of Sapelo
- Sophia Alexander – Homespun
- Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)
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 2022 LARAMIE Awards is:

Guarded Hearts

by T.K. Conklin

Click here to see the 2022 Laramie Book Award Winners for Americana Fiction.

The 2024 Laramie Awards are now open! Click here for more information!

For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:
Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

CAC24 –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!
October 9, 2023
Time is running out for the 2023 CIBAs!
The Chanticleer International Book Awards

7 Divisions Close in September!

11 Close in October!

The 2022 CIBA Blue Ribbon Winners

You know you want one!

Are you ready? Then Submit Today!

Why Opt for the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards?
- Credibility: Our awards spotlight and guide readers to extraordinary writing. We are partnered with or recommended by ALLi, IBPA, Reedsy, and Book Award Pro.
- Prestige: Whether it’s the Blue Ribbons, the Author Interview, or the Book Reviews, even advancing partway through a Book Award Program shows readers and publishing experts that you’re doing right by your book when it comes to marketing.
- Support: The CIBAs are run by human beings, and we’re here for you. Each time you advance in our Tiers of Achievement, your name and book title are promoted on our high-traffic website, across social media, and in our newsletter.
We love to celebrate our Book Award Winners:

The CIBAs have celebrated remarkable authors who’ve subsequently soared to great heights. We’re still over the moon about our 2022 Winners!

The OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER for 2022 was

100% a must read!

Is it too late?

Not necessarily! Our webmaster works strange hours. If you don’t see the deadline updated on our website for 2024, the division is still open and you can still make it. If it has changed, please reach out to info@ChantiReviews.com and we may be able to sneak you in, but the good news is…

The webmaster emerges to update the Awards date! Run!

We are accepting entries into the 2024 Chanticleer International Book Awards Program.

The winners of the 2023 CIBAs will be announced on April 20, 2024.

The winners of the 2024 CIBAs will be announced in April 2025.

That’s right! You can always submit for the next cycle. Be sure to visit the specific Awards page to make sure you meet all the criteria before submitting.

As always, a big thank you to all our readers, judges, staff, and the authors who make the CIBAs possible! The Book Awards are a labor of love, and we are so grateful every day to be able to Discover Today’s Best Books!
September 30, 2023
Paranormal 2023 Hall of Fame, something spooky this way comes!

Werewolves and Cryptids and Ghosts, Oh My!

The Paranormal Awards are here to bring you excellent Otherworldly Tales.

***Tell your spooky story today***

You have until September 30th to share your Tale of the Unknown with us and enter the 2023 CIBAs!

Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs) is looking for the best books Paranormal books featuring magic, the supernatural, weird otherworldly stories, superhumans (ex. Jessica Jones, Wonder Woman), magical beings & supernatural entities (ex. Harry Potter), vampires & werewolves (ex. Twilight), angels & demons, fairies & mythological beings, and magical systems.

Let’s celebrate the past winners and visit the Hall of Fame for the Paranormal Awards!

The Devil Pulls The Strings
By J.W. Zarek

The protagonist and all-around decent guy, Boone Daniels, is in a heap of hurt in JW Zarek’s new Young Adult novel, The Devil Pulls the Strings.

One would think being plagued by an evil spirit wendigo since age six would be enough inconvenience to last a lifetime, but when Boone jousts with his best bud at a Ren Faire and accidentally deals a mortal blow, the hurt he experiences suddenly lands on a sliding scale of 1 to 1 million. And Boone Daniels becomes a millionaire, so to speak.

Read More Here

Soul Seeker
By Kaylin McFarren

The realms of demons and angels clash, as the possibility of romance, plunges the beings of Hell into chaos. Kaylin McFarren’s Soul Seeker follows the otherworldly set as they flee for their lives, uncover millennia-old secrets about one another, and face the possibility of love in a very dangerous world.

But first, the demon, Crighton, wreaks havoc on his human target, a man named Poe, devastating the man and his family. You could say, Crighton’s at home collecting wicked souls for his boss, Lucifer. His villain persona is put into question when he meets the angel, Ariel. At first, Crighton believes the angelic Ariel would make an excellent prize for the prince of darkness, as the demon is well aware that his master adores ruining pretty things. However, when an undeniable attraction emerges between them, they wrestle with each other, pitting strength against strength. Beware any who would do anything to tear these two apart—that would spell certain death.

Read More Here

Abigail’s Window
By Susan Lynn Solomon

Katy Novacs is haunted, both by her past and the laughing specter that reminds her of it. When her friends bring her to Niagara-on-the-Lake in the hopes of lifting her spirits, she finds that their inn has a ghost of its own who has a tale that might save her.

Katy comes to the Niagara Inn in a mire of sorrow, fear, and trauma. Though her friends try to help her move forward with her life, to fall in love and open herself up to other people again, Katy’s stay at the inn only seems to drain her further. Both she and her friends question her sanity as she becomes certain that she’s sharing a room with the spirit of a dead woman, but when Abigail eventually reveals herself, it is to tell Katy a story that she needs to hear—that of Abigail’s life.

Read More Here

The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove
By Joy Ross Davis

Award-winning author, Joy Ross Davis’ latest work, The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove, ventures beyond the paranormal into the surreal. Like Medusa on a bad hair day, the lives of characters are intertwined and twisted in a snaky snarl of conflicting human desires, terrifying inexplicable events, and the lingering afterlives of ancient, supernatural beings.

Davis gifts us with a 21st-century legend, replete with mythological themes and creatures, and snippets of folklore and superstition melded with documented vagaries of weather, obscure herpetology, and creates a mystical potion worthy of Circe. In other words, Davis gives us a thrilling read!

Rumors about suspicious deaths have put Preacher’s Cove, Alabama, a small, historic town notorious for powerful, killer storms, on the map. Hap Murray, Huntsville’s Channel 12 field reporter, with family ties to the Cove, arrives in town on assignment, armed with only limited knowledge of the town’s history of inexplicable deaths. The rumors speculate that the local pastor may be involved.

Read More Here

The review for Cold as Hell by Rhett Bruno and Jaime Castle is forthcoming as the 2022 Paranormal Grand Prize Winner! You can see the full list of winners here: https://test.chantireviews.com/2023/05/09/the-paranormal-2022-ciba-winners-for-supernatural-fiction/

A fascinating story with well-written characters that will keep the pages turning!

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

Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

September 28, 2023
Clue 2023 Hall of Fame – Criminally good reads!

Ready to dive into a thrilling adventure?

Find your next page-turning read here!

***Make your Case Known***

You have until September 30th to share your novel with us and enter the 2023 CIBAs!

Suspenseful stories filled with mystery have long held readers captive with their intricate plotting, enigmatic clues, and the tantalizing challenge of solving a puzzle or unraveling a crime. In these tales, protagonists are not just characters; they are the enigmatic detectives, the astute investigators, and the relentless truth-seekers who navigate a labyrinth of secrets, lies, and suspense. It’s a world where protagonists, inspired by the likes of Sherlock Holmes, navigate a web of mysteries, facing danger and moral quandaries with each step. From classic mysteries to contemporary thrillers, this genre captivates readers of all ages, drawing them into a labyrinth of secrets, where the ultimate reward is the satisfaction of solving the puzzle and the exhilaration of the chase.

If you are ready to unveil your next adventure, submit to the Clue Awards!

Lets take a moment to celebrate the Hall of Fame for the Grand Prize Winners of the Clue Awards!

The Vines
By Shelley Nolden

Shelley Nolden’s debut novel, The Vines, embraces multiple genres as it chills, fascinates, and horrifies, from historical and magical realism to fantasy and horror.

Nolden has melded fanaticism, medical anomalies, and the frailties of human behavior together with a historic setting, creating a narrative Kudzu vine that grows rapidly and spares nothing in its path. This particular vine consists of two main branches that intertwine, bridging time and linking parallel realities, one past, one present.

The Gettler men of Long Island, New York have shepherded a secret medical research project for generations, with the exception of Finn, the youngest man in the family.

Read More Here

A Venomous Love
By Chris Karlsen

Detective Rudyard Bloodstone is facing the most bizarre crime spree of his career as a copper on the Victorian streets of London. Someone is using a poisonous Cape cobra as a weapon.

What begins as a simple robbery scheme turns deadly when a wealthy businessman is killed via cobra attack, the crimes go from strange to deadly. Rudyard (Ruddy) and his partner, Archie Holcomb, have few clues and no idea what would cause such a change in the criminal’s behavior.

When the criminal returns to the estate and attacks the victim’s daughter, Ruddy’s suspicions are confirmed.

Read More Here

Salvaging Truth
By Joanne Jaytanie

Famed marine biologist and researcher Claudia Rawlings is presumed dead. When Claudia’s research vessel goes down, her daughter Riley goes on a desperate search to discover what happened, eventually turning to Dagger Eastin, co-owner of Hunters and Seekers a marine salvage business. Dagger soon realize this isn’t a simple search and reclaim mission when someone takes a shot at him during an exploratory dive with Riley.

Former Navy SEALs, Dagger, and his partners Kaleb LaSalle and Stone Garrison are the definitions of relentless, and they quickly become embroiled in the investigation that has caught the attention of some very influential people, all seeking Claudia’s important research. And while Riley learns that her mother has left behind clues to her missing research, the Hunters and Seekers pull out all the stops to help and protect her. The wild scavenger hunt sends Dagger and Riley on a trip to discover the truth, but Russian spies, big oil cronies, and psychopathic hitmen lurk around every corner.

Read More Here

California Son
By Timothy Burgess

California Son, the second installment in the Liam Sol Mystery series by Timothy Burgess, presents another action-packed mystery for protagonist Liam Sol to solve. Honorably discharged after his tour of duty in Vietnam, Liam returns to his primarily Hispanic neighborhood of Baja La Bolsa, a coastal town near LA, California, where trouble finds him.

In his role as a journalist, Liam takes interest in the daily pleas of a Hispanic mother to find her son’s murderer, pleas that the mostly white La Bolsa Police seem to ignore. After an article he writes in hopes of renewing interest in the case appears in La Bolsa Tribune, the mother is found dead in her apartment. No stranger to death or violence, Liam soon finds himself on the personal side of a hunt for the killer of not only the son but also the mother.

Read More Here

The Review of the most recent winner is forthcoming.

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

Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

September 26, 2023
The 2023 Laramie Awards Hall of Fame

The Laramie Awards are calling

Submit your Americana, Western or Civil War Novels to the CIBAs!

***Tell your story today***

You have until September 30th to share your Story with us and enter the 2023 CIBAs!

Charles M. Russell painted the cowboy seen on Chanticleer’s very own Laramie contest badge. It is one of many such paintings he did that encompassed the Old American Wild West. An advocate for the Native Americans, Charles M. Russell also helped establish a reservation in Montana for the Chippewa people.

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

Tom Sawyer Returns
By E.E. Burke
Laramie Grand Prize

Tom Sawyer Returns is the second book in The New Adventures series by author E.E. Burke.

Readers join a now grown up and far more independent Becky Thatcher as she maneuvers her complicated life in Civil War era Mississippi. Tom has long since left, and Becky is engaged to Union Captain Alfred Temple, who offers her all the safety and security she needs in such uncertain times. But does she love him? Actually love him?

Becky soon discovers that her heart may have other plans.

Read More Here

Trouble The Water
By Rebecca Dwight Bruff
Overall Grand Prize Winner

Robert Smalls’ life should have been one for the history books.

Smalls was born a slave in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839. When the first shots of the Civil War were fired upon Fort Sumter, Smalls was an experienced helmsman aboard a small cargo ship plying the coastal waters of South Carolina and the neighboring states. Once the war broke out, he found himself working to support a cause that kept him, his wife, and their children locked in chattel slavery.

But in a daring escapade that fell somewhere between a raid and a rescue, Smalls planned, with the help of his fellow crew members (also slaves) aboard the CSS Planter, to abscond with the ship, its cargo of munitions taken from Fort Sumter, and bring their families. The plan was to sail the ship as though its white officers were still on board, pretending to be carrying out their orders—at least until the ship was out of the reach of Fort Sumter’s guns.

Read More Here

Seven Aprils
By Eileen Charbonneau
Laramie Grand Prize

Disguised gender identities, warfare, and thwarted romance all play a role in this many-layered novel, Seven Aprils, by award-winning fiction author Eileen Charbonneau.

When Tess Barton, a hardscrabble farm girl, saves the life of a man attacked by a panther, she and he little realize how fated this encounter will prove. Ryder Cole, the man she saved, moves on, pursuing a medical career just as the United States seems destined for war. Intrepid Tess will move on, too, when she learns that her widower father sells her in matrimony to an old, brutish shopkeeper. A wise crone cuts Tess’s hair and garbs her in men’s attire. Reborn as Tom Boyde, who will soon, strangely, meet up with Ryder and become one of his “men,” conscripted into Lincoln’s armies. Tess/Tom shows promise as a medical assistant with some undeniable cooking skills, and together with two other conscripts, they make the team in the Union’s army hospital units.

Read More Here

Blood Moon A Captives Tale
By Ruth Hull Chatlien
Laramie Grand Prize

Ruth Hull Chatlien’s historical novel Blood Moon: A Captive’s Tale shines a light on two worlds trying to coexist in the 1860s Minnesota, that of Westward Expansion and white settlers, and that of the complex network of Sioux tribes dealing with starvation and disease. We follow her protagonist, Mrs. Sarah Wakefield, as she is thrust unwillingly into the midst of the Indian Wars.

Based loosely on the life of real captive, Sarah Wakefield, Chatlien explores both sides of this conflict, through the eyes of our terrified hero, who does what she must to save her life and the lives of her two small children. The first-person narrative in present tense places us in the thick of Wakefield’s narrow escapes, and the presence of the constant threats to her and her children.

Read More Here

Reviews for the 2022 Laramie Awards are to come, but you can see the full list of winners here!

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

Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

September 20, 2023
The 2023 Short List CYGNUS Book Awards 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 2023 CYGNUS Science Fiction Long List to the 2023 Cygnus Book Awards Short List. These entries are now in competition for the 2023 Cygnus Semi-Finalists. The Semi-Finalists will compete for the Finalist positions. FINALISTS will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC24.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2023 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- S.W. Lawrence, MD – Climate Dragon
- Andrew P. Blaber – Fallow
- Lou Dischler – The Rising
- E.T. Gunnarsson – Abandon Us
- E.T. Gunnarsson – Remember Us
- Arnie Benn – The Intrepid: Dawn Of The Interstellar Age
- J.L. Birchwood – The Southron Deception
- Alexandra Almeida – Unanimity
- S.G. Blaise – Proud Pada
- Tamar Anolic – The Fledgling’s Inferno
- Diane Lilli – The Last Invention
- William X. Adams – Polters
- N. John Williams – In the Shadow of Humanity: A Novel
- Julia Tvardovskaya – Identifiable
- Gareth Worthington – Dark Dweller
- J.D. Clason – Salvation
- K.M. Messina – Gemja – The Message
- Lucia Dolan – Power Surge
- R. R. Corvi – The Brangus Rebellion
- Amber Kirkpatrick – Unleashed
- Michael Simon – Extinction
- J. Wint – The Prism Effect
- Timothy S. Johnston – The Shadow of War
- Howard Berk and Peter Berk – TimeLock
- Jeanne Hull Godfroy – Midgard
- Jamie Eubanks – Hall of Skulls
- Rob Brownell – Invention Is a Mother
- Dylan McFadyen – Oblivion’s Cloak
- Donald Firesmith – Hell Holes: A Slave’s Revenge
- Stu Jones – The Zone: A Cyberpunk Thriller
- John Blossom – The Last Football Player
- Nikki Kallio – Finding the Bones: Stories & A Novella
- Sarena Straus – ReInception
- Tyler Drinkard – Isolated Domain
- Melissa Gowdy Baldwin – The Marriage Wars: Book One
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.

Congratulations once more to the 2022 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

The Last Lumenian

By S. G. Blaise

Click here to see the full list of 2022 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2024 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA 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 12th annual conference and discover why!
September 20, 2023
The CIBAs 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction – The Long List
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Middle Grade Fiction. The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

The Gertrude Warner Book Awards competition is named for Gertrude Chandler Warner, the wonderful author of The Boxcar Children.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Contemporary Middle Grade, SFF & Paranormal Middle Grade, Mystery Middle Grade, Historical Middle Grade, Adventure Middle Grade, and Graphic Novels. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards here and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards here.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2023 Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Fiction entries to the 2023 Gertrude Warner Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2023 Gertrude Warner Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the FINALIST positions. Finalists will be selected from the Short List. 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 20st, 2024 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2023 Gertrude Warner Book Awards novel competition for Middle Grade Fiction!

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

The 2023 Gertrude Warner Book Awards Long List
- Tomás Pérez-Zafón – Trotter and the Twins: The Magic of Imagination
- Sue C Dugan – SOS
- Carrie Sword – The Gospel of the Reindeer
- Gregory Saur – Drowning Hate
- Jenna L. Campbell – Camp Silversand and the Lost Heart of the Lake
- Gabriel Bietz – The Adventures of Arya and Krishna Betta Fish
- Alex Paul – The Amarrat Invasion
- Hans Ness – Rolo the Pet Earthling
- Jason Colpitts – Corrine and the Secret Mountain Colony
- Marsha Tufft – The Sea Turtle Spy Project: Putney Hicks Inventor Adventures? Book 4
- Chris Norbury – Little Mountain, Big Trouble
- V Knox – Snow Behind the Door
- Zane Re-Bloom – The Magic of Moon & Herbs
- Malinda Andrews – Awaken
- Marsha Klopmeier Tufft – The Buoyancy Project: Putney Hicks Inventor Adventures, Book 2
- Peter Serko – Hattie’s War
- Andrew Dolberg and Rob Long – The Great Weather Diviner: The Untold Origin of Punxsutawney Phil
- Vincent M. Miceli – The Last Triceracorn, Book One
- J.T. Tenera – Erift’s Journeys: The Dark Messengers
- Liese Sherwood-Fabre – Wilhelmina Quigley: Magic School Dropout
- Mel Sobolewski – Second Chances Moonlight Mile Ranch
- Eileen Hobbs – Under the Golden Rain Tree
- Caryn Rivadeneira – Frankinschool (Book 1): Monster Match
- Elizabeth R. Jensen – Fire & Wolves: A Tale of Etria
- David Swindell – The Wonderful Friendship
- Maxine Rose Schur – The Word Dancer
- Kevin Dunn – Vicious is My Middle Name
- Nikita Kapoor – Pack of the Lost – The Uninviting Forest
- J.T. Tenera – Erift’s Journeys: Secrets of The Sealed Forest
- Paisley Summer – The Butterfly Nebulae
- Sheri Graubert – Molly Shipton, Secret Actress
- Rae Marsh – Love, Maggie-Chronicles of 3rd Grade
- David Nos – Kordan The Wizard
- Barbara Gold – Operation Save PawPrints, an Izzy Rose Green Mystery
- Ryan OBrien – Adventures Through the Magic Portal
- Susan Diamond Riley – The Sea Witch’s Revenge: A Delta & Jax Mystery
- Rae Knightly – EXOSTAR (The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1)
- Alisse Lee Goldenberg & Joseph Goldenberg – Lucky At Bat
- Mark Cheverton – Facing the Beast Within
- Lynne Howard – Dylan Dover: Into The Vortex
- L.T. Caton – Find Me In Time: Meeting Columbus
- Cintia Alfonso Fior – Moraline
- Rae St. Clair Bridgman – The Kingdom of Trolls
- Ben Gartner – One Giant Leap
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 to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is:

MYSTERY FORCE, Volume 1

by Ted Neill and Suzi Spooner

The 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC24 on April 20, 2024. Save the date for CAC24, scheduled April 18-21, 2024, our 12-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards are open until the end of August. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

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 12th annual conference and discover why!
September 12, 2023