Looking for a sense of History?

Look no further! The Chaucer Awards are here to bring stories from anytime before 1750.

You have until August 31st to submit your story and enter the 2025 CIBAs!

Named for Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales (and Name giver of a certain rooster named Chanticleer), This Division was our first Historical Fiction category. Due to us receiving so many amazing Historical Fiction submissions, we had to split it into a few more Divisions. For Post 1750 History, see The Goethe Awards. For 20th and 21st Century Wartime History, see The Hemingway Awards. For Western and Americana History, see The Laramie Awards.

Let’s Take a look back in more recent history at the Grand Prize Winners of the Chaucer Award!

Maid of Honour: Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria’s Court
Book 1 of the Anne Boleyn Chronicles
By Rozsa Gaston

Our newest Grand Prize Winner has a release date for Early August, and we are very excited to see it come out!

Anne Boleyn’s path to Henry VIII’s heart—and the throne—begins not in France, but at the court of Europe’s most powerful woman, Margaret of Austria.

Anne enters the world of the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands as one of Margaret’s eighteen maids of honour, who thrive under the guidance of their highly intelligent ruler.

Anne struggles with cliques and jealousies at court, and when Erasmus of Rotterdam arrives with ideas of reform, Anne starts to question tradition and sets her sights high, determined to leave her mark on the world.

But political machinations intervene, cutting short Anne’s time at Margaret’s court, and launching her to France.

Armed with the skills learned under the Netherlands’ brilliant ruler, Anne inches closer to her destiny…

Can she achieve her ambitious desires? Will Margaret’s formidable example influence Anne’s future?

Or will this young maid struggle to blossom in a man’s world…?

Find it on Amazon!

The Merchant From Sepharad
By James Hutson-Wiley

Joshua Ibn Elazar, the eager son of a Jewish merchant, travels to al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule) to prove himself in his father’s business. But he finds an unwelcoming, degrading society waiting for him, and begins a journey of misfortune and anger in James Hutson-Wiley’s historical fiction novel, The Merchant from Sepharad.

Shortly after arriving in the city of Lishbunah, al-Andalus, Joshua is tricked out of the gold for his living expenses. Worse yet, he learns that Jews in Lishbunah suffer under oppressive laws, holding far less status than Muslim citizens. He can only find help in Lishbuna’s Jewish community, meeting Rabbi Hiyya al-Daudi and his son Yaish, who house and feed him.

They tell him that his father’s colleague, Essua, who was to help Joshua manage a shipment of flax and sugar, has been arrested. Though Essua is eventually released, Joshua fails to secure storage for his goods, as the makhzan (warehouse) he rented is given to a Muslim merchant instead. In his fury at the city’s prejudice, he sets fire to the makhzan, and is forced to flee.

Read More Here!

Daughter of Hades
By Mack Little

Mack Little’s historical fiction novel Daughter of Hades explores the lives of slaves during the age of pirates.

Little’s research shines in her thoughtful presentation of the Caribbean islands, the escaped slaves who found freedom amongst them, the lives of buccaneers and maroons, and their daring and dangerous exploits.

On the first page, Little introduces us to Geraldine, or “Dinny”, running for her life from her owner, Owen Craig, who has just raped her.

Dinny’s father had arranged for her to be removed from the plantation before Craig molested her, but he’d miscalculated Craig’s lust. Dinny is rescued by her twin brother, Jimmie, and Leixiang, and taken to the Hades, a pirate ship captained by the buccaneer Duff.

Read More Here

Too Soon The Night
By James Conroyd Martin

Too Soon the Night by James Conroyd Martin shows the thrilling heights to which Empress Theodora rose and the crushing depths to which she fell, in the latter half of her life. This story picks up from Fortune’s Child, the first volume of this epic duology.

This half of Theodora’s incredible journey opens at its close – as she succumbs to the cancer that drove her to dictate the record of her life. She left the task of recording her meteoric rise from actress to empress in the hands of the scribe and historian Stephen, even though she imprisoned him for several years out of fear that he would reveal her greatest secrets.

Read More Here

Bird in a Snare
By N.L. Holmes

Politics is a deadly game in the days of Kings and their competing 14th-century B.C. Egyptian factions. Official diplomat, Lord Hani, is on a royal assignment when he discovers even the king’s motives are suspect. Hani begins to fear for the welfare of his family and himself, as he gets a sinking feeling that the hunter has become the hunted. He’s the live bait, the Bird In A Snare.

Can Lord Hani find out who is responsible for the mysterious assassinations and the shifting armies’ alliances before becoming the one they target next?

Read More Here

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Thank you for celebrating our Chaucer Hall of Fame Winners with us!

Remember to add your next reads to your StoryGraph or Goodreads account! Now that you’re set on your next five reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Chaucer Winners is Look no further! The Chaucer Awards are here to bring stories from anytime before 1750.

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

If you have a great Post 1750 Historical Fiction Story, submit it to us before the end of August to enter the 2025 CIBAs!

The Chaucer Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Early Historical Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Rozsa Gaston’s book, Maid of Honour will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Chaucer 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!

The 2024 Chaucer Winners were announced at the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

Join us in celebrating the 2024 First Place Chaucer Winners!

Dean Cycon – A Quest For God and Spices

A Quest for God and Spices begins an epic journey across the ancient world. In the year AD 1200, a new pope agitates for a renewed crusade to reconquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem. European monarchs largely ignore his call, too involved with squabbles among themselves. The pope chooses two men-Brother Mauro, an older monk, and Nicolo, a young, striving merchant-to traverse the treacherous political, religious, and mercantile terrain of medieval Europe and the Byzantine Empire to seek out the powerful Presbyter John, a mysterious king in the Far East who has promised to put his wealth and vast armies to the service of the pope’s crusade.
 
Nicolo’s task is to guide Mauro, but a corrupt cardinal has secretly charged the young man with finding the source of the precious spices that ensure the Venetian and Arab trade monopoly. Nicolo’s youthful exuberance, carelessness, and desire to be important jeopardize their mission, while Mauro’s knowledge of scripture and pagan works has not prepared him for the schemes of doges and emirs, clergymen and kings.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Liz Sevchuk Armstrong – To Remain Vigilant

As Sir Harry Percy patrols England’s rugged North, even the Scots, his frequent adversaries, admire his audacity and courage. Claiming his ceaseless vigilance means his spurs never cool, they call him Hotspur. Yet when Harry questions royal corruption, Richard II bestows another name: traitor.

Escaping death, Harry joins Duke Henry Bolingbroke, whose fortune Richard stole and who leads a campaign to improve Richard’s governance. Soon, though, Henry, too, acts despotic, ordering executions without fair trials and plotting to seize power directly. Alarmed, Harry exacts a vow from him to not oust Richard. But Henry violates his oath, inciting a mob to force Parliament to make him King Henry IV. Harry boycotts Henry’s coronation but, realizing he serves the nation regardless of who wears the crown, later returns to duty, with Henry’s backing.

Will their reconciliation last? And can Harry’s newfound love with an ex-abbess protect him not only from threats on the borders but those in dark palace corners? Never has his motto, Esperance—Hope—mattered more!

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

C.V. Lee – Betrayal of Trust

With his ancestral manor in ruins, Philippe strives to forge a new family legacy. But a relentless knave is determined to cause his downfall.

1470, Isle of Jersey. Heart-broken by his father’s death, Philippe returns home to shoulder the hereditary mantle of seigneur. Coming of age during an oppressive occupation, he aspires to reconstruct the fiefdom based on values of prosperity and compassion.

Despite his misgivings, he acquiesces to the arranged marriage with the new governor’s daughter, Margaret. She brings with her a substantial dowry that will help him achieve his objectives. As love blossoms between them, life seems perfect.
However, a longtime rival lurks, determined to thwart Philippe at every turn. As Philippe’s power and influence on the island grows, their quarrel escalates to new levels of treachery. When the feud turns deadly, can Philippe survive the ordeals that await and safeguard the future for his family?

Betrayal of Trust is the riveting second novel in The de Carteret Chronicles: Legacy of Rebels historical fiction series and tells the story of Margaret Harleston, one of the island’s heroines. If you like political intrigue, treachery, and formidable adversaries, prepare to be captivated by this true tale of bravery.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Logan D. Irons – Sands of Bone

Ninety years have passed since the Christians wrested control of Jerusalem from their foes, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem’s army is a pile of corpses strewn about the Horns of Hattin. The few survivors stumble back for the only place of refuge spared of Saladin’s wrath, Jerusalem.

Robert Cutnose reluctantly joins with the Lord Balian de Ibelin in an attempt to defend a city of refugees from Saladin’s army. Both men have drawn the ire of old enemies within the Order who secretly wish to bring them down. And hidden within Saladin’s ranks, assassins lurk, cultivating their own end to the conflict. Even while the city teeters on the brink of annihilation, a princess seeks to assert her birthright over the crown. The fate of Cutnose and the Kingdom of Jerusalem hangs by a thread, and there is no guarantee of survival of anyone involved.

Continue the gritty war-torn journey through the crusades and the Noctis Bellum, a shadow war spanning centuries between the Order and the Hunted.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Jean Gill – Among Sea Wolves

1150: The Whale Road. An epic medieval adventure, set in the Viking world of 12th century Orkney. To change their doom, Skarfr and Hlif must pay the price.

Warrior-poet Skarfr embarks on a death-defying pilgrimage with his ruler, Jarl Rognvald, from the wind-whipped shores of Orkney to the Holy Land. He is one of the few men trusted by the Jarl, whether facing sea-monsters or murder.

Fifteen ships sail on the ‘whale road’ in the pilgrims’ fleet. The only woman among the ‘sea wolves’, Hlif is respected as much for her practical skills as for her mystical gifts. Yet beneath her indomitable façade lies a secret – she is handfasted to Skarfr, their love forbidden by the Jarl’s decree.

As tensions rise, Skarfr is torn between fealty to his Jarl and devotion to Hlif. One oath must be broken but which one? How can he steer a course between loyalty and love without losing his honour?

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Laura C. Rader – Hatfield 1677

Also a 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design Award First Place Winner!

Colonist Benjamin Waite, a devoted husband, father, and skilled military scout in King Philip’s War, reluctantly obeys orders to guide a brutal attack against a camp of Algonquian Natives.

After the catastrophic event, Benjamin is burdened with guilt and longs for peace. But the Algonquians, led by the revered sachem Ashpelon, retaliate with vengeance upon Ben’s Massachusetts town of Hatfield, capturing over a dozen colonists, including his pregnant wife Martha and their three young daughters.

Hatfield 1677 is a tale of three interwoven yet diverging journeys of strength and survival. Benjamin is driven by love and remorse to rescue his family; Martha is forced into captivity and desperately striving to protect her children; and Ashpelon is willing to risk everything to ensure the safety and freedom of his people.

Based on the lives of the author’s ancestors, this riveting and unforgettable novel gives voice to three vastly different experiences in North America during a time before the creation of the Declaration of Independence. Then, the land was but a wilderness and a battleground; equality was not yet perceived as self-evident; and liberty and happiness were nothing more than dangerous pursuits.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

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Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Chaucer First Place Winners!Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

Got a great Fiction Book? The 2025 Chaucer Book Awards are open through the end of August!

Tales from the Distant Past

The Chaucer Awards Honor Early Historical Fiction Excellence

The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway, and Chaucer closes on August 31, 2025!

In an age when stories spread by firelight and traveling minstrels, when legends were born from whispered tales and historical truth blended seamlessly with mythic storytelling, Geoffrey Chaucer understood the power of narrative to capture both the spirit of an age and the eternal human condition. The Chaucer Awards, inspired by the great poet whose “Prior’s Tale” gave Chanticleer its very name, celebrate this same tradition and honoring authors who bring the distant past to vivid life through masterful storytelling.

As Chanticleer’s first historical fiction division, the Chaucer Awards represent our foundational commitment to discovering exceptional historical narratives. From the mists of pre-history through the grandeur of the Renaissance, these awards recognize the unique artistry required to transform ancient civilizations, legendary figures, and distant eras into compelling contemporary fiction.

The Art of Ancient Storytelling

Writing early historical fiction demands extraordinary imagination and research skills. Authors must recreate worlds where written records are scarce, daily life was vastly different from our own, and the very foundations of modern society were still being formed. These storytellers serve as literary archaeologists, piecing together fragments of history, legend, and human nature to create authentic worlds that feel both historically grounded and emotionally true.

The best early historical fiction doesn’t just transport readers to distant times—it reveals the timeless aspects of human experience that connect us across millennia. Whether exploring the political intrigue of Tudor courts, the epic journeys of Celtic heroes, or the daily struggles of medieval peasants, these stories illuminate how courage, love, ambition, and family loyalty have remained constant throughout human history.

The challenge of early historical fiction lies in making ancient worlds accessible to modern readers while respecting the fundamental differences in how people thought, believed, and lived in earlier eras. The most successful works achieve this delicate balance, creating stories that feel authentically historical yet emotionally immediate.

Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!

We’re delighted to honor Rozsa Gaston, whose meticulously researched novel Maid of Honour: Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria’s Court claimed the 2024 Chaucer Grand Prize with a fresh perspective on one of history’s most infamous queens. Set in 1513 Europe, the novel follows young Anne Boleyn during her formative time as one of eighteen maids of honor at the court of Margaret of Austria, Europe’s most powerful woman, before her fateful journey to France and eventually to Henry VIII’s court.

Gaston’s work exemplifies the scholarly depth and narrative skill that defines exceptional early historical fiction, exploring how Anne’s ambitious character was shaped by her early experiences with political intrigue, intellectual reform, and the complex dynamics of European court life. As one reviewer noted, this is “a young Anne in whom I absolutely believe, and who does much to explain the woman she’d become.” In addition to ongoing promotional features, Maid of Honour will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame posts. Rozsa Gaston will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and Maid of Honour will receive a coveted Chanticleer Editorial Review.

Categories That Span the Ancient World

The Chaucer Awards welcome early historical fiction across the full spectrum of pre-1750s history:

• Pre-Historical Fiction – Stories from before recorded history, exploring humanity’s earliest experiences
• Ancient Historical Fiction – Classical civilizations of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and other ancient empires
• Dark Ages, Medieval, Renaissance – The transformative periods that bridged ancient and modern worlds
• Elizabethan/Tudor – The golden age of English history and literature
• 1600s – The century of exploration, scientific revolution, and political upheaval
• World/International History Pre-1750s – Global perspectives on early historical periods
• Americas – Historical Fiction Pre-1750s – Stories from the indigenous and colonial Americas
• Legend Based pre-1750s Historical Fiction – Arthurian tales, Beowulf, and other mythic narratives
• Norse/Celtic – Stories from the rich traditions of northern European cultures

Each category represents a different window into humanity’s distant past, from intimate personal stories to epic tales of kingdoms and empires.

Explore All of Our Historical Fiction Divisions

The Chaucer Awards anchor Chanticleer’s comprehensive celebration of historical fiction across all time periods:

• Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction – Post-1750s historical fiction spanning the Georgian era through the 20th century
• Laramie Awards for Americana Fiction – First Nation stories, the American frontier, pioneer tales, Civil War narratives, and Contemporary westerns
• Hemingway Awards for 20th Century Wartime Fiction – The World wars and military conflicts of the modern era

Whether your historical fiction explores recent decades or the distant past, Chanticleer offers recognition for every period and perspective.

Looking at Early Historical Excellence

Check out some of these outstanding early historical fiction works we’ve celebrated recently!

The Tale of the English Templar
By Helena P. Schrader

Far from the romantic legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Helena P. Schrader’s The Tale of the English Templar faithfully captures the harsh decimation of the Knights Templar. Schrader offers a sobering, immersive look at one of history’s darkest betrayals. This is historical fiction worthy of legend with its feet planted firmly in research—not myth.

Set in the early 14th century, the novel captures the downfall of the Knights Templar at the hands of French King Philip IV. With the Pope’s reluctant cooperation, the Templars are accused of heresy and tortured until they confess to crimes they didn’t commit. The king’s true motive? Their immense wealth.

Among those captured is Sir Percy de Lacy, an English Templar who is swept up in a raid by local French soldiers and caught in a mass arrest on Friday, October 13th, 1307. What follows is a harrowing account of imprisonment, torture, and unlikely survival.

Read More Here

Diomedes in Kyprios
By Gregory Michael Nixon

Gregory Michael Nixon’s Diomedes in Kyprios, book 2 in the Diomedeia Series,continues the adventures of the godlike yet all too human hero, Diomedes of Tiryns, as he seeks to discover a meaningful destiny in the chaos of the Bronze Age Collapse.

We begin after the fall of the Hittite Empire, four years after the destruction of Troy. He emerges from the dark river that runs through the underworld where the sacrifice of the Hittite Great King has just occurred, and he has rescued the Hittite Queen from certain death. Nearly drowned but still alive, he recalls only that he had vowed to reunite with the former Queen of the Hittites, the woman he loves named Lieia, at Paphos on the island of Kyprios (ancient Cyprus).

Lieia must undergo her own “odyssey” to get to Paphos to meet Diomedes. She depends on her band of protectors, but they pay for fare aboard a ship with evil men who cannot be trusted.

Read More Here

Elodia’s Knife
By Robert S. Phillips

A Chaucer First Place Winner!

Elodia is a young woman driven by dreadful circumstances to act with deadly force in the Robert S. Phillips novel Elodia’s Knife.

What Elodia hoped would be her leap away from danger instead left her surrounded by perilous threats that now threaten to consume her. Armed with her courage, determination, instincts, and a trusty knife, Elodia faces a hostile world in foreign territory.

Not all are against her though. Allies– even a friend– can be found, if Elodia can summon the bravery to listen to her feelings and own deep wishes.

Young Elodia is unhappily married to an abusive husband. But when he tries to attack her again, she strikes back and kills him.

Read More Here

See our Review of Book 2 Here

See our Review of Book 3 Here

Shelter in a Hostile World
By Mack Little

Chanticleers 2023 Shorts Grand Prize Winner!

Shelter in a Hostile World, second installment in Mack Little’s Love and Peace series, is an epic tale of resistance, desire, and tragedy, saturating readers in the complexity of Igbo culture.

Little paints a character-rich portrait of the horrors of enslavement and the unthinkable violence against women in the Caribbean, locking people together in relationships molded by adversity.

Set in 17th century Igboland—the invaded region of Nigeria — and on the island of Barbados, Shelter in a Hostile World is a searingly brief novel packed with mesmerizing prose. It blends genres to create a literary language entirely its own.

Throughout Little’s story, readers follow the life and loves of Badu Obosi, a haunted revolutionary escaping enslavement to protect his daughter from sexual violence.

Read More Here

See our Review of Book 1, the 2022 Chaucer Grand Prize Winner Here

Mistress of Legend
By Nicole Evelina

Chanticleers 2021 Series Grand Prize Winner!

In Mistress of Legend, the enticing finale of Nicole Evelina’s Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, matters are life-and-death by the second sentence, pulling readers deep into Guinevere’s fate in this retelling of Arthurian legend.

We come upon heroine Guinevere in the midst of an ill-fated romance with Lancelot. It’s far from her first troubled entanglement, but the stakes rise as she’s severely injured and faces even more threats, pursued by possible enemies. The novel’s beginning is woven with backstory, which adds suspense to the drama unfolding in Guinevere’s present. This summarizing might be slow for readers familiar with the series, but makes the story accessible for those who haven’t picked up the first two books.

Many more characters appear, waving the web of intrigue Guinevere finds herself caught in.

Read More Here

See our Review of Book 1 Here

See our Review of Book 2 Here

These works demonstrate how the best early historical fiction combines rigorous research with compelling storytelling to bring ancient worlds to vivid life.

See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!

We’re excited about all the exceptional early historical fiction we receive every year for both the CIBAs and for our Editorial Reviews. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!

The Chaucer Awards recognize the extraordinary scholarship and imagination required to recreate distant worlds and ancient civilizations. Whether you’ve spent years researching medieval manuscripts, exploring archaeological evidence, or reimagining legendary tales, these awards celebrate both your historical dedication and narrative artistry.

Your Ancient Tale Awaits

Great early historical fiction serves as a bridge between past and present, helping modern readers understand both how much the world has changed and how much human nature remains constant. Whether your story unfolds in a medieval castle, an ancient marketplace, or the legendary courts of Arthurian Britain, the Chaucer Awards celebrate the authors who keep the distant past alive through the power of exceptional storytelling.

Honor the literary tradition that inspired our name—the deadline is August 31, 2025!

Submit to the Chaucer Awards today and help us celebrate the foundations of historical fiction!