Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Essays

The 2022 SHORTS CIBAs Short List for Short Stories and Essays
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Short Stories, Essays, Novelettes, Novellas, Short Story Collections and Anthologies. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2022 Shorts Book Awards entries to the 2022 Shorts Book Awards SHORT LIST. The Short Listers will compete for the Finalist positions. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

NOTE: We are posting the Collections and Novellas in a separate post.

These titles are on the Short List of the 2022 Shorts Book Awards for Short Stories and Essays!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Louise Lenahan Wallace – Mud on the Range
- Susannah Dawn – The Case To Be Me
- Susannah Dawn – The Hiroshima Gambit
- Susannah Dawn – On The Run With Meagan Wise
- Brian Feutz – Masquerade
- Henry Kuhlman – Carno
- Linda Lee Keenan – The Sentinel
- Mike Murphey – Old Man Baseball
- Lloyd Jeffries – Buried in the Stars
- Alice McVeigh – Capturing Mr Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Short Story
- Frances Howard-Snyder – The Leak
- Miriam Polli – Agathos
- Tom Durwood – Jayani’s Big Gamble
- Ellen Notbohm – What She Thinks About When She Thinks About Shoes
- Robert Phillips – The Dummy
- Mekiya Outini – The Man Who Misspelled God
- J.L. Oakley – Sons and Streams
- Donna LeClair – I Am Human
- George T. Arnold – Those phone calls
- Claudia Carbonell – Hututu
- Ray Dionne – Harvest Day
- Suzanne Smith – Bullets and Bustles
- Suzanne Smith – The Scalp Collector
- Leslie Wibberley – The Poison Garden
- Mekiya Walters – The Cavemen
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.

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 Shorts Awards for Short Stories is Toni Ann Johnson for Homegoing

Click here to see the 2021 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions for the 2023 Shorts Book Awards. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.

Please click here for more information.

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

April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

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

Join us for our 11th annual conference and discover why!
February 17, 2023
Spotlight on the 2022 Short Story Awards

Celebrating the Art of the Short but Spectacular Writing

“A good [short story] would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit.” ― David Sedaris

The Short Story Book Awards is a new and fast-growing Chanticleer Book Award Division. Featuring any of our 23 Fiction or Non-Fiction genres, these Awards are different from our other programs in that they have two tracks: One that features Individual Works and another that features Collected Works.

Open until 12/31/22!

Generally, we announce 5 First Place Winners and 1 Grand Prize Winner for Individual Works and the same for Collected Works. This lets each type of work shine. You can see the Grand Prize Winners and Finalists of our 2020 inaugural Short Story Awards here and the 2021 Winners here for collected works and here for individual works.

Short Stories and Essays stand well apart from their 50,000+ word counterparts in both Fiction and Non-Fiction. N.K. Jemisin, three-time Hugo Award Winner for her brilliant Broken Earth Trilogy, credits writing short stories as the method by which she learned how to create tightly written stories with no fluff. Her talent shines in her collection How Long ’til Black Future Month?

In working with a shorter format, a writer must commit to only putting in what matters to their story. This is true of longer formats, but readers are much less forgiving when a short story or essay feels trivial.

“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.” ― Edgar Allan Poe

The Shorts Hall of Fame from Chanticleer

We’re honored to have received so many excellent submissions in the past. Is your story the next one we’ll discover? Check out these Best Books from Chanticleer.

A Week at Surf Side Beach
By Pierce Koslosky Jr.
2020 Shorts Grand Prize Winner for Collections

Vacationers from all walks of life converge on Portofino II-317C, South Carolina, a quaint blue beach house, in Pierce Koslosky Jr.’s short story collection, A Week at Surfside Beach.

From May 30th-December 26th each group of people comes to stay one week at a time, to forget their cares of the big city, to work, to celebrate, or to simply get away. Surfside Beach has much to show them, including temperamental weather.

The small town itself offers a charming supermarket where fishing supplies, whoopie pies, and local southern favorites can be found. The Christmas vacationers, the final of the thirteen beach house renters, struggle to find a tree in time; a real tree simply wouldn’t allow enough space for the family to sleep, and the fake tree would cost too much. But they find arts and crafts supplies in town, to fashion a paper Christmas tree during a day of rainy weather.

Continue Reading here

Savonne, not Vonny
By Robin Lee Lovelace
2020 Shorts Grand Prize for Novellas

Robin Lee Lovelace evokes a world in which the mystical intertwines with the everyday in Savonne, Not Vonny, a coming-of-age story set in rural Louisiana.

Nine-year-old Savonne lives in a small room at the back of Mama Gwen’s whorehouse, in Indianapolis in the ’60s. Her mama is one of the working girls, and her father is Mama Gwen’s own son. Savonne’s daddy dotes on her, and Mama Gwen loves Savonne like the daughter she never had; the two of them together make a loving home for Savonne, in the midst of their raucous brothel.

By contrast, Savonne’s birth mother rarely pays her any mind. A “crazy-ass woman” with a temper “as hot as a Mississippi afternoon,” Coco is not at all opposed to beating the bejesus out of someone. In a fury one night, she does something that cannot be undone, and in her headlong flight out of town, she takes Savonne with her.

See the novella here.

Note: Savonne, Not Vonny, is due to be released as part of Lovelace’s collection, A Wild Region. Keep an eye on her website here for the latest updates. The collection is expected to be published on April 28, 2023.

New York, Give Me Your Best or Your Worst
By Elizabeth Crowens
2021 Shorts Grand Prize Winner for Collections

A strong collection of work and art, powered by inspiration and the beauty of New York.

The Review for New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst is still forthcoming, but we featured author Elizabeth Crowens’ accomplishment in putting together this unique anthology here.

See Crowens’ website here.

Homegoing
By Toni Ann Johnson
2021 Shorts Grand Prize Winner for Novellas

Homegoing by Toni Ann Johnson is an intimate portrait of a middle-aged African-American woman dragging herself hand over hand out of grief and despair.

This story begins with her aching, echoing pain after the one-two punch of a miscarriage and the dissolution of her marriage. Her journey takes her back to the upper-middle-class white suburb where she grew up, through childhood memories that refuse to be denied and to, of all times and places, a funeral.

Something and someone is supposed to be buried. Certainly the deceased. But quite possibly the woman who has held on to her losses and her grudges long enough to poison her own future.

Continue Reading here

Thank you for celebrating these Shorts Awards Grand Prize Winners with us!

Have a Short piece of Fiction, Non-Fiction, or a Collection? Your work deserves to be discovered. Submit today!

At the End: “Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.” ― Ray Bradbury

IN-Person Registration for the Chanticleer Authors Conference is Open
– April 27-30, 2023! Register Today! –

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

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

December 16, 2022
Part Three of Three Official Postings of the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners
We are deeply honored and excited to continue to announce the 2021 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs) with our third and final of three official postings.

CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!

The winners were recognized at the CIBA ceremonies held on June 25th, 2022 in-person and by ZOOM webinars at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

The CIBA announcements were made LIVE with Chanticleerians participating and interacting from around the globe and North America.

Raising our glasses to cheer the CIBA Winners!

We want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 25 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for the

Seven Non-Fiction Divisions:

Journey, Hearten, Harvey Chute, Mind and Spirit, I & I, Military & Frontline and Nellie Bly

along with the FIRST Winners for the

Short Story, and Book Series Awards,

and concluding with the

OVERALL 2021 GRAND PRIZE WINNER

for the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards

For the Cygnus, Ozma, Paranormal, Global Thrillers, M&M, Clue, Little Peeps, Gertrude Warner, and Dante Rossetti Book Awards, please click here for Part 1.

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

The JOURNEY Book Awards for

Narrative Non-Fiction, Memoirs, and Biographies

Grand Prize Winner is

BETTER OFF BALD: A Life in 147 Days

The Journey First Place Category Winners are:
- Rosie McMahan – Fortunate Daughter: A Memoir of Reconciliation
- Rosemary Keevil – The Art of Losing It: A Memoir of Grief and Addiction
- Heather Haldeman – Kids and Cocktails Don’t Mix: A Memoir
- Kathleen Lockyer – The Broken Wing Dance — Love, loss, trauma and how nature led me back to my wild self
- C.L. Olsen – The Home for Friendless Children
The INSTRUCTION and INSIGHT Book Awards

for How-To Guides, Travel Guides, Cook Books, Self-Help, and Enlightenment

Grand Prize Winner is

THE BLACK FOSTER YOUTH HANDBOOK by Angela Quijada-Banks

The I & I First Place Category Winners are:
- Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Recognizing Autism in Women and Girls
- Geraldine Clouston and Susan Weintrob – indieBRAG Eat, Read & Dream Cookbook
- Jim & Jessica Braz – Baby Out of Wedlock
- Phoebe Walker – Freedom Found – Productive and Joyful Living In Spite of Chronic Pain
- M. J. Simms-Maddox, Ph.D. – A Handbook for Emerging and Seasoned Authors
Congratulations to the Inaugural

AWARD WINNERS for the

Military and Front Line Book Awards

of the CIBAs

The MILITARY & FRONT LINE Book Awards

for Service to Others Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

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

The Military & Front Line First Place Category Winners are:
- Vicki Cody – Fly Safe: Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections From Back Home
- Grover Nicodemus Street RN, Sandra de Abreu Guidry-Street MD, & Ja-ne de Abreu – Chasing the Surge: Life as a Travel Nurse in a Global Pandemic
- Margaret Thomson – The World Looks Different Now
- Burl Harmon – Combat Missions
- George Farag – Unbecoming My Father’s Son: A Memoir
The NELLIE BLY Book Awards

for Investigative and Long Form Journalism Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

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

The Nellie Bly First Place Category Winners are:
- Dori Jones Yang – When the Red Gates Opened
- Dr. Kate Dolan – Beating Drug Addiction in Tehran: a Women’s Clinic
- Abe Streep – Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana
- Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D. – Advancing the Good Society: Real Advocacy Journalism in Action
The HARVEY CHUTE Book Awards

for Business & Enterprise Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

BEYOND BALANCING THE BOOKS by George Marino

The Harvey Chute First Place Category Winners are:
- Stan Bernard, MD, MBA – Brands Don’t Win: How Transcenders Change Games
- Thomas Wideman – Welfare Cheese to Fine Caviar: How to Achieve Your Dreams Despite Your Upbringing
- Kate Dixon – Pay Up! Unlocking Insider Secrets of Salary Negotiation
- Cash Nickerson – Negotiating As a Martial Art
The MIND & SPIRIT Book Awards

for Spirituality and Enlightenment Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

ENLIGHTEN UP! by Beth Gibbs

The Mind and Spirit First Place Category Winners are:
- Mike Lutz – Jesus Speaking
- Reagan J. Pasternak – Griffin’s Heart: Mourning Your Pet With No Apologies
- Tammy Green – Living Without Skin: Everything I Never Knew About Fierce Vulnerability
- Starr Regan DiCiurcio – Divine Sparks: Interfaith Wisdom for a Postmodern World
The HEARTEN Book Awards

for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

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

The Hearten First Place Category Winners are:
- Fred Guttenberg – Find the Helpers
- Linda Morrow – Heart of This Family – Lessons in Down Syndrome and Love
- Lisa Dailey – Square Up: 50,000 miles in search of a way home
- Labar Laskie – Above the Din: Diary of the HepC Wonder Drugs
- Meg Nocero – Butterfly Awakens: A Memoir of Transformation Through Grief
The SHORT STORY Book Awards

for the CIBA Short Story Collections

Grand Prize Winner is

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

The Shorts First Place Category Winners are:
- Leah Angstman – Shoot the Horses First
- Susannah Dawn – I’m Not What I Used To Be, Yet I Am Who I’ve Always Been – Excerpts From My Journey
- Domenick Venezia – The Edwerd Chronicles
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Through a Glass Darkly
- Helena P. Schrader – Grounded Eagles
The SHORT STORY Book Awards

for Short Stories, Novelettes, and Novellas

Grand Prize Winner is

HOMEGOING by Toni Ann Johnson

The Shorts First Place Category Winners are:
- Gina Detwiler – Before: Jared’s Story
- M. K. Wiseman – Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel
- Elizabeth Wolf – The Royal Foetus: A very short novel based on the very short life of King Louis XVII
- Lindy Miller – Sleigh Bells on Bread Loaf Mountain
- Vicky Oliver – A Valentine to my Mothers and Other Dubious Role Models
- Kourtney Spadoni – In The Underwood
The BOOK SERIES Book Awards

for Fiction Series

Grand Prize Winner is

THE GUINEVERE’S TALE TRILOGY by Nicole Evelina

Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, and Mistress of Legend

The Series First Place Category Winners are:

Ozma Book Awards for Series – Fantasy Fiction
- M. K. Wiseman – The Bookminder series
Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Series – Young Adult
- Pamela Beason – Run for Your Life
Chatelaine Book Awards for Series – Romantic Fiction
- Janet K. Shawgo – Look For Me Series
CLUE Book Awards for Series – Thriller/Suspense
- Kaylin McFarren – Threads
Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards for Series – Mysteries / Cozy and Not-so-Cozy
- Amy S. Peele – A Transplant Medical Murder Mystery series
Laramie Book Awards for Series – Americana / Western Fiction
- E. Alan Fleischauer – JT Thomas’s Series – Western series
CONGRATULATIONS to ALL!

And NOW for the

2021 CHANTICLEER INT’L BOOK AWARDS

BEST BOOK

and

OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER

THE DEVIL PULLS THE STRINGS

by J.W. Zarek

J.W. Zarek will also be awarded $1,000 USD in recognition of her 2021 BEST BOOK of the YEAR – Chanticleer International Book Awards – Sponsored by Chanticleer Reviews & Media.

A Chanticleer Review of The Devil Pulls the Strings will be featured in the in the Chanticleer Reviews OnWord Magazine (print and epub) along with other promotional and marketing opportunities along with an interview with the author, J.W. Zarek.

Thank you J.W. Zarek for participating in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards. We look forward to receiving future work in our CIBAs.

CONGRATULATIONS J.W. Zarek!

Six Grand Prize Winners with J.W. Zarek, the 2021 Overall Grand Prize Winner!

From all of us at Chanticleer International Book Awards and Chanticleer Reviews.

Looking for your Division? Check out our previous posts:

For the Cygnus, Ozma, Paranormal, Global Thrillers, M&M, Clue, Little Peeps, Gertrude Warner, and Dante Rossetti Book Awards, please click here for Part 1.

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

THANK YOU to VCAC21 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

And to FRIENDS of CHANTICLEER REVIEWS:

Cathy Ace, J.D. Barker, Robert Dugoni, Chris Humphreys, Bradley Metrock, Jessica Morrell, Scott Steindorff, and Paul Hanson of Village Books

We will post more photographs and information. Do check back and subscribe to the Chanticleer Reviews e-news letter.

We have exciting news for the Chanticleer Community on the horizon so do stay tuned!

You know you want a coveted Chanticleer Reviews Blue Ribbon!

Submit your works (manuscripts or novels published after or on January 1, 2019, are accepted) to the prestigious Chanticleer International Book Awards today! Entries are being accepted into the 2022 CIBAs in all 18 fiction divisions and seven non-fiction divisions.

Be sure to register early for the 11th Chanticleer Authors Conference that will start on April 23rd, 2023 with the 2022 CIBA banquet and ceremony scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 25th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

Be well. Stay Healthy. Take Care!

An email will go out to all 2021 CIBA award winners prior to October 30, 2022, with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated many times before “One does not need to be present at the CIBA ceremony and banquet to win. But it sure is a lot more fun!”

As always, please contact us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions!

We need good books, now more than ever!

The Chanticleer Reviews Team
July 13, 2022
The SHORTS 2021 CIBA WINNERS for Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Collected Works such as Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

NOTE: We are posting the Individual Short Stories, Essays, and Novellas in a different post. These are Collected Works

The 2021 SHORTS Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the SHORTS Grand Prize Winner were announced by Avis Adams on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at the Hotel Bellwether and broadcast via ZOOM webinar.

This is the OFFICIAL 2021 LIST of the SHORTS BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the SHORTS Grand Prize Winner.

Join us in celebrating the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
- Leah Angstman – Shoot the Horses First for Americana Fiction
- Helena P. Schrader – Grounded Eagles for 20th c. Wartime Fiction
- Susannah Dawn – I’m Not What I Used To Be, Yet I Am Who I’ve Always Been – Excerpts From My Journey for Personal Journey Non-Fiction
- Domenick Venezia – The Edwerd Chronicles for Magical Realism
- Elizabeth Crowens – New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst for Anthologies and Mixed Media
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Through a Glass Darkly for Contemporary Themes
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 SHORTS Awards is:

New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst

by Elizabeth Crowens

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook 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 Facebook and Twitter handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

The 2022 SHORTS Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11 year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2022 SHORTS Book Awards are open until the end of December. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in August. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for participating in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards!
July 5, 2022
The SHORTS Book Awards 2021 CIBA WINNERS for Individual Works
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Short Stories, Essays, Novelettes, and Novellas. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

NOTE: We are posting the Collected Works such as Short Story or Essay Collections and Anthologies in a different post. These are Individual Works

The 2021 SHORTS Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the SHORTS Grand Prize Winner were announced by David Beaumier on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at the Hotel Bellwether and broadcast via ZOOM webinar.

This is the OFFICIAL 2021 LIST of the SHORTS BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the SHORTS Grand Prize Winner.

Join us in celebrating the following authors and their works!

Out of This World Fiction (Cygnus, OZMA, Paranormal)
- Gina Detwiler – Before: Jared’s Story
Mysteries and Suspense (Mystery/Thriller/CLUE)
- M. K. Wiseman – Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel
The Historicals (Chaucer/Goethe/Hemingway)
- Elizabeth Wolf – The Royal Foetus: A very short novel based on the very short life of King Louis XVII
Somerset – Literary & Contemporary Fiction
- Toni Ann Johnson – Homegoing
Box of Chocolates Assortment
- Lindy Miller – Sleigh Bells on Bread Loaf Mountain
Narrative Non-Fiction
- Vicky Oliver – A Valentine to my Mothers and Other Dubious Role Models
Graphic Stories
- Kourtney Spadoni – In The Underwood
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 Short Story Awards is:

Homegoing

by Toni Ann Johnson

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!

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.

The 2022 SHORTS Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 10 year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2022 SHORTS Book Awards are open until the end of December. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in August. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for participating in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards!
July 1, 2022
The 2021 SHORTS Awards for Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies – The FINALISTS – CIBAs 2021
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Collected Works such as Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Shorts Book Awards Short List to the 2021 Shorts Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual or in-person.

NOTE: We are posting the Individual Short Stories, Essays, and Novellas in a different post. These are Collected Works

These titles are in the running for the FIRST PLACE WINNERS of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards novel competition for Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.

These titles have advanced to the FINALIST stage of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards competition!
- Grendolyn Peach Soleil – The Mermaids Melt at Dawn for Fantasy and Myth
- Russ Colson – Kernels of Mind – for Philosophical SciFi
- Leah Angstman – Shoot the Horses First for Americana Fiction
- Helena P. Schrader – Grounded Eagles for 20th c. Wartime Fiction
- Susannah Dawn – I’m Not What I Used To Be, Yet I Am Who I’ve Always Been – Excerpts From My Journey for Personal Journey Non-Fiction
- K. – Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories for Literary Love Stories
- Domenick Venezia – The Edwerd Chronicles for Magical Realism
- Elizabeth Crowens – New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst for Anthologies and Mixed Media
- Jeff Richards – Everyone Worth Knowing for Literary
- Maria Rybakova – Quaternity: Four Novellas From The Carpathians for Contemporary Themes
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Through a Glass Darkly for Contemporary Themes
- Judy Taylor – The Boy Who Wrote Poetry for Family Stories
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.

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 SHORTS Awards for Short Story Collections is Pierce Koslosky Jr. for A Week at Surfside Beach

Click here to see the 2020 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Shorts Book Awards. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

VIRTUAL and IN-Person – June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace and along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
May 12, 2022
The 2021 SHORTS Awards for Short Stories, Essays, and Novellas (Individual Works) – The FINALISTS – CIBAs 2021
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Short Stories, Essays, Novelettes, and Novellas. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Shorts Book Awards Short List to the 2021 Shorts Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

NOTE: We are posting the Collected Works such as Short Story or Essay Collections and Anthologies in a different post.
These are Individual Works

These titles are the FINALISTS of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards for Short Stories, Essays, Novelettes, Novellas!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.

Out of This World Fiction (Cygnus, OZMA, Paranormal)
- Susannah Dawn – Command of the Butterfly
- Gina Detwiler – Before: Jared’s Story
- Susan Faw – The Wizard of Bastion
Mysteries and Suspense (Mystery/Thriller/CLUE)
- Dalton Mire – A Chance to Serve
- M. K. Wiseman – Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel
The Historicals (Chaucer/Goethe/Hemingway)
- Kristie Clark – Dragon of the Sea
- Elizabeth Wolf – The Royal Foetus: A very short novel based on the very short life of King Louis XVII
- Breakfield and Burkey – Out of Poland
- Joy Ross Davis – The Sutler of Petersburg
- Nicole Evelina – Consequences
Somerset – Literary & Contemporary Fiction
- Toni Ann Johnson – Homegoing
- Mekiya Walters – Bathwater (or, The Miseducation of Ness Chairmonte)
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Face to Face
- Dalton Mire – A Minefield of Memories
- Grace Sikorski – How To Become a Mother
Box of Chocolates Assortment
- Lindy Miller – Sleigh Bells on Bread Loaf Mountain
- Jean-Jacques Jura – Acadian Chronicles: When Ancestors Look Down
- Barry Robbins – Oh Daddy Chronicles: The Tasting
Narrative Non-Fiction
- Lisa Lynn Veith – Gold Medal
- J. L. Oakley – Putting Things Away
- Vicky Oliver – A Valentine to my Mothers and Other Dubious Role Models
Graphic Stories
- Kourtney Spadoni – In The Underwood
- Clayton Marshall Adams – The Mask
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.

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 Shorts Awards for Short Stories is Robin Lee Lovelace for Savonne, Not Vonny

Click here to see the 2020 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Shorts Book Awards. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

VIRTUAL and IN-Person – June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
May 12, 2022
WESTERN SKIES By Darden Smith – Song Writing, Photography, Natural Beauty, Texas

Sometimes, when the world feels like it’s closing in and life doesn’t make sense, the best thing to do is take a road trip.

Just get in the car and drive, letting the scenery pass by, allowing thoughts, memories and reflections to flow freely. In Western Skies by singer and writer Darden Smith, he invites us on just such a trip through his home state of Texas, and treats us to a glimpse of his time on the road in prose. Western Skies is a companion book for Smith’s album of the same name and features Polaroids (taken with an old Polaroid from Smith’s garage and tossed in a box on the front seat of his car while driving), along with his original prose and lyrics from that album.

The pictures seem like glimpses of a time past, captured in sepia tones, and are haunting, dusty, and sometimes blurry-like the view out the window of a car. Collectively, they show us a different side of Texas: the wide-open skies, stands of oaks and yuccas, and long stretches of road dotted by radio towers, stucco houses, abandoned Quonset huts and diesel fuel pumps. They complement the descriptions, from the vast expanses of Texas highways: “The road rises steady from the Pecos Past the truck stop visions of Fort Stockton, The northern reaches of the Davis Mountains And the gatherings of Van Horn” (Sierra Blanca), to the uniqueness of its cities: “Juárez is the girl your instinct tells you to walk, no, run from But whose memory wakes you in the night” (Juarez) and the challenges of its climate. Anyone who has ever been in a monsoon will understand the warning in “Rain” when he starts out with “The smell of cloud catches the heart of the most jaded. For even they know the promise of what may follow” and contains the warning that “Torrents are longed for and dreaded in equal measure. Their quantity dreamed of, Speed and destruction often remembered too late as the flood runs wild over road and arroyo.”

Western Skies is an intimate and personal book.

Listening to Darden Smith’s album while reading it, one might wonder who caused the heartbreak and hope in his lyrics (and possibly sent him on his road trip) when he says, “Well I keep holding on even though it’s wrong ’Cause your memory makes me smile”(Perfect for a Little While) and “No matter how far you run, how fast you’ve sinned I’d forgive what you done, where you’ve been” (The High Road).

For those just finding Darden Smith, Western Skies is the opportunity to get to know this artist on a much deeper level than through only his songs. For fans who already have found Darden Smith, this companion book will be a joy to share his vision of Texas and get a more personal glimpse of this talented singer-songwriter/photographer and writer.

We definitely recommend listening to the accompanying music for this story. You can find that on Darden’s bandcamp here.

April 25, 2022
The 2021 SHORTS Awards for Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies – The Short List – CIBAs 2021
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Collected Works such as Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Shorts Book Awards entries to the 2021 Shorts Book Awards SHORT LIST. The Short Listers will compete for the Finalist positions. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person.

NOTE: We are posting the Individual Short Stories, Essays, and Novellas in a different post. These are Collected Works

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards novel competition for Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.

These titles have advanced to the Short List of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards competition for Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies and are in the run for the FINALISTS!
- Grendolyn Peach Soleil – The Mermaids Melt at Dawn for Fantasy and Myth
- Susannah Dawn – K Team – 4th Galactic Cavalry for Space Opera
- Russ Colson – Kernels of Mind – for Philosophical SciF
- Leah Angstman – Shoot the Horses First for Americana Fiction
- Helena P. Schrader – Grounded Eagles for 20th c. Wartime Fiction
- Susannah Dawn – I’m Not What I Used To Be, Yet I Am Who I’ve Always Been – Excerpts From My Journey for Personal Journey Non-Fiction
- Judy Taylor – The Boy Who Wrote Poetry for Family Stories
- Lisa Lynn Veith – Gold Medal for Personal Growth and Romance
- Domenick Venezia – The Edwerd Chronicles for Magical Realism
- Dianne Ebertt Beeaff – On Traigh Lar Beach for Connections
- K. – Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories for Literary Love Stories
- Dreena Collins – She Had Met Liars Before for Literary
- Michael T. Tusa Jr. – A House Without Books for Social Themes and Philosophy
- Elizabeth Crowens – New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst for Anthologies and Mixed Media
- Jeff Richards – Everyone Worth Knowing for Literary
- Maria Rybakova – Quaternity: Four Novellas From The Carpathians for Contemporary Themes
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Through a Glass Darkly for Contemporary Themes
- Elizabeth Reinach – Three Dimensions – Lizzie’s Histories for Historical Comedy
- Elizabeth Reinach – Three Dimensions – Lizzie’s Fizzies for Satire
- James Musgrave – The Valley of the Dogs for Absurdism
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.

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 SHORTS Awards for Short Story Collections is Pierce Koslosky Jr. for A Week at Surfside Beach

Click here to see the 2020 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Shorts Book Awards. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

VIRTUAL and IN-Person – June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
March 22, 2022
The 2021 SHORTS Awards for Short Stories, Essays, and Novellas (Individual Works) – The Short List – CIBAs 2021
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Short Stories, Essays, Novelettes, and Novellas. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Shorts Book Awards entries to the 2021 Shorts Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Shorts Finalist positions. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners will be announced on June 25th from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person.

NOTE: We are posting the Collected Works such as Short Story or Essay Collections and Anthologies in a different post. These are Individual Works

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards novel competition for Short Stories, Essays, Novelettes, Novellas!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.

Out of This World Fiction (Cygnus (SciFi), OZMA (Fantasy), Paranormal (Supernatural)
- Susannah Dawn – Command of the Butterfly
- Susannah Dawn – On The Run With Meagan Wise
- J.L Oakley – Dragons End
- Karina McRoberts – Dargo – Eco Hero!
- Susan Faw – The Wizard of Bastion
- Diamond Ligues – The Bird of Hermes Shall Get its Wings
- M.J. Fitzmaurice – The Night Warrior
- Gina Detwiler – Before: Jared’s Story
- Kourtney Spadoni – In The Underwood
- Clayton Marshall Adams – The Mask
Mysteries and Suspense (Mystery/Thriller/CLUE)
- Monique Snyman – Black Mariah: Victoria West, Northern Cape, South Africa
- Dalton Mire – A Chance to Serve
- M. K. Wiseman – Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel
- Lori Robbins – Leading Ladies
The Historicals (Chaucer/Goethe/Hemingway)
- David Martyn – Huldah and the Last Righteous King.
- Kristie Clark – Dragon of the Sea
- Nicole Evelina – Consequences
- Joy Ross Davis – The Sutler of Petersburg
- Elizabeth Wolf – The Royal Foetus: A very short novel based on the very short life of King Louis XVII
- Breakfield and Burkey – Out of Poland
Box of Chocolates Assortment
- Lindy Miller – Sleigh Bells on Bread Loaf Mountain
- James Musgrave – The Castaways of Mar-a-Lago
- Barry Robbins – Oh Daddy Chronicles: The Tasting
- David Perlmutter – No Son Of Mine
- Dane S. Skorup – Kid Kingmaker
- Jean-Jacques Jura – Acadian Chronicles: When Ancestors Look Down
Somerset – Literary & Contemporary Fiction
- Toni Ann Johnson – Homegoing
- Mekiya Walters – Bathwater (or, The Miseducation of Ness Chairmonte)
- Esta Lemon – The Name.
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Face to Face
- J.F. Penn – Blood, Sweat, and Flame
- Dalton Mire – A Minefield of Memories
- Grace Sikorski – How To Become a Mother
Narrative Non-Fiction
- Lisa Lynn Veith – Gold Medal
- J. L. Oakley – Putting Things Away
- David Soh Poh Huat – Care Giving Gift of Unconditional Love
- David Soh Poh Huat – Nature Gifts of the Soursop Leaves
- Vicky Oliver – A Valentine to my Mothers and Other Dubious Role Models
- Judy Taylor – The Boy Who Wrote Poetry
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.

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 Shorts Awards for Short Stories is Robin Lee Lovelace

for Savonne, Not Vonny

Click here to see the 2020 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Shorts Book Awards. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

VIRTUAL and IN-Person – June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
March 21, 2022