Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Fantasy Short List

The 2025 Ozma Semi-Finalists for Fantasy Fiction
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. 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 from the 2025 OZMA Fantasy Fiction Short List to the 2025 Ozma Book Awards Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA.

These titles are in the running for the Finalists of the 2025 Ozma Book Awards novel competition for Fantasy Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- Abigail O’Bryan – Iron Rose
- Anya Rousselle – The King’s Blade
- B.L. Mostyn – Heroes of Another Age
- David Nos – The Final War of Wizards and Dragons
- C.R. Ware – All We Have to Remember: Volume One of the Seventh Layer Saga
- Crystal D. Grant – Lightshed
- David Nos – The Final War of Wizards and Dragons
- Evette Davis – The Campaign
- Evette Davis – The Gift
- Helen Garraway – Sentinals Origins Part One
- J.A. Nielsen – The Winter Heir (Fractured Kingdoms, Book 2)
- J.C. Wade – Summer’s Reaping
- Jason P. Crawford – The Trials of Poseidon
- Jeffrey L. Kohanek – The First Wizard
- Molly M. Hammond – Daughter of Starlight
- Nicholas Varner – Warriors of the Red Wolf
- Nikhil Prabala – The Duchess of Kokora
- Nikki Mccormack – Child of Vanris (The Warden’s Son Book 1)
- Oleg Veretskiy – Tales of the Wandering Mists a Ukrainian Fairy Tale
- Palmer Pickering – Dark Town
- R. M. Krogman – Sundering
- Richard M Wagner – The Chronicles of Amerista: Griefold
- S.E. Reed – The Darkness of Dying in the Light
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Samantha Schinder – The Drowners
- Sean M. Tirman – Dreamweavers LLC
- Simran Sadana – Itehas
- Tamar Anolic – The Keepers
- Ted Neill – Lost Elawn
- William H. Johnston – Shards of Unbroken Will
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, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook and LinkedIn. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews on these platforms.

Please LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on these platforms!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Ozma Grand Prize Winner

A Circle of Stars

By Erin Lark Maples

Click here to see the full list of 2024 Ozma Book Award Winners for Fantasy Fiction.

Got your own Fantasy?

Submissions for the 2026 Ozma Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

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 annual conference and discover why!
December 21, 2025
The 2025 Ozma Short List for Fantasy Fiction
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. Our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward from the 2025 OZMA Fantasy Fiction Long List to the 2025 Ozma Book Awards Short List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Ozma Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA.

These titles are in the running for the Semi-Finalists of the 2025 Ozma Book Awards novel competition for Fantasy Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- Abigail O’bryan – Iron Rose
- Anton Anderson – The Seekers Perrin Peters
- Anya Rousselle – The King’s Blade
- B.L. Mostyn – Heroes of Another Age
- David Nos – The Final War of Wizards and Dragons
- C.R. Ware – All We Have to Remember: Volume One of the Seventh Layer Saga
- C.V. Vobh – Somnus Palace
- Catharina Steel – Vanishings
- Clifton Wilcox – The Immortal Witness
- Crystal D. Grant – Lightshed
- D. Dalton – Heartstealer
- David Waugh – The Will of the Wayfarer the Forgotten Legacy Part One
- Evette Davis – The Campaign
- Evette Davis – The Gift
- Helen Garraway – Sentinals Origins Part One
- J Prakash – Sedna of Hanaway
- J.A. Nielsen – The Winter Heir (Fractured Kingdoms, Book 2)
- J.C. Wade – Summer’s Reaping
- Jason P. Crawford – The Trials of Poseidon
- Jeffrey L. Kohanek – The First Wizard
- Kristin Wahlne – When the Tree Calls
- Michael a Wexler – Jatora
- Michele L. Sayre – Darke Realms: One Tough Temporary She Alpha (Arcana 2)
- Molly M. Hammond – Daughter of Starlight
- Nicholas Varner – Warriors of the Red Wolf
- Nikhil Prabala – The Duchess of Kokora
- Nikki Mccormack – Child of Vanris (The Warden’s Son Book 1)
- Oleg Veretskiy – Tales of the Wandering Mists a Ukrainian Fairy Tale
- Palmer Pickering – Dark Town
- Philip Carlisle – Surviving Eros
- R. M. Krogman – Sundering
- Richard M Wagner – The Chronicles of Amerista: Griefold
- S.E. Reed – The Darkness of Dying in the Light
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Samantha Schinder – The Drowners
- Sean M. Tirman – Dreamweavers LLC
- Simran Sadana – Itehas
- T.A. Styles – Shift: An Urban Supernatural Fantasy (The Shift Series Book 1)
- Tamar Anolic – The Keepers
- Ted Neill – Lost Elawn
- William H. Johnston – Shards of Unbroken Will
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, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook and LinkedIn. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews on these platforms.

Please LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on these platforms!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Ozma Grand Prize Winner

A Circle of Stars

By Erin Lark Maples

Click here to see the full list of 2024 Ozma Book Award Winners for Fantasy Fiction.

Got your own Fantasy?

Submissions for the 2026 Ozma Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

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 14th annual conference and discover why!
August 26, 2025
The 2021 Ozma Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction – CIBAs Short List 2021
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. These books have advanced to the Long List in the 2021 CIBAs OZMA division.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2021 Ozma Fantasy Fiction Long List to the 2021 Ozma Book Awards SHORT LIST. 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 (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.

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2021 Ozma Book Awards novel competition for Fantasy Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
- Joseph Riddle – The Seventh Talent
- Susannah Dawn – Battle for the Armor of God
- Jenn Lees – The Crossing. Arlan’s Pledge Book 1
- Susan Chapek – The Scarlet Mantle
- P.H.C. Marchesi – Florissant
- David Fitz-Gerald – Waking Up Lost
- PJ Devlin – The Chamber
- Laurel Anne Hill – Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846
- James Priest – Kirins: The Seer of Serone
- Allegra Pescatore – Where Shadows Lie
- Anton Anderson – The Seekers: Soul Ties
- KC Cowan – Asa’s Redemption
- J.W. Zarek – The Devil Pulls the Strings
- J.P. Hostetler – Around Curiosity’s Edge: Hidden Meridians
- L. A. Thompson – Isle of Dragons
- G.L. Cramb – Druid Quest: Maegics Heir, Book 1
- Mark A. Alvarez II – Dutybound: Light Wings Epic Vol. 1
- Susan Faw – Heart of Tunise
- Taylor Fenner – Monsters & Mist
- S.J. Hartland – The Last Seer King
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.

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the 2020 OZMA Awards was Christpher Russell for Rebirth: Divinity’s Twilight

Click here to see the 2020 Ozma Book Award Winners for Fantasy Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Ozma Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction. 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.

This will be a HYBRID conference available virtually and in-person with safety protocols in place.

We are offering a flexible Registration Program with Options for today’s challenging times.

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.

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!
January 28, 2022
The 2020 Ozma Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction – the Short List – a division of the CIBAs
The OZMA Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of Fantasy Fiction. The OZMA Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The #CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out of this world fiction, they will be put to the test and the best selected as winners of the prestigious CIBAs.

The following fantasy fiction works have advanced from the Long List to the Shortlist of the 2020 OZMA Book Awards:
- Christopher Leibig – Almost Damned
- Susannah Dawn – Battle for the Armor of God
- Christopher Russell – Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth
- T. Cook – Shin
- Brooke Skipstone – Someone To Kiss My Scars
- David Fitz-Gerald – She Sees Ghosts: The Story of a Woman Who Rescues Lost Souls
- Michelle Rene – The Canyon Cathedral: The Witches of Tanglewood, Book Two
- Amy Wolf – The Twelve Labors of Nick
- Robert C. Feol – A Journey to Mouseling Hollow
- MG Wilson and Phil Elmore – Ninja Girl Adventures
- J. Nell Brown – Orphan Tree and the Vanishing Skeleton Key
- Gordon Preston – Zendragon
- H.J. Ramsay – Ever Alice
- Alison Levy – Gatekeeper: Book One in the Daemon Collecting Series
- Jeny Heckman – The Warrior’s Progeny
- Sandra A. Hunter – Daughter of Earth & Fire, The Fledgling
- James G. Robertson – Afterworld (Next Life, #1)
- LaVerne Thompson – Wild Child
- D.L. Jennings – Awaken the Three
- Derrick Smythe – The Other Magic
- Brian Phillips – A Necromancer’s Apprentice
- K.N. Salustro – Cause of Death
- KC Cowan & Sara Cole – Everfire
- Jacob Andrew Emrey – Inferno Dawn
- Dr. Anay Ayarovu – STAZR The World Of Z: The Dawn Of Athir
- Glenn Searfoss – Cycles of Norse Mythology: Tales of the AEsir Gods
- T. K. Thorne – House of Rose
- Lee Hunt – Dynamicist
Shortlist stickers are available

Good Luck to all of these works as they compete for the Semi-Finalists positions!

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2020 Long List (aka the Slush Pile Survivors) and have now advanced to the SHORTLIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2020 OZMA Semi-Finalists positions.

The coveted First Place Category Winners of the 2020 OZMA Book Awards will be selected from the Semi-Finalists in the final rounds of judging. The First Place Category Winners will be announced at the Chanticleer Awards and Ceremonies.

The ShortListers’ works will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists, and then all Finalists will be recognized at the VCAC21 ceremonies. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 22 CIBA divisions Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category Winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Ceremonies April 21-25th, 2021 live at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

We are now accepting entries into the 2021 OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Please click here for more information and to enter.
March 13, 2021