Tag: Journey

  • The 2025 Journey Short List for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction

    The 2025 Journey Short List for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction

    Journey Narrative Non-Fiction CIBA BadgeThe Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2025 Journey Non-Fiction Long List to the 2025 Journey Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2025 Journey Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC26).

    The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 28 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 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference

     

    These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2025 Journey Book Awards novel competition for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction!

    Join us in celebrating the Long List authors and their works in the 2025 CIBAs.

    • Amanda Carrasco – Becoming the Brave One
    • Amy Mackin – Henry’s Classroom: a Special Education in American Motherhood
    • Ana Hebra Flaster – Property of the Revolution: From a Cuban Barrio To a New Hampshire Mill Town
    • Anne Abel – High Hopes
    • Anselm Ezemson – Chasing Closure: a Life on the Edge of Belonging
    • Baldur Einarsson – Ice and Fire: Thawing a Murderer’s Heart
    • Barbara Jenkins – So Long As It’s Wild
    • Beth Granger – Born and Razed: Surviving the Cult Was Only Half the Battle
    • Brandi Dredge – Girl Uncoded: a Memoir of Passion Betrayal and Eventual Blessings
    • Brian J. Quattlebaum – A Mad Box of Rain
    • Carl Gorham – My Life in a Garden: Love, Loss, and Mulch: a Single Dad Seeks Answers in Nature
    • Carol Odell, LICSW – Girl Groomed: a Therapist’s Memoir of Trauma
    • Carolyn Saletto – One Hazel Green Eye
    • Casey Mulligan Walsh – The Full Catastrophe: All I Ever Wanted Everything I Feared
    • Chanchal Garg – Unearthed: the Lies We Carry & the Truths They Bury
    • Cheryl Landes – The Best I Can Do: A True Story of Navigating the Complexities of Mental Illness and Homelessness
    • Christine Amoroso – Bare Naked in Public: a Memoir
    • Cynthia Moore – Dancing on Coals: a Memoir of an Overperformer
    • Cynthia Waine Brandt – Song of the Cardinal: a True Story of Miracles and Magic After Heartbreaking Loss
    • Damien Thompson – And Then I Would Fly
    • Debbie Hartung – The Factory of Maladies: Seven Days on a San Francisco Psych Ward
    • Deborah M. Foster – What’s So Bad About Being Poor: Our Lives in the Shadows of the Poverty Experts
    • Diane C Pomerantz Ph.D. – Lost in the Reflecting Pool: Surviving Narcissistic Emotional Abuse
    • Emily Sayre Smith – Smartass: Memoir of a Mouthy Girl
    • Franke James – Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me
    • Gavin O’Donnell – Father’s Day
    • Heidi Yewman – Dumb Girl
    • Hendrika De Vries – Open Turns
    • Jacquelyn Dickey – The Dash
    • Jane Cafarella – Cleaved: a Story of Loss, Legs, and Finding Family
    • Janine Kovac – The Nutcracker Chronicles
    • Jennifer Celeste Briggs – Watching Sarah Rise a Journey of Thriving with Autism
    • Julie Randall – Patient 71: an Inspiring True Story of a Mother’s Love That Fueled Her Fight To Stay Alive
    • Kathy Sechrist – Sara’s Redemption: A Journey of Courage Resilience and Hope
    • Kelly-Anne Kerley – Breaking Up with My Wheelchair
    • Lucie Frost – How the Hell Did I Not Know That: My Midlife Year From Couch To Curiosity
    • Marti Tote – Can You Ride a Raindrop To the Ocean
    • Mary Garden – My Father’s Suitcase
    • Mary Jumbelic M.D. – Speak Her Name
    • Mia Bolton – As We Bloom: Wisdom From Extraordinary Everyday Women & Gender Nonconforming People
    • Mitchell Raff – Little Boy I Know Your Name
    • Nin Mok – Suddenly Silent and Still
    • Peter Flom – Twice as Weird: A Memoir about Twice Exceptionality
    • PJ Hamilton – From the Piney Woods 2nd Edition
    • Robert Carney – Unscarred
    • Robert Macauley – Because I Knew You: How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor’s Soul
    • Ryan Mcdermott – Downriver: Memoir of a Warrior Poet
    • Sondra R. Brooks – Not Good Enough Girl: A Memoir of an Inconvenient Daughter
    • Stacey Hettes – Dispatches From the Couch
    • Steven Simmons Shelton, MA, JD – Memoir of a Mangled Mind: How Concealing My Dissociative Identity Disorder Unleashed Multiple Personalities
    • Wendy Crockett and Ian McPhee – Pushing Miles: A chronicle of Motorcycles, Mayhem, and Mettle
    • Wilma Macliver – Life Behind the Masks

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

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us.

    Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE.

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

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2024 JOURNEY Awards is:

    Unfollow Me

    By Kathryn Caraway

    Red, Black, White, book, cover

    See the full list of 2024 First Place Journey Winners here!

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Journey Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction.

    Please click here for more information.

    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!

     

  • Five Days Remain: The Series, Collections, Nellie Bly, and Military and Front Line Awards call!

    The 2025 CIBAs Close Soon!

    Don’t let your book miss out!

    Only 5 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success.

    The Chanticleer International Book Awards provide ongoing recognition that amplifies authors’ digital footprints through high-traffic website features, social media promotion, newsletter spotlights, and long-tail marketing that continues promoting winners throughout the year and beyond!

    The Series, Collections and Anthologies, Nellie Bly and Military and Front Line Awards are still open!

    Best Book Grand Prize for the Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards

    Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Series Awards!

    • Karen Inglis – Secret Lake Mystery Adventures
    • Glen Dahlgren – The Chronicles of Chaos
    • Sandra Wagner-Wright – Salem Stories
    • Taryn R. Hutchison – A Cold War Trilogy
    • Kari Bovee – The Pryce of Murder
    • J.L. Oakley – The Jossing series
    • Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Jake Fortina Series
    • Mike Murphey – Tales of Physics, Lust and Greed
    • Rose Prendeville – Brides of Chattan

    And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Series Grand Prize Winner:

    A Vengeful Realms

    By Tim Facciola

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    Collections and Anthologies is our Newest Division, recently split off of the SEA Shorts Award!

    SEA Shorts now covers Short Stories, Essays and Novellas together, and Collections and Anthologies is for exactly that, Multi-Story Collections and Multi-Author Anthologies!

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      The Nellie Bly Award for Journalistic and Research-Based Non-Fiction

      • Carla Conti – Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir
      • Kori Reed – Men-in-the-Middle Conversations to Gain Momentum with Gender Equity’s Silent Majority
      • Bonnie Bley – Stolen Voices: Missing and Murdered in Big Horn County
      • Sarah Towle – Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands

      And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Nellie Bly Grand Prize Winner:

      The Sing Sing Files

      One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and A 20 Year Fight For Justice

      By Dan Slepian

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Military and Front Line Awards for Service to Others Non-Fiction!

      • Roderick S. Haynes – Unauthorized Disclosures a Navy Memoir of the 1980s
      • David Huntley – The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: a WWII Final Honor
      • Patrick Hogan – Coincidence, You Say?
      • Shari Biery – It’s Your Turn How To Rediscover Yourself Prioritize Your Well-Being Thrive with Purpose
      • Max Lauker & Antonio Garcia – Number 788: My Experiences in Swedish Special Operations – Preparing for NATO and the War on Terror
      • Bibi LeBlanc – Wings of Freedom – The Story of the Berlin Airlift | Flugel der Freiheit – Die Geschichte der Berliner Luftbrucke

      And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Military and Front Line Grand Prize Winner:

      Memoirs From The Front Lines

      Four States, Two Years, One Pandemic

      By Kim Sloan

      Memoirs from the Frontlines cover by Kim Sloan

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      The CIBAs provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.

      We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.

      Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 17-19, 2025) where Winners from all 28 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.

      In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.

      Let’s celebrate exceptional storytelling together!

      Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest

      Your book deserves to be discovered

      Enter Today!

    • The 2025 Non-Fiction Cover Design Awards (CCDAs) Short List

      The Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (The CCDAs) for Non-Fiction recognizes artistic excellence across genre in great cover design. The CCDAs are a new Award Division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

      Our design is inspired by books designed by the incomparable Coraline Bickford-Smith. Her simple, beautiful, and evocative designs do so much to make the book work as a visual ambassador, capturing the essence of story and compelling potential readers to pick it up, click on it, or share it with others. A well-designed cover signals professionalism, sets expectations for your genre, and serves as a powerful marketing tool to stand out in both digital and physical spaces.

      Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring clear genres, audience, time periods, typography, and longevity across genres of Non-Fiction.

      These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2025 CCDA Non-Fiction entries to the 2025 CCDA Non-Fiction SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 CCDA Non-Fiction FINALISTS. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Short List 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 19th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference

      These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2025 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards novel competition for Non-Fiction Books!

      Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!

      • Alan Sproles – Reforma-Therapy
      • Alan Sproles – The Place of Regeneration in Salvation
      • Elizabeth Jane Pryce – Untethered
      • Heidi Yewman – Dumb Girl: A Journey From Childhood Abuse to Gun Control Advocacy
      • Jeanne Basone – Hooray for Hollywood
      • Lee Pepper – Never Outmatched: Military Strategies to Lead Innovate and Win in the Modern Marketing Battlefield
      • Linda Lee Keenan – Dancing with Angels: True Stories of the Unexpected
      • Margaret Enriquez – The Rebirth of a Phoenix
      • Marie-Eve Dawood – Jesus Shrank My Dating Pool: Holding Out for a Godly Man When It Feels Like You’ve Missed the Boat
      • Marizelle Arce N.D. – Germs Are Not Our Enemy
      • Tony Jeton Selimi – Climb Greater Heights

       

      PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

      This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

      Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

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

      Congratulations to Our First Grand Prize Non-Fiction Winner!

      Teaching in the Dark

      By Genet Simone

      Teaching in the Dark Cover

      Click here to see the rest of the 2024 Winners List.

      We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards for Fiction.

      Please click here for more information.

      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 as we enter our second decade and discover why!

       

    • The 2025 Journey Long List for Non-Fiction Overcoming Adversity

      The 2025 Journey Long List for Non-Fiction Overcoming Adversity

      Journey Narrative Non-Fiction CIBA BadgeThe Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

      Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here

      These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2025 Journey Non-Fiction entries to the 2025 Journey Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2025 Journey 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 (CAC26).

      The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 28 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 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference

       

      These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Journey Book Awards novel competition for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction!

      Join us in celebrating the Long List authors and their works in the 2025 CIBAs.

      • Amanda Carrasco – Becoming the Brave One
      • Amy Mackin – Henry’s Classroom: a Special Education in American Motherhood
      • Ana Hebra Flaster – Property of the Revolution: From a Cuban Barrio To a New Hampshire Mill Town
      • Ann Michelle Mracek – Unpacking the Attic
      • Ann Van Hine – Pieces Falling: Navigating 9/11 with Faith Family and the FDNY
      • Anne Abel – High Hopes
      • Anselm Ezemson – Chasing Closure: a Life on the Edge of Belonging
      • Baldur Einarsson – Ice and Fire: Thawing a Murderer’s Heart
      • Barbara Jenkins – So Long As It’s Wild
      • Beth Granger – Born and Razed: Surviving the Cult Was Only Half the Battle
      • Brandi Dredge – Girl Uncoded: a Memoir of Passion Betrayal and Eventual Blessings
      • Brian J. Quattlebaum – A Mad Box of Rain
      • Carl Gorham – My Life in a Garden: Love, Loss, and Mulch: a Single Dad Seeks Answers in Nature
      • Carol Odell, LICSW – Girl Groomed: a Therapist’s Memoir of Trauma
      • Carolyn Saletto – One Hazel Green Eye
      • Casey Mulligan Walsh – The Full Catastrophe: All I Ever Wanted Everything I Feared
      • Celia LaVon Belt – My ValHalla: Angels Are No Strangers To Chains
      • Chanchal Garg – Unearthed: the Lies We Carry & the Truths They Bury
      • Cheryl Landes – The Best I Can Do: A True Story of Navigating the Complexities of Mental Illness and Homelessness
      • Cheryl Lynn – Washing the Inside of the Cup: My Journey of Walking in the Spirit
      • Christine Amoroso – Bare Naked in Public: a Memoir
      • Cynthia Moore – Dancing on Coals: a Memoir of an Overperformer
      • Cynthia Waine Brandt – Song of the Cardinal: a True Story of Miracles and Magic After Heartbreaking Loss
      • Damien Thompson – And Then I Would Fly
      • Dan Gold – Game Changers Inspirational Sports Stories
      • Debbie Hartung – The Factory of Maladies: Seven Days on a San Francisco Psych Ward
      • Deborah M. Foster – What’s So Bad About Being Poor: Our Lives in the Shadows of the Poverty Experts
      • Diane C Pomerantz Ph.D. – Lost in the Reflecting Pool: Surviving Narcissistic Emotional Abuse
      • Dr. Deb Miller – Forget the Fairy Tale and Find Your Happiness
      • Dr. Kirsten Viola Harrison and Sean/a Smith – I, Sean/a: the Story of a Homeless Intersex Woman Who Inspired a Community
      • Dylan Nigh – Fool’s Gear: a Completely Devastating Thing I’ll Probably Do Again
      • Elizabeth Fulgaro – Learning to Love (Not Loathe) Me
      • Emily Sayre Smith – Smartass: Memoir of a Mouthy Girl
      • Franke James – Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me
      • Gavin O’Donnell – Father’s Day
      • Heidi Yewman – Dumb Girl
      • Hendrika De Vries – Open Turns
      • Jacquelyn Dickey – The Dash
      • James B. Wells – Because: A CIA Coverup & A Son’s Odyssey To Find the Father He Never Knew
      • Jane Cafarella – Cleaved: a Story of Loss, Legs, and Finding Family
      • Janine Kovac – The Nutcracker Chronicles
      • Jennifer Celeste Briggs – Watching Sarah Rise a Journey of Thriving with Autism
      • Jia Apple – The Tell
      • Joshua Storment – MENtal: My Entropic Nuances Towards Another Life
      • Julie Randall – Patient 71: an Inspiring True Story of a Mother’s Love That Fueled Her Fight To Stay Alive
      • Kathy Sechrist – Sara’s Redemption: A Journey of Courage Resilience and Hope
      • Kelly-Anne Kerley – Breaking Up with My Wheelchair
      • Lucie Frost – How the Hell Did I Not Know That: My Midlife Year From Couch To Curiosity
      • Maggie Enriquez – The Rebirth of a Phoenix
      • Marti Tote – Can You Ride a Raindrop To the Ocean
      • Mary Garden – My Father’s Suitcase
      • Mary Jumbelic M.D. – Speak Her Name
      • Mia Bolton – As We Bloom: Wisdom From Extraordinary Everyday Women & Gender Nonconforming People
      • Mitchell Raff – Little Boy I Know Your Name
      • Nin Mok – Suddenly Silent and Still
      • Peter Flom – Twice as Weird: A Memoir about Twice Exceptionality
      • PJ Hamilton – From the Piney Woods 2nd Edition
      • Robert Carney – Unscarred
      • Robert Macauley – Because I Knew You: How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor’s Soul
      • Ryan Mcdermott – Downriver: Memoir of a Warrior Poet
      • Sondra R. Brooks – Not Good Enough Girl: A Memoir of an Inconvenient Daughter
      • Stacey Hettes – Dispatches From the Couch
      • Steven Simmons Shelton, Ma, Jd – Memoir of a Mangled Mind: How Concealing My Dissociative Identity Disorder Unleashed Multiple Personalities
      • Valerie Foster – The Risk of Sorrow: Intimate Conversations with a Holocaust Survivor
      • W. Hector Rivera – An Island I Don’t Want To Be on: Surviving the Riptide of Bipolar Disorder
      • Wendy Crockett and Ian McPhee – Pushing Miles: A chronicle of Motorcycles, Mayhem, and Mettle
      • Wilma Macliver – Life Behind the Masks

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

      PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

      This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us.

      Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE.

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

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

      The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2024 JOURNEY Awards is:

      Unfollow Me

      By Kathryn Caraway

      Red, Black, White, book, cover

      See the full list of 2024 First Place Journey Winners here!

      We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 Journey Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction.

      Please click here for more information.

      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!

    • 10 Days Left: Nellie Bly, Hearten, Journey, and Military & Front Line Book Awards close soon!

      The First set of Non-Fiction Divisions closes soon!

      Nellie Bly, Hearten, Journey, and Military & Front Line Awards

      Don’t let your book miss out!

      Only 10 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!

      The Journey, Hearten, Military and Front Line and The Nellie Bly Awards are still open!

      Best Book Grand Prize for the Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards

      Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Journey Awards for Overcoming Adversity!

      • Kirsten Throneberry – Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road

      • Jennifer Gasner – My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis

      • Anne Gately – Sunburnt: A Memoir of Sun, Surf and Skin Cancer

      • Rachael Siddoway and Sonja Wasden – An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness

      • Lindsey Henke – When Skies Are Gray

      • Claudia Marseille – But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

      And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Journey Grand Prize Winner:

      Unfollow Me

      By Kathryn Caraway

      Red, Black, White, book, cover

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Hearten Award for Uplifting Non-Fiction!

      • Genét Simone – Teaching in the Dark

      • David Hutton – Drums of a Distant Tribe

      • Etsuko Diamond Miyagi – Diamond: The Memoir of a Lost Daughter of Japan

      • Rachael Siddoway and Sonja Wasden – An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness
      • Susan Cole – Holding Fast: A Memoir of Sailing, Love, and Loss

      • Tony Jeton Selimi – The Unfakeable Code®

      And a huge round of applause for our 2024 Hearten Grand Prize Winner:

      Elk Love: A Montana Memoir

      By Lynne Spriggs O’Connor

      Elk Love cover by Lynne Spriggs O'Connor

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      Congratulations to the 2024 Winners of the Nellie Bly Award for Long Form Journalism!

      • Carla Conti – Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir

      • Kori Reed – Men-in-the-Middle Conversations to Gain Momentum with Gender Equity’s Silent Majority

      • Bonnie Bley – Stolen Voices: Missing and Murdered in Big Horn County

      • Sarah Towle – Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands

      And a huge round of applause to our 2024 Nellie Bly Grand Prize Winner:

      The Sing Sing Files:

      One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice

      By Dan Slepian

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      Congratulations to our 2024 Winners of the Military and Front Line Award for Service to Others!

      • Roderick S. Haynes – Unauthorized Disclosures a Navy Memoir of the 1980s

      • David Huntley – The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: a WWII Final Honor

      • Patrick Hogan – Coincidence, You Say?

      • Shari Biery – It’s Your Turn How To Rediscover Yourself Prioritize Your Well-Being Thrive with Purpose

      • Max Lauker & Antonio Garcia – Number 788: My Experiences in Swedish Special Operations – Preparing for NATO and the War on Terror

      • Bibi LeBlanc – Wings of Freedom – The Story of the Berlin Airlift | Flugel der Freiheit – Die Geschichte der Berliner Luftbrucke

      And a huge round of applause to the 2024 Military and Front Line Grand Prize Winner!

      Memoirs From The Front Lines:

      Four states, Two years, One pandemic

      By Kim Sloan

      Memoirs from the Frontlines cover by Kim Sloan

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      The CIBAs offer more than just recognition — they provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.

       

      We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.

      Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 3-6, 2025) where Winners from all 25 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.

      In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.

      Let’s celebrate exceptional storytelling together!

      Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest

      Your book deserves to be discovered

      Don’t Delay! Enter Today!

    • The 2025 Military and Front Line Hall of Fame for Service for Others

      Honor and Courage: Stories That Matter

      The Military and Front Line Awards celebrate the best Non-Fiction

      Submit by August 31st, 2025!

      The Military and Front Line Awards recognize the extraordinary courage, sacrifice, and dedication of those who serve on the front lines—whether in military combat, medical emergencies, or other critical service roles. These powerful narratives capture the human experience behind the uniform, revealing stories of heroism, resilience, and the profound impact of service on individuals, families, and communities. From military memoirs to frontline healthcare experiences, these works honor those who answer the call to serve others, often at great personal cost.

      Truth and authentic experience matter now more than ever. The Military and Front Line Awards seek exceptional non-fiction that illuminates the realities of service, the bonds forged under pressure, and the lasting effects of dedicating one’s life to protecting and serving others.

      Let’s celebrate the Grand Prize Winners of the Military and Front Line Awards!

      Memoirs from the Frontlines cover by Kim Sloan

      Memoirs From the Frontlines: Four States, Two Years, One Pandemic
      By Kim Sloan, RSN and Travel ICU RN

      From Amazon:

      2020, the year the world shut down. My husband and I had been living our best lives. John had been a nurse since 2001 and I’d also been a nurse since 2008. We’d been traveling the country as Intensive Care Unit (ICU)/Emergency Room (ER) travel Registered Nurses (RNs) since 2017. We arrived in Southern Georgia for our ninth assignment in the fall of 2019. We had no idea what we had signed up for when we accepted this extension for our placement there—that this small town was about to become a major epicenter for COVID—that we would see more death in those few months than in all our prior years of nursing combined. We had no idea that the world was about to completely shut down because of a virus, or that we were about to become front-line heroes!

      We also worked in Tennessee, Washington state, and Las Vegas, Nevada during those years, losing patients to the Coronavirus in all three states. COVID never changed no matter what state we were working in.

      While writing this memoir has been very therapeutic, my true intentions are to provide a look at my experience so others can begin their own healing process. I also want others to understand by reading this memoir that it’s ok to make mistakes, and it’s ok to apologize for those mistakes. But most of all, even throughout a pandemic and even through a mental breakdown, it’s ok to lose your “voice,” but it’s not ok to give up finding that voice once again. Dark times are ok for a short time; however, to live in the dark is not living. You need to find your light and adjust to the world that surrounds you, COVID and all!

      Order the book here!

       

       

      Chasing the Daylight Cover

      Chasing The Daylight: One Woman’s Journey to Becoming a US Army Intelligence Officer
      By Joanna Rakowski

      Chasing The Daylight by Joanna Rakowski is a revealing memoir that captures the rigor, intensity, and ferocity of military training in a salient style.

      Ever wondered what it takes to become a soldier in one of the most powerful armies in the world?

      Joanna Rakowski was born in Poland and grew up practicing dance from a young age, eventually becoming a professional classical ballet dancer and teacher. Upon her migration to the US in 1995 and the painful fallout with her friend and mentor, Chris, Joanna knew she needed to make a drastic change in her life. Her great awakening came when she decided to transform from a fragile and sensitive ballerina into a steadfast U.S. Army soldier, a goal that many close to her doubted she could accomplish.

      With arresting insights, the text builds from Rakowski’s striking introduction as it describes her first day of enlistment, which was filled with uncertainties.

      Read More Here

      Lost in Beirut Cover

      Lost in Beirut: A True Story of Love, Loss and War
      By Ashe and Magdalena Stevens

      Seeking to “fill his vessel with the truth,” young Ashe Stevens joins his friends on a thrilling adventure beyond the safety of his comfortable American life to chase stardom in Beirut, Lebanon.

      Leaving behind a raucous life of plenty in Hollywood – complete with hot dates, popularity, and financial success – to the unknown of the Middle East teaches Ashe to prioritize his values and beliefs. But nothing could prepare him for what’s coming next.

      Journey with Ashe and his friends as they bring the rapper 50 Cent to Beirut, the “Paris of the Middle East.” Along the way, Ashe dates not one, but two drop-dead gorgeous billionaires and falls head over heels for a blonde beauty to whom he promises to devote his life. But just as business is booming and true love reaches the height of bliss, the Israeli military bombs their beautiful city, “weaving a tapestry of death all over the night sky.” The team barely makes it out with their lives in a harrowing escape, leaving their love and livelihoods behind.

      Read More Here

       

      Dear Bob Cover

      Dear Bob: Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of World War 2
      By Martha Bolton with Linda Hope

      During World War II, Bob Hope traveled almost ceaselessly to outposts large and small, entertaining US troops – and inspiring them; Martha Bolton brings the extent of this work to light in Dear Bob.

      Writer Martha Bolton worked with and for comedian Bob Hope. Now, with Hope’s daughter Linda, she has gathered and organized the letters written to Bob by the soldiers he helped.

      Hope, English born, and born to entertain, once said he could not retire and go fishing because “Fish don’t applaud.” Among his sizzling lines – and there are hundreds recorded here – he told one audience that he’d gotten a wonderful welcome when he arrived at their camp: “I received a 10-gun salute… They told me on the operating table.”

      His performances could have been forgotten were it not for the letters from soldiers of every stripe, and those soldiers’ families – who did not forget him.

      Read More Here


      Thank you for celebrating our Military and Front Line Hall of Fame Winners with us!

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

       

      Be Part of the Legacy: Join the Illustrious Roster of Winners

      As the deadline for the 2025 Military and Front Line Awards arrives, 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 2024 Military and Front Line First Place Roundup for Service to Others

      The Military and Front Line Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoirs exploring the lives of those who serve their country and others. The Grand Prize Winner, Kim Sloan’s book, Memoirs from the Frontlines: Four States, Two Years, One Pandemic, will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Military and Front line 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 Military and Front Line 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 Military and Front Line Winners!

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      Roderick S. Haynes – Unauthorized Disclosures: A Navy Memoir of the 1980’s

      military, navy, man

      Rod Haynes’s memoir Unauthorized Disclosures: A Navy Memoir of the 1980s portrays military life without filter, transcending glamorous and heroic images to explore the daily struggles, leadership challenges, emotional battles, and personal growth during his decade of military service.

      We first meet Rod as a young man trying to navigate a directionless civilian life. The burdens of unemployment, fractured family relationships, and an identity crisis lead him to a chance encounter in Seattle with ‘Space Case’, an eccentric, troubled, yet honest character. The relationship offers a glimpse at rock bottom—which Rod fears most.

      Rod decides to join the Navy because he needs employment.

      We follow Rod to Officer Candidate School (OCS), a mentally and physically grueling journey toward adapting to a new leadership role. He tells of the essence of leadership taught in the school, which emerges not through the wearing of a uniform, but through sacrifice, battling doubt, and a drive to look out for others. Marching in sleeting rain, performing relentless drills, and encounters with hard-nosed instructors, Rod ultimately survives the intense pressure of military training with the assistance of a fellow Officer Candidate, a prior enlisted sailor willing to show Rod survival techniques in a high stress military training environment.

      Read More Here!

       David Huntley – The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor

       

      The Tomahawk Warriors, a crew of nine who perished in a 1944 B-17 Flying Fortress crash in England, was a mystery of WWII until explained in this book. It would have lain in partial obscurity if it were not for the author’s initial involuntary involvement. As a child, he witnessed what would become a dogged determination in his lifetime later to tell this story. As the faint light of dawn was breaking the morning of August 12, 1944, a crippled American B-17 bomber flew perilously close over the roof of the author’s house in Southern England. Around 30 seconds later, it crashed and exploded. In 2016, the author, David E. Huntley, after almost a lifetime, came across the story of the crew known as the ‘Tomahawk Warriors’ and recognized it as the accident he had witnessed as a child.

      He started his own research and began asking himself many questions about the disaster. How did this plane crash and why, particularly in that location? For what reason was the plane misnamed ‘The Tomahawk Warrior’ through all those years? What strange circumstance led the author to come into possession of the navigator’s diary that no one knew even existed? Why did one airman not take his place on board that day and become a part of the ‘missing airman’ legend?

      Despite the coincidence that the plane of the ‘Tomahawk Warriors’ and the plane of Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. crashed on the same day; Huntley revealed a further significant link between them. This incident adds a further little-known aspect about the Kennedy’s in American history.

      Based on Declassified Secret Operational Records, analysis of other official and unofficial records, the author’s personal observations on the day of the accident, and his pursuit of other facts, those mysteries became fully resolved. This story provides a distinct understanding of the immense courage those young 20 to 26-year-old American airmen displayed. Mission after mission, they climbed aboard their craft and carried out their respective duties at 28,000 ft in sub-zero temperatures, hoping their electric-heated protective clothing would not short out during the 9 to 10-hour flight. They prayed that flak and enemy fighters would give them that 70 percent chance of getting back home.

      The book offers vivid descriptions of those who got shot down, bailed out, and died or got captured to spend the rest of the war as POWs. The narrative places its emphasis on the lives of the heroes who served in WWII and their loved ones who have grown up in their shadows. He obtained a posthumous honor to the deceased crew, as well as a Permanent Commemorative Marker, and brought relief and closure to the descendants’ relatives. This is not a post-mortem of wartime machinery, but a window into the lives of some heroes who sacrificed themselves for a cause, as well as a personal insight into the familial relationships with their loved ones at home.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!

      Patrick Hogan – Coincidence, You Say? 

      Coincidence, you say, is a book about the folks we call soldiers and police officers. The people who choose to stand guard over us by day and by night. In good weather and bad. The guardians who stand in the lurch between peace and chaos—good and evil.

      It’s a tale of youthful rebellion, love, courage, resilience, and resolve not to give up despite seemingly insurmountable challenges.

      The work is much more than an autobiography. It is an exploration of the various conditions the author faced throughout his life. From his earliest childhood memories right up through his retirement years.

      When he was eighteen, the Vietnam War was just ramping up, so instead of waiting to be drafted, he decided to join the Army. As providence would have it, he ended up in Vietnam for three years.

      After returning from Vietnam in ’69, he started having minor health difficulties, which he shrugged off. Then, in 1975, thanks to a twist of fate that changed New Jersey State law, he was appointed as a police officer for a small municipality. It is this occupational skill set and his investigative and analytical abilities that bring a truly high influence on his books.

      As you read through the volumes of information, you will be absolutely stunned at what the US government had willingly dumped on Vietnam and its own troops. You will be amazed at what being a police officer really demands.

      Some of the coincidental events he experienced seemed to challenge all human logic and have no rational explanation by our natural laws and standards. However, they did have meaning to him, and they profoundly changed the course of his life more than once.

      ​​​​​​​It was difficult for him to put into words the emotions and energy he sensed firsthand after experiencing many strange life events. For him, they came with a deeper feeling of mysterious actions, along with a feeling of profound wonder and surprise. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was some deeper meaning behind all the twists and unexpected turns of my life.

      Find it on Amazon!

      Shari Biery – It’s Your Turn: How to Rediscover Yourself and Thrive With Purpose

      Also a 2024 Mind and Spirit First Place Winner!

      Are you feeling buried under the demands of supporting your spouse, family, and the chaos of daily life while your own needs fall to the bottom of the list?

      As a midlife woman, it’s easy to always put others first, leaving little time or energy for yourself. But now, It’s YOUR Turn to break free from the overwhelm and reclaim your life.

      In It’s Your Turn, Shari Biery—a National Board Certified Purpose and Well-Being Coach and former military spouse—shares her personal journey from self-neglect to self-empowerment.

      The moment she received the American Flag at her husband’s retirement ceremony marked not just the end of his career but the start of her own new chapter. After years of putting everyone else first, Shari made a powerful shift, and now she’s here to guide you in doing the same.

      Through relatable stories and actionable steps, Shari shows how common it is for midlife women, especially those supporting a spouse and family, to feel overwhelmed and disconnected—and how to overcome these challenges.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!

      Max Lauker with Antonio Garcia – Number 788: My Experiences in Swedish Special Operations- Preparing for NATO and the War on Terror

       How a reluctant soldier and ranger, excelling in reconnaissance, intelligence, and covert operations, details his journey post-Cold War training to the War on Terror.

      I am a soldier and a ranger – a specialist in reconnaissance, intelligence, and covert operations. I never wanted to be a soldier, but I found that I excelled at it. I have fired my weapons in anger, infiltrated terrorist groups, and made and burnt sources. Number 788 is my story.

      Being good at doing bad things is not always a blessing. You can’t be the judge, only the executioner. The concept of ‘for the greater good’ always has a flip side. You are moving and living in the shadows. The ones in control grant you the ultimate power of life, but a life lived in the shadows is never your own.

      My development was slow and meticulous; it was improvised and innovative. Now, I write about what it was like to be pushed past the brink of what I thought was humanly possible. I aim to share my flawed path, lessons learned, relationships forged, revelations of self and the workings of others, with the very small hope of inspiring a few new generation warriors.

      I was trained at a unique time, as I joined the forces after the Cold War but just before the attacks of 9-11. During my formation, the lack of controls and regulation came with tremendous risks but also significant opportunities – I seized them. I am the product of brave officers who took action with great personal risk to save a regiment without permission and by asking for forgiveness later. Officers who believed in the saying, ‘Who Dares Wins’. I share my small place as a silent mediator between the light and shadows in the long and flawed history of Western and Nordic fighters.

      The end of the Cold War and subsequent peacekeeping missions caught the Swedish military flatfooted when the War on Terror came around. The need for special operations forces was in high demand, but for the most part, Sweden lacked this niche capability. While still in its conceptual form, the International Ranger Platoon, an elite force that became a Special Purpose Unit within the Ranger Battalion, was used to fill the gap. Newly recruited, I was drawn to the challenge and adventure of it all; I took on the tough selection course – the reward was to be part of something new – the Special Purpose Units.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!

      Bibi LeBlanc – Wings of Freedom – The Story of The Berlin Airlift

      Explore the epic story of the Berlin Airlift in Wings of Freedom. This vividly illustrated book takes you on a gripping journey through one of history’s most daring operations-a humanitarian and logistical effort that defied all odds. From iconic aircraft to courageous pilots, this book pays tribute to the remarkable people who orchestrated this historic feat.

      The story of the city of Berlin, its citizens, and the Western Allies – and the unyielding courage they displayed – resonates through time, illuminating how unity can overcome even the darkest hours of history.

      Join us in paying tribute to unwavering heroes who transformed adversity into triumph. Immerse yourself in the spirit of unity and determination that saved Berlin and changed the course of history.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!


      Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Military and Front Line First Place Winners!

      Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you enter to the Military and Front Line Awards!

      The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

      Got a great Non-Fiction Book? The 2025 Military and Front Line Book Awards are open through the end of August!

      Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest
      Submit to the Military and Front Line Awards Today!
    • The 2025 Military & Front Line Spotlight for Narrative Non-Fiction Service to Others

      Honoring Those Who Answer the Call

      Military & Front Line Awards Celebrate Stories of Service and Sacrifice

      The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway, and Military & Front Line closes on August 31, 2025!

      Some people run toward danger when others run away. They stand at the ready when crisis strikes, put others’ needs before their own safety, and carry the weight of protecting communities, nations, and strangers who will never know their names. The Military & Front Line Awards honor these everyday heroes and the authors brave enough to share their stories of service, sacrifice, and the profound impact of answering the call to serve.

      Whether it’s military personnel defending freedom on foreign shores, healthcare workers battling a global pandemic, first responders racing toward emergencies, or service organization volunteers working in the world’s most challenging places, these stories matter. They preserve the experiences of those who serve, honor their sacrifices, and help civilians understand the true cost and meaning of service to others.

      The Sacred Trust of Service Stories

      Sharing stories of military and front-line service requires a special kind of courage, not just the bravery demonstrated in the field, but the vulnerability needed to transform difficult experiences into meaningful narrative. These authors understand that their stories serve a dual purpose: honoring those who served alongside them and helping others understand the realities of service life.

      The best military and front-line memoirs preserve the dignity of service while honestly exploring both the pride and the pain that comes with putting others first. They bridge the gap between those who serve and those who benefit from that service, creating understanding, respect, and sometimes healing for all involved.

      These stories also serve families and support systems, showing that service extends far beyond the individual, they encompass spouses, children, parents, and communities who support and sacrifice alongside their loved ones in uniform or on the front lines.

      Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!

      Memoirs from the Frontlines cover by Kim Sloan

      We’re honored to recognize Kim Sloan, whose powerful memoir Memoirs from the Frontlines: Four States, Two Years, One Pandemic claimed the 2024 Military & Front Line Grand Prize with a story that captures the extraordinary service of healthcare workers during humanity’s greatest recent crisis. As traveling ICU/ER nurses, Kim and her husband John found themselves on the COVID front lines across four states, witnessing unprecedented loss while serving as literal lifelines for their communities.

      Sloan’s memoir honestly chronicles the journey from their “best life” as traveling nurses to becoming reluctant heroes in a global pandemic. Her story spans Georgia, Tennessee, Washington, and Nevada and shows how “COVID never changed no matter what state we were working in”—while exploring both the professional calling and personal cost of front-line service. Most importantly, her memoir serves others by demonstrating that healing is possible, that it’s okay to struggle, and that finding your voice again after trauma is part of the service journey.

      In addition to ongoing promotional features, Memoirs from the Frontlines will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame posts. Kim Sloan will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and Memoirs from the Frontlines will receive a Chanticleer Editorial Review.

      Categories That Honor Every Form of Service

      The Military & Front Line Awards recognize the full spectrum of service to others:

      • Military and Armed Forces Service – Stories from those who serve in uniform, defending freedom and protecting others
      • Medical Service – Focused on nurses, doctors, healthcare workers, and other essential medical personnel
      • Community Service Workers and First Responders – Firefighters, police, SWAT teams, and emergency responders who run toward danger
      • Service Organizations – Stories from CARE, Peace Corps, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and similar humanitarian groups
      • Agency Workers – Those serving in child protection, social services, and other community-support agencies
      • Families and Support Systems – The stories of those who support front-line workers and military personnel
      • Service Life – The broader experience of choosing a life dedicated to serving others

      Each category represents not just different forms of service, but different perspectives on what it means to put others first.

      Other August Non-Fiction Opportunities

      The Military & Front Line Awards are part of Chanticleer’s comprehensive celebration of narrative non-fiction, all closing at the end of August:

      • Journey Awards: Courageous stories of overcoming adversity and transforming trauma into purpose
      • Hearten Awards: Uplifting non-fiction that inspires hope and positive transformation
      • Nellie Bly Awards: Investigative journalism and exposé works that uncover important truths

      September non-fiction divisions include Instruction and Insight (I&I), Harvey Chute, and Mind & Spirit Awards.

      Looking at Stories of Service

      Check out some of these powerful service narratives we’ve celebrated recently!

      Unauthorized Disclosures cover

      Unauthorized Disclosures
      By Rod Haynes

      A Military and Front Line First Place Winner!

      Rod Haynes’s memoir Unauthorized Disclosures: A Navy Memoir of the 1980s portrays military life without filter, transcending glamorous and heroic images to explore the daily struggles, leadership challenges, emotional battles, and personal growth during his decade of military service.

      We first meet Rod as a young man trying to navigate a directionless civilian life. The burdens of unemployment, fractured family relationships, and an identity crisis lead him to a chance encounter in Seattle with ‘Space Case’, an eccentric, troubled, yet honest character. The relationship offers a glimpse at rock bottom—which Rod fears most.

      Rod decides to join the Navy because he needs employment.

      We follow Rod to Officer Candidate School (OCS), a mentally and physically grueling journey toward adapting to a new leadership role. He tells of the essence of leadership taught in the school, which emerges not through the wearing of a uniform, but through sacrifice, battling doubt, and a drive to look out for others. Marching in sleeting rain, performing relentless drills, and encounters with hard-nosed instructors, Rod ultimately survives the intense pressure of military training with the assistance of a fellow Officer Candidate, a prior enlisted sailor willing to show Rod survival techniques in a high stress military training environment.

      Read More Here

      Combat Missions
      By Burl Harmon

      A Military and Front Line First Place Winner!

      Sometimes, a close and personal story can reveal the true weight of major historical events. Combat Missions, a memoir from WWII veteran Burl D. Harmon, achieves this by detailing how Europe’s vicious aerial battles shape a young boy’s entry to manhood.

       On December 7, 1941, Harmon is summoned to his high school’s auditorium to hear President Roosevelt proclaim it as, “a day which will live in infamy…” Soon after, his draft notice arrives. Harmon’s junior college studies and work at the local Rexall drug store are put on hold as he joins the vast flood of young American men and women conscripted into military service. Leaving his small Iowa town and a family mostly sheltered from the grim realities of the outside world, he travels to New York City with people from every imaginable background.

       With no prior mechanical experience, he works diligently to become a flight engineer, training to master a lexicon of manual tasks and learn the intricacies of air-to-air combat amidst bombing runs. His training takes him even farther from home, to Detroit, Lorado, Texas, Puerto Rico, and even Cuba.

      Read More Here

      Chasing the Daylight Cover

      Chasing The Daylight
      By Joanna Rakowski

      The 2023 Military and Frontline Grand Prize Winner!

      Chasing The Daylight by Joanna Rakowski is a revealing memoir that captures the rigor, intensity, and ferocity of military training in a salient style.

      Ever wondered what it takes to become a soldier in one of the most powerful armies in the world?

      Joanna Rakowski was born in Poland and grew up practicing dance from a young age, eventually becoming a professional classical ballet dancer and teacher. Upon her migration to the US in 1995 and the painful fallout with her friend and mentor, Chris, Joanna knew she needed to make a drastic change in her life. Her great awakening came when she decided to transform from a fragile and sensitive ballerina into a steadfast U.S. Army soldier, a goal that many close to her doubted she could accomplish.

      With arresting insights, the text builds from Rakowski’s striking introduction as it describes her first day of enlistment, which was filled with uncertainties.

      Read More Here

      Chop That Sh*t Up!
      By CSM Daniel L. Pinion

      A Military and Front Line First Place Winner!

      In Chop That Sh*t Up: Leadership and Life Lessons Learned While in the Military, Daniel L. Pinion reminisces about his experiences in the US Army, both good and bad, before he retired as a Command Sergeant Major.

      Some of the stories and lessons he offers are heartbreaking, some are horrifying, and some are insightful. As it turns out, some are even heartwarming.

      The author explains his origins: a quiet and uneventful childhood that did not give him much idea of what he should do with his life. Some counseling and a few incidents led Pinion, after high school, to the National Guard and eventually the US Army, where he found his life’s calling.

      He learned life lessons through a series of supervisors (noncommissioned officers for the most part) and fellow soldiers, from whom he discovered what to do and when (and predictably, what not to do and when). As Pinion comments, occasionally, one of his supervisors “was tough but fair, and I modeled a lot of my leadership style on what I learned from him.” But occasionally the soldier “rocked the boat and got in trouble.” Despite this, the author tells us, he would “still smile every time” he remembers those events.

      Read More Here

      The Doctor’s Voice
      By Dr. Pietro Emanuele Garbelli

      A Harvey Chute First Place Winner!

      Dr. Pietro Emanuele Garbelli speaks out on serious professional issues faced by modern healthcare workers, in The Doctor’s Voice.

      Doctors deal with overwhelming stress, leading to burnout, illness, many of them leaving the profession, and even a higher-than-average rate of suicide. The Covid19 pandemic both heightened and helped illuminate some of the causes of this stress, prompting author Garbelli to write this book as a set of advice for his colleagues and as advocacy for broader changes in hospitals and other healthcare systems.

      Garbelli highlights a common disconnect in communication—administrators and higher-ups telling doctors what to do while those doctors don’t have much opportunity to bring up the problems they encounter day-to-day.

      Read More Here

      These works demonstrate how stories of service honor both those who serve and those who support them, creating bridges of understanding and respect.


      See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!

      We’re deeply honored to receive the service stories that authors trust us with each year. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!

      The Military & Front Line Awards provide recognition for stories that might otherwise remain untold—preserving experiences that deserve to be remembered, honored, and understood. Whether you’re sharing your own service journey or honoring the service of others, these awards celebrate the courage required both to serve and to share these vital stories.

      Your Service Story Matters

      To every veteran, active service member, healthcare worker, first responder, and family member who has lived the reality of service: your story matters. Your experiences deserve to be preserved, your sacrifices deserve recognition, and your perspective can help others understand the true meaning of service to community and country.

      Honor your service and the service of othersthe deadline is August 31, 2025!

      You know you want it…

      Submit to the Military & Front Line Awards today and help us preserve the stories of those who answer the call!

    • The 2025 Journey Hall of Fame for Non-Fiction Overcoming Adversity

      Recognizing Resiliency 

       Chanticleer International Book Awards

      Journey Book Awards

      Narrative Non-Fiction Division for Overcoming Adversities and Challenges

      Journey Narrative Non-Fiction CIBA Badge
      The Journey Awards Closes at the end of June. Enter today!

      One of seven of the Non-Fiction Divisions for the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) is the Journey Awards. This division deals with some of the most difficult experiences people are challenged with. The Journey Book Awards was the first non-fiction division of the CIBAs.  As we received a considerable number of submissions that were uplifting and inspiring as well as those that focused on overcoming adversities, we decided to offer two divisions of narrative non-fiction. To be able to recognize these fully, we split off the more heartwarming works into the Hearten Awards, while continuing to recognize and discover works that give accounts of immense challenges and personal stories of the power resiliency and overcoming adversity (some of which should come with trigger warnings) in the Journey Book Awards.

      Chanticleer is looking to discover exceptional Non-Fiction dealing with Overcoming Adversity, Dysfunctional Families, Societal Issues of Race and Class, Personal Journeys, and Experiences relating to PTSD, Drug Addiction, Sexual Abuse, and Childhood Trauma. If you have a Non-Fiction Book with different themes, you can see our full list of Non-Fiction Awards here. Truth matters now, more than ever!

      Check out these exceptional reads and experiences from previous Journey Grand Prize Winners

      Unfollow Me
      By Kathryn Caraway

      Red, Black, White, book, cover

      When you’re a target of stalking, “Each day is a fight to stay alive. Even while sleeping, you must be ready.” So reveals Kathryn Caraway in Unfollow Me, a spine-tingling true crime novel tracing a life shattered by severe stalking.

      Although the author uses the pseudonym “Kathryn Caraway” throughout this novel to protect her identity, her harrowing tales of being the target of a stalker and fighting for her rights to freedom and safety are a testament to the real danger she was exposed to. Caraway’s experience creates a compelling story of one woman’s brave quest for justice against her torturer.

      Kathryn emotionally, mentally, and physically falls apart at the hands of a violent, ubiquitous presence. Despite the severity of the crimes committed against her, Kathryn’s concerns are routinely dismissed as irrational and hysterical by law enforcement officials, lawyers, and even long-time friends.

      Before a malicious intruder targets her, Kathryn is a beloved mother, a wonderful friend, and a confident employee. But after she is introduced to Todd, he begins to slowly strip her life from her control.

      Read More Here

      To see more from this author, including her upcoming fictional sequel to Unfollow Me, visit her website!

      Barbed
      By Julie Morrison

      Barbed Cover

      Julie Morrison saddles up to take us for a ride through the harsh dry mountains of northern Arizona and beyond in her memoir, Barbed.

      Readers visit the ranch where Julie’s parents try to keep the family legacy alive. Julie reveals a cowboy’s world where she meets walls instead of doors but never gives up.

      Barbed opens with Morrison living in the rainy Seattle area with her husband. But the lure of a cowboy’s life on the range – working cattle and riding horseback – beckons them both. Julie needs salvation like this for her marriage, now distant and cold.

      Continue Reading here.

      Visit Julie’s website here to learn more!

      A Fraction Stronger
      By Mark Berridge

      A Fraction Stronger Cover

      Author and businessman Mark Berridge, through the lived experience of himself and others after traumatic injuries, gained a wide understanding of overcoming disaster, and how to rehabilitate not only one’s body but mind and spirit as well. In sharing his wisdom, A Fraction Stronger is a must-read for anyone facing physical, emotional, or mental barriers.

      On March 10, 2019, Berridge, due to embark on a work-related flight from his Australian home to the US later that day, went on a bike ride with some buddies. He lost control of the bike over a piece of slippery road patch work, he wrecked falling into an open culvert, striking his head; conscious, but unable to move his feet and legs. The left side of his helmet was crushed, his spinal cord injured, and numerous bone broke. Hospitals would become his world as he dealt with spinal injuries and the long road to rehabilitation – relearning how to sit, stand, and walk.

      He learned more than just how to move again.

      Read more here!

      Visit Mark’s website to learn more about where he’s speaking here!

      Better off Bald
      By Andrea Wilson Woods

      Better Off Bald Cover

      There exists a bond between sisters, and often that bond becomes a connection so strong that time cannot erase the love and the longing for the other. Andrea Wilson Woods defines such a bond in Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days.

      Woods details the choreographed life she lives with her sister Adrienne, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Together they begin their dance, pirouetting around IV ports and long lists of medications. Sisters in life, love, and an all-out war against liver cancer.

      Woods retells her story with compassion and a rational eye for detail while embracing all the deep emotions that ravage her as she records every one of the 147 days after the initial diagnosis.

      Continue Reading here.

      You can learn more about Woods’ journey and even hear early parts of the book on her website here.

      The Parrot’s Perch — A Memoir of Torture and Corruption in Brazil
      By Karen Keilt

      The cover for The Parrot's Perch by Karen Keilt

      Karen Keilt led a life of privilege, a life that most of us only dream of, but she turns the dream upside down in her memoir The Parrot’s Perch: A Memoir of Torture and Corruption in Brazil, where she exposes the seamy underside of that life and the corrupt government under which she lived. Keilt takes us from her childhood filled with the horses she loved, to her marriage to a man she adored, to the fatal incident that destroyed the world she knew.

      The memoir moves between New York and Sao Paulo as Keilt sets the stage for an incident that occurs shortly after her marriage. Keilt places no blame, but tells her story with an objective eye, while expressing the confusion she held of her experiences: the kidnapping, torture, rape, and interrogation by the police for “…forty-five days of hell. Three million, eight hundred and eighty-eight seconds.”

      Karen Keilt presents a memoir that is tough and unapologetic. She sandwiches her story within an interview at the UN, which is smart because some of the events are so intense and violent, they call for a breathing space where readers can decompress.

      Continue Reading here.

      Visit Karen Keilt’s website here to learn more!


      Thank you for celebrating our Journey 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 Journey 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!

       

      You know you want it…

      If you have a great Narrative Non-Fiction Book about Overcoming Adversity, submit it to us before the end of August to enter the 2025 CIBAs!

    • The Journey 2024 First Place Round Up for Overcoming Adversity!

      Journey Narrative Non-Fiction CIBA BadgeThe Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoirs. The Grand Prize Winner, Kathryn Caraway’s book, Unfollow Me will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Journey 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 Journey 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 Journey Winners!

      A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

      Kirsten Throneberry – Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms and the Open Road

      On the eve of her 40th birthday, Kirsten, a happily married mother of two, receives an unsolicited message foretelling the collapse of her life as she knows it. This startling news is delivered by the unseen guides who have been with her for over 14 years.

      In the devastating aftermath of their prediction, these same guides return to offer Kirsten an unconventional path forward through her grief: a yearlong road trip around the country in an RV―something she has never owned, wanted, or even driven before.

      Though anxious and uncertain, she decides to heed their advice to sell her home and head out into the unknown in 300 square feet of living space with her two young sons, two large dogs, and one aging flower-child mother.

      On this wild and often harrowing journey, Kirsten discovers the true depths of her resilience and a way to finally reclaim her life.

      From Chanticleer:

      In her stunning memoir, Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road, Kirsten Throneberry weaves together the highs and lows of a road trip packed with life wisdom, where she explores grief, spirituality, and rekindled hope.

      Throneberry’s achingly vulnerable memoir splits its readers’ hearts and tenderly sews them back together.

      In the aftermath of the devastating loss of her husband, Kirsten sells her home and takes her two small sons, two elderly pups, and eccentric mother on a year-long road trip around the United States in their new-to-them Bigfoot RV.

      Encouraged by the same spirit guides whose earlier advice for her husband’s health left her broken and untrusting, Kirsten must learn to face the open road with an equally open heart and mind.

      Read More Here!

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!

      Jennifer Gasner – My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis

      Jennifer Gasner is seventeen when her dreams are shattered overnight.
      Receiving a diagnosis of Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare genetic neuromuscular disease, means she must prepare herself for a life of loss. When she starts college, she can still walk on her own, but as her disease progresses, she spirals further into sadness, denial, and alienation. She turns to alcohol and a toxic relationship to distract her from what she refuses to accept—that her body, her self-esteem, and her hope for her future are failing.

      When Jennifer develops a friendship with rock star Dave Matthews, her outlook changes. She begins to understand that using a wheelchair doesn’t mean her life is over. In fact, when she discovers disability culture, she realizes it’s not her body that needs to be fixed but her assumptions about being disabled.

      In her captivating memoir, My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis, Jennifer invites you into her world, where she must learn to view her changing body with compassion and choose gratitude over anger as she finds strength and acceptance in a whole new way of moving through life.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!

      Anne Gately – Sunburnt: A Memoir of Sun, Surf, and Skin Cancer

      Also a 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design First Place Winner!

      After living an average Aussie life playing sport, spending languid days on the beach, and falling in love with ocean swimming, Anne Gately received unwelcome news. She had Stage IV melanoma.

      Yet Anne is one of the lucky ones. After a dire prognosis, she dug deep to face the clear and present prospect of death, head-on. In Sunburnt, her revealing memoir, Anne recounts the emotions and challenges of her life-saving immunotherapy treatment under the care of Professor Georgina Long to come through the other side.

      Not only has Anne survived, she is issuing a clarion call for a change to the bronzed Aussie culture. In Sunburnt Anne combines a nostalgic view of a charmed Aussie childhood, a jolting review of Australia’s sun-worshipping norms, and enough scientific research to encourage us all to redefine our relationship with the sun.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!

      Sonja Wasden and Rachel Siddoway – An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness

      Also a 2024 Hearten First Place Winner!

      An award-winning and best-selling memoir, An Impossible Life, tells the powerful true account of one woman’s descent into depressive and manic episodes and how she found lifesaving therapy and medication to overcome and triumph. When thirty-five-year-old Sonja Wasden is involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital by her husband and father, she is sure it is a mistake. Wife of a CEO, mother of three, and living in a beautiful suburb, Sonja’s life appears ideal. How did she get here?

      In this gripping and breathtaking narrative that makes the reader feel as though they are listening in on a private conversation, Sonja reveals her delusions and battles with mental illness, motherhood, and marriage. When all hope seems lost, this true story of perseverance is inspiring and unforgettable.

      An Impossible Life is a lighthouse of hope for those facing an all-consuming mental illness, either for themselves or for someone they love.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!

      Lindsey M. Henke – When Skies Are Gray: A Grieving Mother’s Lullaby

      Lindsey Henke is freshly married and a newly practicing psychotherapist when she finds out she is pregnant with her first child. Nine months later, on a cold Minnesota night in December 2012, after a perfect pregnancy, Lindsey goes into labor—only to be told upon arrival at the hospital that her baby has no heartbeat.

      After the stillbirth of her daughter, Lindsey grapples with the unbearable agony of losing a child. Unprepared to cope with a sorrow this deep, she uses the only tools she has—her skills as a therapist—to plot her own path through grief. Over the next year and half, as Lindsey mourns the loss of one child while simultaneously trying to hold space for the joy of expecting another baby, she learns that grief can live side by side with joy.

      When Skies Are Gray offers a poignant message to any mother who is grieving: Your pain is real. The sharp ache of the grief you feel will soften over time, though your love for the child you lost will always remain. And it’s okay to feel that love; it’s a mother’s love, and like lullabies, a mother’s love never dies.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!

      Claudia Marseille – But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

      By age four, Claudia Marseille had hardly uttered a word. When her parents finally had her hearing tested and learned she had a severe hearing loss, they chose to mainstream her, hoping this would offer her the most “normal” childhood possible. With the help of a primitive hearing aid, Claudia worked hard to learn to hear, lipread, and speak even as she tried to hide her disability in order to fit in. As a result, she was often misunderstood, lonely, and isolated—fitting into neither the hearing world nor the Deaf culture.

      This memoir explores Claudia’s relationships with her German refugee parents—a disturbed, psychoanalyst father obsessed over various harebrained projects and moneymaking schemes and a Jewish mother who had survived the Holocaust in Munich—and with her own identity. Claudia shares how she emerged from loneliness and social isolation, explored her Jewish identity, struggled to find a career compatible with hearing loss, and eventually opened herself to a life of creativity and love.

      But You Look So Normal is the inspiring story of a life affected but not defined by an invisible disability. It is a journey through family, loss, shame, identity, love, and healing as Claudia finally, joyfully, finds her place in the world.

      Find it Locally and on Amazon!


      Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Journey First Place Winners!

      Journey Narrative Non-Fiction CIBA Badge

      Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Journey Awards!

       

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

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      Submit to the Journey Awards Today!