Tag: Middle-grade Chapter Books

  • The 2021 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction – The Semi-Finalists – The CIBAs

    The 2021 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction – The Semi-Finalists – The CIBAs

    The Boxcar Children from the famed series by Gertrude Warner

    The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Middle Grade Fiction.  The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

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

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

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2021 Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Fiction Short List to the 2021 Gertrude Warner Book Awards Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

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

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

    Announcing the 2021 Gertrude Warner Semi-Finalists for Middle-Grade Readers

     

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

    • Mary K. Savarese – The Girl in the Toile Wallpaper
    • Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
    • B.L. Smith – Serious Business on Albatross Lane
    • Didem Saracel – Story of Carbon
    • K.P. Boardman – The Falling Sisters
    • Murray Richter – Fishing for Luck
    • J. B. Spector – The Sunlit Curse, Book 1 of The Mer-Prince Adventures
    • Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
    • Ben Gartner – Sol Invictus
    • Esta Lemon – The Loser Blog
    • KS Mitchell – The Mystery of the Golden Ball: Pen & Quin International Agents of Intrigue
    • McKemie Huston – Return of the Last Prism
    • Emmett J Hall – RUNAWAY
    • Raea Gragg – Mup
    • Moira Siobhan – Dilly Cooper Hat-astrophe
    • Laurie Calkhoven – Roosevelt Banks, Good-Kid-in-Training
    • Peter Solomon – The Stardust Mystery
    • Susan McCormick – The Antidote
    • Gloria Two-Feathers – Buck Keeper of the Meadow
    • Jay Spenser – The Phantom Airplane Mystery

    Good luck to All! 

    These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2021 Gertrude Warner Book Awards novel competition for Middle Grade Fiction!

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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

    Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

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

     

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is Kelly Oliver for Kassy O’Roarke, Cub Reporter

    Cover of Kassy O'Roarke Cub Reporter by Kelly Oliver

    A blue and gold badge for the 2020 Grand Prize Winner for Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Readers Kassy O’Roarke, Cub Reporter by Kelly Oliver
    Click here to see the 2020 Gertrude Warner Book Award Winners for Middle Grade Fiction.

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023. 

    Please click here for more information.

    For our other Youth Reader Fiction Awards, please see the following:

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

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

    FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

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

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

  • The 2021 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction – The Short List – CIBAs 2021

    The Boxcar Children from the famed series by Gertrude Warner

    The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Middle Grade Fiction.  The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

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

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

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2021 Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Fiction Long List to the 2021 Gertrude Warner Book Awards 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 (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

    These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2021 Gertrude Warner Book Awards novel competition for Middle Grade Fiction!

    Short Listed for the 2021 CIBAs

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

    • Didem Saracel – Story of Carbon
    • Clayton Marshall Adams – The Mask
    • Mary K. Savarese – The Girl in the Toile Wallpaper
    • Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
    • B.L. Smith – Serious Business on Albatross Lane
    • K.P. Boardman – The Falling Sisters
    • Murray Richter – Fishing for Luck
    • J. B. Spector – The Sunlit Curse, Book 1 of The Mer-Prince Adventures
    • Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
    • James Love – Max Voltage: Multiverse Mayhem
    • Ben Gartner – Sol Invictus
    • Ronnie Swire Siegel – Displaced: A Story About Climate Change and How Displaced Animals Ring the Alarm
    • Esta Lemon – The Loser Blog
    • KS Mitchell – The Mystery of the Golden Ball: Pen & Quin International Agents of Intrigue
    • McKemie Huston – Return of the Last Prism
    • Emmett J Hall – RUNAWAY
    • Dane S. Skorup – Kid Kingmaker
    • Raea Gragg – Mup
    • Moira Siobhan – Dilly Cooper Hat-astrophe
    • Laurie Calkhoven – Roosevelt Banks, Good-Kid-in-Training
    • Peter Solomon – The Stardust Mystery
    • D. H. Timpko – The Firma Twins and the Flute of Enchantment
    • Susan McCormick – The Antidote
    • Gloria Two-Feathers – Buck Keeper of the Meadow
    • Jay Spencer – The Phantom Airplane Mystery

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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

    Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

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

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is Kelly Oliver for Kassy O’Roarke, Cub Reporter

    Cover of Kassy O'Roarke Cub Reporter by Kelly Oliver

    A blue and gold badge for the 2020 Grand Prize Winner for Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Readers Kassy O’Roarke, Cub Reporter by Kelly Oliver
    Click here to see the 2020 Gertrude Warner Book Award Winners for Middle Grade Fiction.

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023. 

    Please click here for more information.

    For our other Youth Reader Fiction Awards, please see the following:

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

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

    FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

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

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

  • The 2021 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction – The Long List – CIBAs 2021

    The Boxcar Children from the famed series by Gertrude Warner

    The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Middle Grade Fiction.  The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

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

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

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Gertrude Warner Middle Grade  Fiction entries to the 2021 Gertrude Warner Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Gertrude Warner Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the FINALIST positions. Finalists will be selected from the Short List.  All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (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 SHORT LIST of the 2021 Gertrude Warner Book Awards novel competition for Middle Grade Fiction!

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

    • Didem Saracel – Story of Carbon
    • Didem Saracel – Story of Oxygen
    • Ryan O’Connor – Ting Ting, the Girl Who Saved China
    • Clayton Marshall Adams – The Mask
    • Mary K. Savarese – The Girl in the Toile Wallpaper
    • Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
    • McKemie Huston – Return of the Last Prism
    • M.L. Smith – Serious Business on Albatross Lane
    • B.L. Smith – Irritating Adventures on Albatross Lane
    • K.P. Boardman – The Falling Sisters
    • Murray Richter – Fishing for Luck
    • J. B. Spector – The Sunlit Curse, Book 1 of The Mer-Prince Adventures
    • J. B. Spector – The Amethyst Tower, Book 2 of The Mer-Prince Adventures
    • Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
    • Ronnie Swire Siegel – Displaced: A Story About Climate Change and How Displaced Animals Ring the Alarm
    • James Love – Max Voltage: Multiverse Mayhem
    • Ben Gartner – Sol Invictus
    • Esta Lemon – The Loser Blog
    • KS Mitchell – The Mystery of the Golden Ball: Pen & Quin International Agents of Intrigue
    • Emmett J Hall – RUNAWAY
    • Norman L. Johnson, MD – TR Tommy to the Rescue
    • Dane S. Skorup – Kid Kingmaker
    • Moira Siobhan – Dilly Cooper Hat-astrophe
    • Laurie Calkhoven – Roosevelt Banks, Good-Kid-in-Training
    • Peter Solomon – The Stardust Mystery
    • D. H. Timpko – The Firma Twins and the Flute of Enchantment
    • Susan McCormick – The Antidote
    • Raea Gragg – Mup
    • Gloria Two-Feathers – Buck Keeper of the Meadow
    • Barbara Glazier-Robinson – Grace from Space: A Race to Save Earth(Dream Catcher Series, Book One)
    • Jay Spencer – The Phantom Airplane Mystery
    • Laura Gerhardt Schonberg – Joker

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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

    Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

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

    Click here to see the 2020 Gertrude Warner Book Award Winners for Middle Grade Fiction.

    Cover of Kassy O'Roarke Cub Reporter by Kelly Oliver

    A blue and gold badge for the 2020 Grand Prize Winner for Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Readers Kassy O’Roarke, Cub Reporter by Kelly Oliver

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023. 

    Please click here for more information.

    For our other Youth Reader Fiction Awards, please see the following:

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

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

    FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

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

    Featuring: International Best Selling Authors: Cathy Ace and  Robert Dugoni along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.

  • GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction 2020 CIBA Award Winners

    GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction 2020 CIBA Award Winners

    Gertrude Warner Children's Chapter Books

    The GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of middle-grade readers, fiction and non-fiction, that compel children to read and explore. The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs).

    Named in honor of the author of the quintessential children’s series – The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Warner.

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about eight to twelve. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Adventure. These books have advanced to the Premier Level of Achievement in the 2020 CIBAs.

    (For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards, for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards.)

    The 2020 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the GERTRUDE WARNER Grand Prize Winner were announced by Peggy Sullivan on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at the Hotel Bellwether and broadcast via ZOOM webinar and Facebook Live.

    It is our privilege and profound honor to announce the 1st in Category winners of the 2020 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards, a division of the 2020 CIBAs.

    This is the OFFICIAL 2020 LIST of the GERTRUDE WARNER BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the GERTRUDE WARNER Grand Prize Winner.

    Congratulations to all!

    • Robert C. Feol – A Journey to Mouseling Hollow   
    • Kelly Oliver – Kassy O’Roarke, Cub Reporter
    • Catherine Grangaard – A Fairy’s Tails    
    • Poem Schway – The Infinity Pendant
    • Ruthy Ballard – Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy
    • Ben Gartner – The Eye of Ra
    • Jay Spenser – The Barn Owl Mystery
    • Carmela Dutra – Little Katie Goes to the Moon

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is:

    Kelly Oliver for

    Kassy O’Roarke, Cub Reporter

    Cover of Kassy O'Roarke Cub Reporter by Kelly Oliver

    Blue and Gold badge for the Gertrude Warner Grand Prize Winner in Middle Grade Fiction, Kelly Oliver for Kassy O'Roarke, Cub Reporter

    The 2021 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC22 on April 10, 2022. Save the date for CAC22, scheduled April 7-10, 2022, our 10 year Conference Anniversary!

    Submissions for the 2021 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards are open until the end of June. Enter here!

    Don’t delay! Enter today! 

    A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in July. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

  • GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – 2019 CIBA Winners

    GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – 2019 CIBA Winners

    Congratulations to the First Place Category Winners Gertrude Warner Children's Chapter Booksand the Grand Prize Winner of the GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers, a division of the CIBAs.

    The CIBAs Search for the Best Middle-Grade Books

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is celebrating the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about eight to twelve. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Adventure. We love them all.

    The 2019 GERTRUDE WARNER  Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the GERTRUDE WARNER  Grand Prize winner were announced at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference that was broadcast via ZOOM webinar the week of Sept 8 -13, 2020 from the Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

    Peter Greene, author of The Jonathan Moore Adventures  (and  previous GOETHE CIBA Grand Prize Winner), announced the Gertrude Warner Book Award Winners.

    This is the OFFICIAL 2019 LIST of the GERTRUDE WARNER BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the GERTRUDE WARNER Grand Prize Winner.

    Congratulations to ALL!

    • Amber L. Wyss – A Flash of Fire   
    • M.J. Evans – PINTO!   
    • Beth Stickley – Tarnation’s Gate    
    • Rey Clark – Legends of the Vale   
    • Laura M. Kemp – Burnt Feathers   
    • C.R. Stewart – Britfield and the Lost Crown    
    • Trayner Bane – Windhollow and the Axe Breaker (Windhollows, Book 3)
    • Carolyn Watkins – The Knock…a collection of childhood memories

    The GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards

    2019 Grand Prize Winner is 

    The Valley of Death – Arken Freeth Series by Alex Paul

    This is the badge for the 2018 Grand Prize Winner of the 2018 Gertrude Warner – Portals of Peril by Jules Luther

     

    We are accepting submissions into the 2021 Gertrude Warner  Book Awards until June 30, 2021.

    The 2020 Gertrude Warner Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC 21 on April 17, 2021.

    Don’t delay! Enter today! 

    A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in October. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

    If you have any questions, please email info@ChantiReviews.com == we will try our best to reply in 3 or 4 business days.

     

     

  • The GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – Grand Prize and First Place Catergory Winners – 2018 CIBAs

    The GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – Grand Prize and First Place Catergory Winners – 2018 CIBAs

    Gertrude Warner Children's Chapter BooksWe are excited and honored to officially announce the Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category Winners for the 2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards ceremony. This year’s ceremony and banquet were held on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 at the Hotel Bellwether by beautiful Bellingham Bay, Wash.

    We want to thank all of those who entered and participated in the  2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

    Denise Ditto Satterfield, the author of the Bettina’s Best First Day, The Tooth Collector Fairies, Grand Prize Winner of the Little Peeps Book Awards for Early Readers (CIBA),  announced the First Place Award Winners at the Chanticleer International Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony.

     PublishDrive and Hindenburg Systems awarded additional prizes to the 2018 Gertrude Warner Book Award winners. Thank you!

    2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers First in Category Winners

    • Keelic and the Pathfinders of Midgarth by Alexander Edlund
    • Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend by Cheryl Carpinello
    • The Portals of Peril by Jules Luther
    • From the Shadows by KB Shaw
    • Tallulah’s Flying Adventure by Gloria Two-Feathers
    • Vampire Boy by Aric Cushing
    • The Adventures of Rug Bug by Kay M. Bates

    Congratulations to the First Place Category Winners of the 2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards! 

    And now for the Gertrude Warner Book Awards  GRAND PRIZE WINNER for Middle-Grade Readers

    Manuscript

    The PORTALS of PERIL by Jules Luther took home the Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers

    An email will go out to all First Place Category Winners and Grand Prize Winners with more information, the timing of awarded reviews, links to digital badges, and more before May 31st, 2019 (approximately four weeks after the awards ceremony). Please look for it in your email inbox.

    When we receive the digital photographs from the Official CAC19 professional photographer, Dwayne Rogge of Photo Treehouse, we will post the Gertrude Warner award winners on this page.

    Click here for the link to the 2018 Gertrude Warner Semi-Finalists.

    This post will be updated with photos and more information. Please do visit it again!

    The deadline for submissions into the 2019 Gertrude Warner Book Awards May 31, 2019 Midnight (PST).

    Our next Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 18th, 2020, for the 2019 CIBA winners. Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

    As always, please contact me directly at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

  • GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – 2018 Long List

    GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – 2018 Long List

    Gertrude Warner Children's Chapter BooksThe Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Middle-Grade Readers. The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAwards) and Novel Competitions.

    Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best Chapter Books and Middle-Grade Readers featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about eight to twelve. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Adventure we will put them to the test and choose the best Middle-Grade Books among them.

     

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2018 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards writing competition for Middle-Young Adult Fiction Novels!

    • Alexander Edlund – Keelic and the Pathfinders of Midgarth
    • Rebekah Stelzer – Susa’s Story
    • M. P. Follin – Dakota Joy and the Traveling Stones
    • Joanna Cook – The Life of Bonnie Dickens
    • Victoria Adler – Emma and Mia
    • Ginger Heller – The Boy Who Rode the Tiger
    • Beth Cahn – Duncan Dogood: The Journey of the Would-Be Hero
    • Cheryl Carpinello – Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend
    • Jules Luther – The Portals of Peril 
    • James Sulzer – The Card People 
    • T. L. Frances – The Bird Queen’s Book
    • Vezna Maria Gottwald – Blue-Green Corduroy
    • Verity Byrne – Charmers and the Blood Red Candy
    • Patricia M Ahern – Pondlife: Blue Moon Eclipse
    • Patrick Thornton – Stepping Up
    • Elizabeth Doyle Carey – Junior Lifeguards: The Test
    • Kay M. Bates – The Adventures of Rug Bug: The Revolution
    • Diane Rios – Bridge of the Gods
    • P.H.C. Marchesi – Shelby & Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes
    • Gloria Two-Feathers – Tallulah’s Flying Adventure
    • Pamela Hartley – The Final Rue of Naveena Bleu
    • Aric Cushing – Vampire Boy

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2018 Gertrude Warner ti Book Awards LONG LIST (aka the Slush Pile Survivors). We incorporate the Long List when the judges request an additional round of judging to accommodate the number and/or quality of entries received.

    These entries are now in competition for the 2018 Gertrude Warner SHORT LIST. Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Semi-Finalists will compete for the coveted First  Place Category Winners of the 2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards in the final rounds of judging.  The First Place Category winners will automatically be entered into the 2018 GERTRUDE WARNER GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition. 

    The 16 CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse. First Place Category and Grand Prize Awards will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Awards Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 27th, 2019, Bellingham, Washington.

    #CIBAwards

    All Short Listers will receive high visibility along with special badges to wear during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.

    Grand Prize Ribbons!

    Good Luck to each of you as your works compete for the Gertrude Warner Book Awards Short List. 

    Bek Castro, Paul Aerkter, Murray Richter

    The Gertrude Warner Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category Position award winners will be announced at the April 27th, 2019 Chanticleer Book Awards Annual Awards Gala, which takes place at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash. 

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2019 Gertrude Warner Book  Awards writing competition. The deadline for submissions is May 30th, 2019. Please click here for more information. 

    As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com. 

  • 10 Questions – Author Interview: Paul Aertker Shares His Marketing Tips, Struggles, and  Inspirations

    10 Questions – Author Interview: Paul Aertker Shares His Marketing Tips, Struggles, and Inspirations

    Meet Paul Aertker, 2017 Grand Prize Winner in the
    Chanticleer Gertrude Warner Awards

    I first met Paul Aertker when we were in Portland Oregon last year. My first impression: Dynamic, Intelligent, Generous. In short, I am so glad we met! When I found out he was coming to our Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC18, and that he was indeed in the running for an award – I was thrilled.

    Paul is an amazing human being – but don’t take my word for it! Find out for yourself! Read on and be sure to comment at the end – and share if you like.

    Chanticleer: Paul, tell us, how did you start writing?

    Aertker: I started writing on September 12th—the day after 9/11. I guess I saw what the world had become or rather, what adults were capable of doing, and I thought maybe I should focus on kids and maybe kids could make things better. So that’s how I got started writing.

    Chanticleer: That’s amazing, Paul. Thank you for taking action in this way. What led you to the middle-grade crowd? 

    Aertker: I write middle-grade books mostly because I act like an 11-year-old. No, but seriously, I do. I enjoy working with and writing for the middle grades for several reasons. Nine to twelve-year-olds are at a perfect stage in life—before the challenging ages of young adult, yet they are still old enough to understand what’s going on in the world, and most importantly, they get my jokes!

    Chanticleer: You’re right! What inspired you to write this particular series, The Crime Travelers? I hear, by the way, that this series is doing quite well…

    Aertker: I think most everything I write is about travel. The Crime Travelers series is about international action adventure—”like the Bourne Identity but for kids.” What’s more, this new book Posthumous is about an American family in Paris, and the mother dies, and the dad and daughter move back to the US. I think of travel as a catalyst for writing, a means of generating ideas mostly because I see reading and writing as a form of travel.

    Chanticleer: Oh, good answer! Reading is the best form of escapism. Give us five authors whom you would love to meet on your travels – and tell us how they have influenced your work.

    Aertker: What I’ve done is a little different from most children’s book writers. I love Roald Dahl and Margaret Peterson Haddix and Rick Riordan and Gordon Korman and the rest. However, most of my influence comes from the adult authors who write international and action adventure novels—specifically, James Patterson, Robert Ludlum, Lee Child, John Grisham, etc. I like these guys, and I like their work. In the Crime Travelers series, I bring the action and adventure of adult novels into the kid world.

    Chanticleer: I think Middle-Grader readers are ready for these books. Look at their video games! Tell us a little about areas of writing you feel most confident in – and what advice you can give someone who is struggling in this area. 

    Aertker: I’ve gotten much better at getting the words on the page. I used to struggle to create a lot of volume of pages.  But, I have a trick that has helped me. I think we all struggle with the internal critic telling us that we are not good enough or whatever we’ve done is terrible. We all have this. Sometimes I find that I cannot sleep so instead of tossing and turning, I will get up, put on my glasses, and sit at my desk. I’ll write in the middle of the night for hours. And what I’ve learned is that my internal critic doesn’t get up with me! He’s too tired to criticize. So I write for a while and then go back to sleep. In the morning I wake up and notice that someone has written in my document! Yes, sure it needs work, but editing seems to be easier than cranking out the first draft.

    Chanticleer: Good advice – If your inner critic is too loud, wait until it passes out, and then write. So, I hear you sell a lot of books… Which business books have helped you the most?

    Aertker: I think one of the best business books for writers is Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Work Week. We all know that we will not work just four hours a week. Writing has no end. We know this. What I took from this book was that it’s important to delegate tasks. You need to hire an excellent cover designer, and you need a good interior designer for your book… You also need a developmental editor, a copy editor, and a proofing editor. Then you need to assemble a team of beta readers. And, and, and. The point being: ask (or hire) others to help.

    Chanticeer: What do you do in your community to improve/promote literacy?

    Aertker: I frequently speak at local schools whether I’m in my hometown or traveling to a new place. I love speaking to classrooms and bringing excitement to books and reading. I promote reading for the sake of reading. Period. I think it’s important for kids to enjoy the activity. If we want kids to read great literature and to be healthy adult readers, we have to get them to like reading, first.

    Chanticleer: Love your passion for reading and helping kids discover the joy of reading. Give us your best marketing tips, what’s worked to sell more books, gain notoriety, and expand your literary footprint.

    Aertker: The single best marketing tip for me has been to give my books away. I give mostly to teachers, fourth, fifth and sixth-grade teachers, and to librarians. If you’re a teacher, please write me, and I will send you a set of books for free. Yes for free! The reason being that a set of books in a teacher’s classroom is without question the best calling card I could ever have. I often have teachers write me back and say, “Oh thank you so much for sending the books. The kids are fighting over them!” That is awesome marketing. (Reach Paul at https://www.paulaertker.com/)

    Chanticleer: Wow! Well done. So, what are you working on now? What can we look forward to seeing next from you?

    Aertker: I am super excited about this next book coming out called, Posthumous. It’s a book about a 12-year-old girl who wants to publish her late mother’s stories. It’s one of those books that I wrote in the middle of the night, and I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written. It’s sad and sweet, and it’s all about the kids making things right.

    Chanticleer: I think we will all want to read this one. Please keep us updated. What is the most important thing a reader can do for an author?

    Aertker: The most important thing a reader can do for an author? That’s easy. Write a review! I am amazed at how critical getting reviews are, and how difficult it can sometimes be to get people actually to go on Amazon and write the review.

    Chanticleer: Paul, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you for spending some time with us. You are a bright star in the universe! 

    Okay, now it’s your turn… If you have a question for Paul Aertker, please feel free to comment on this post or reach him directly through his website https://www.paulaertker.com/.  If you enjoyed this interview, please SHARE it! Sharing is Caring, baby.

    Paul won the 2017 Grand Prize Gertrude Warner Award for Middle-Grade Books because he entered the contest! If you have a middle-grade book the world needs to see, enter the competition here.  The deadline is fast approaching – May 31, 2018.