Engaging young readers chapter by chapter!
Your adventure begins with The Gertrude Warner Awards
***Tell us your story today***
You have until August 31st to share your story and enter the 2023 CIBAs!
Embark on an enchanting voyage through the realms of Middle Grade Fiction with the Gertrude Warner Book Awards. These awards transcend genres, uniting tales that ignite youthful imaginations with captivating exploits. Whether whisked away to far-off lands, unraveling mysteries, or forging friendships, these stories cocoon young readers in a world of adventure. Every story invites exploration and engagement, fostering a love for reading that lasts a lifetime. The Gertrude Warner Awards celebrate authors who craft stories that spark curiosity, empathy, and the joy of discovery.
Inspire your inner child with the Grand Prize Winners of the Gertrude Warner Awards!
Fishing For Luck
By Murray Richter
During the pre-internet era of 1980, Kevin and his friends just want to enjoy a good fishing adventure, but troubles from the past come back to complicate their carefree boyhood in Murray Richter’s novel, Fishing for Luck.
As the group prepares their fishing raft for its maiden voyage, Kevin tries to solve these problems himself before anyone else knows of them, but no matter what he tries, the situation only gets worse. His parents seem on the verge of a divorce, his mentor struggles to find his long-lost love, and his sister just wants her bike back already. As Kevin takes on more and more responsibility to avoid what seem to be inevitable consequences, will he be able to see that this is all too much for one kid to handle and ask those he trusts for help?
Fishing For Luck is a wild ride of pre-teen hijinks reminiscent of the golden age of coming-of-age comedies and sitcoms we all know and love. Our young main character gets into a situation where everything goes wrong, and scrambles to fix it before anyone notices. Kevin’s predicament becomes engrossing with an extra dose of danger.
Kassy O’Roarke Cub Reporter
By Kelly Oliver
In this first installment from the new Kassy O’Roarke Pet Detective Series, award-winning author Kelly Oliver delivers a fun and engaging kid-friendly literary experience. Here is a story intended for middle-graders, Cub Reporter proves a quality blend of adventure and mystery involving a smart, inquisitive 12-year old with aspirations of becoming a spy.
As a reporter for her school paper, Kassy’s hoping to nab a front-page scoop and win the honorable Thompson Award for Journalism. Unfortunately, help from her pesky, but the well-intentioned younger brother, sets in motion a roller coaster of calamities she never expected. From animal-nappings and a mixed-bag of clues to car chases and rescues from entrapment, ultimately the constant reinforcement from family, friends, and a menagerie of furry companions bring positive lessons to the forefront of this likable tale.
Amidst popular classics like Emil and the Detectives and the resurgence of the Nancy Drew mysteries, Oliver has hit the mark with this bright and entertaining series opener. Though geared toward a younger audience, readers of all ages can look forward to more investigative capers on the horizon featuring the creative escapades of Kassy and company. Highly recommended!
The Valley of Death – Arken Freeth series book 5
By Alex Paul
The Valley of Death, Book Five in the Arken Freeth Middle-Grade series, continues the story of a heroic young man in a land before time.
The book is the latest chapter in the swashbuckling saga of Arken Freeth, a hero who will eventually become the central figure of his era, 11,000 years before the Roman era, as powerful and wise as Alexander the Great would be to his time. The many readers of the award-winning series know his adventures as a teenager in the land of the Neanderthals, or Nanders as they are called, along with his royal friend Asher, heir to the throne of Tolaria, and the young woman Talya. They know his Nander blood brother Ord, the evil pirate Yolanta, king of the Tookans, and the vile Gart whose life he saves despite their difficulties.
These familiar figures return in the latest thrilling installment. A war between the leading factions of the time, the Amarrats, the Lanthians, and the Tolarians is on the brink. The central prize that all desire: ownership of the necklace of Tol, which possesses enormous powers such as foretelling the future to those who own it. The quest to own the necklace is such that war is being threatened by the Amarrats against the Lanthians in order to possess it. Arken, who placed the necklace in the hands of the Nanders, is now the one person who can successfully stop the bloodshed by retrieving the necklace.
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is:
MYSTERY FORCE, Volume 1
by Ted Neill and Suzi Spooner
See the rest of the 2022 Gertrude Warner Winners here
Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Gertrude Warner 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!
Submit to the CIBAs Today!
Don’t miss your chance to light up the minds of young readers everywhere. Send us your Middle Grade Reader stories by the end of August for the chance to be recognized and celebrated for your amazing work!
The Gertrude Warner Awards is your next step!
And remember! Our 12th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24) will be April 18-21, 2024, where our 2023 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up. Sign up and see the latest updates here!
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