The Ozma and Goethe Awards both close at the end of July! Don’t let your History become a Fantasy!
The Ozma Award for Fantasy Fiction and The Goethe Award for Post-1750 Historical Fiction close submissions on JULY 31st.
You can’t win if you don’t submit!
Submit to the CIBAs Today!
Only 10 days left to submit your books to the prestigious CIBAs 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 Ozma Awards for Fantasy and The Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction are still open until JULY 31st!
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Ozma Awards!
Lilla Glass – The Unseen
Charles Allen – The Order of the Red God
Jaime Castle & Andy Peloquin – Black Talon
Jonathan Uffelman – Book of Leprechauns: The Lore Gatherers
PJ Devlin – The Chamber
And a huge round of applause to this years Overall Grand Prize, and Division Grand Prize for OZMA
A Vengeful Realm by Tim Facciola!
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Goethe Awards!
William Maz – Bucharest Legacy: The Rise of the Oligarchs
And a huge round of applause to this years 2023 Goethe Grand Prize Winner- If Someday Comes by David Calloway
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.
Fantasy isn’t just elves and magic. There is so many possibilities for a Fantasy Tale and we love that!
Let’s Dive into the Categories!
Magic, Heroes and Villains is classic High Fantasy like Lord of The Rings.
Coming of age is Fantasy typically looks at someone coming into their own, like Egwene al’Vere in The Wheel of Time, but it can also be aimed at a younger audience. For YA Fantasy see Dante Rossetti and for Middle Grade Fantasy check out the Gertrude Warner Awards!
Steampunk and Dieselpunk are a type of Alternative history and Counterculture, Steampunk being Victorian era sci-fi or fantasy, or both, with an emphasis on steam powered or gaslight technology and historical fashions.
Dieselpunk is a similar category but more like an industrial Art Deco, Film Noir aspects with aesthetics of the World Wars and Early Cold War. The video game series Bioshock, or Bladerunner could be seen as examples of Dieselpunk . There are quite a few different types of ‘punk’. Cyberpunk is one of the more well known, using 1980s futuristic aesthetics.
Historical Fantasy is similar to the previous, but with less of the Science Fiction elements. History with magic instead of History with weird tech.
Modern and Urban Fantasy is exactly what it sounds like. Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files is a good example. Fantasy, but realistic. Magical Realism stands on its own, and can be found as a Category in the Somerset Awards!
Last, but not least is Myths and Legends and Fairy Tales. Classic Fantasy elements, Fairies, King Arthur, folktale type stories.
Fantasy can even have many crossovers with Science Fiction! The cast of Star Trek: Next Generation shows just the same thing.
Looking for your next Fantasy Read? Check out some of these incredible books we’ve reviewed!
THE CLAIMING: Fractured Kingdoms Book 1 By J.A. Nielsen
The illegitimate son of a human king accidentally binds himself to a Fae princess in J.A. Nielsen’s YA adventure, The Claiming. As war bears down on the kingdom of Telridge, can the two of them break the spell in time?
Lord Ferrous, ruler of Telridge, smells conflict coming for his people. Even so, he denies a mysterious request from the king of the Winter Fae, and sets his sons to prepare their land for war. His eldest, Prince Dirk, gathers his knights and begins to evacuate the common people to the protection of Telridge castle. His younger son Spense, born out of wedlock to the castle’s head cook, uses his finicky magic to Claim a bridge over a powerful river. If he succeeds, the passing will be barred to their enemies. But he fails to realize that the powerful living force he encounters isn’t the bridge at all.
Dewy, crown princess of the Summer Fae, is Claimed instead of the bridge. Her aunt, Lady Radiant, must exile her from their lands. While Dewy’s careless spirit chafed under Radiant’s authority, she grieves for her lost home.
A CIRCLE Of STARS: Four Crowns Series Book 1 By Erin Lark Maples
If you’re looking for a beach read with supernatural intrigue, A Circle of Stars by Erin Lark Maples will draw you in from page one. Ember “EJ” James, a newly-arrived stranger in the strange land of Prescott, AZ, immediately begins navigating unfamiliar territory, both physically and metaphysically.
Forty-something EJ doesn’t know it yet, but when she agreed to take over her deceased uncle Hollis’s shop in Prescott, she stumbled into a world of magical realism. The plant shop, as it turns out, is more than just that—it hides secret access to other realms, which supernatural beings will go to great lengths to access. Much like the plants in the shop, this tale is dark, tangled, and intriguing beyond belief.
Anyone else may have felt helpless. But EJ remains upbeat, charmingly self-deprecating, and resourceful to the end. There’s a great joy in seeing how she works through her new surroundings, unfazed by (almost) everything they throw her way.
SUMMER THUNDER: Magic at Myers Beach Book 1 By Alan B. Gibson
Lily struggles to keep her business, her son, and her home. But in Summer Thunder, first book of the Magic at Myers Beach series by Alan B. Gibson, Lily’s luck begins to turn as she connects with the enigmatic beach king Theos.
With the help of her friend and fellow business owner Greta “the Witch,” Lily tries to revitalize her fairy-themed decoration and figurine store. Her divorce from her abusive ex-husband Kelly is pending, and she must present a calm and reliable home to ensure full custody of her son Jamie. But when her kindly landlord, Ms. Coffey, passes away, she’s confronted with two options: lose her prime business location and upstairs apartment, or somehow make enough money to buy the building herself.
Enter Theos, a kitesurfing champion with adoring fans. He shows true appreciation for Lily’s fairy figurines, bringing her many more sales. But more importantly, Theos becomes deeply interested in Lily herself. Their romance begins on rocky footing, as Theos has a strange air about him and seems to vanish whenever a storm comes into town. But when he begins modelling for a new fairy figurine – aptly named Theos, the King – the two are drawn inevitably closer.
MISTRESS Of LEGEND: Guinevere’s Tale Book 3 By Nicole Evelina
In Mistress of Legend, the enticing finale of Nicole Evelina’s Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, matters are life-and-death by the second sentence, pulling readers deep into Guinevere’s fate in this retelling of Arthurian legend.
We come upon heroine Guinevere in the midst of an ill-fated romance with Lancelot. It’s far from her first troubled entanglement, but the stakes rise as she’s severely injured and faces even more threats, pursued by possible enemies. The novel’s beginning is woven with backstory, which adds suspense to the drama unfolding in Guinevere’s present. This summarizing might be slow for readers familiar with the series, but makes the story accessible for those who haven’t picked up the first two books.
Many more characters appear, waving the web of intrigue Guinevere finds herself caught in.
Evelina builds this setting through well-researched cultural details, like the holidays and rites of Guinevere’s pagan world, and the symbolism and ideology of the Christianity that threatens to blot her world out.
Plus, check out our 2023 Overall Grand Prize Winner, A Vengeful Realm by Tim Facciola!
A roaring start with a queen planning her husband’s execution while full of regret for what must be done. Magic is forbidden, knights and gladiators are doing their best to make their way through a complex political world, and the prince is just trying to keep his family safe. Excellent for anyone who loves Brandon Sanderson!
Thank you to everyone who submitted to the 2023 Ozma Awards! We can’t believe that the whole adventure starts again when the Ozma Awards close on July 31st, 2024.
This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter! Your book deserves to be discovered.
The Winter Heir, the second book in J.A. Nielsen’s Fractured Kingdoms series, picks up where the first book, The Claiming, leaves off—with its protagonists struggling under the weight of a vital bargain.
Lady Dew Drop, Dewy to her friends—and her frenemies—is languishing in the court of the Winter Fae, a summer princess nearly frozen in both heart and spirit as she does her best to fulfill the pact she made with the Winter King. Meanwhile, the man who got her into this mess, the human mage and illegitimate princeling of Telridge—Spence Ferrous—tries to fulfill the deal for her.
But the story is much bigger than these two young lovers. The Winter King is dying without a legitimate heir. And it’s his own proud, arrogant fault. As much as both the humans and the Summer Fae would be willing to let him suffer the consequences of his own actions—he’s not the only one who will.
The resulting power vacuum will destabilize all three kingdoms AND the balance of the seasons between winter and summer. Will they or nil they, separately or together, the whole world needs them to find the heir that the Winter King once discarded.
It will be the making of both Dewy and Spence—and their breaking as well.
Where the first book in this series brought Dewy and Spence together, this second chapter in their coming-of-age adventure pulls them in opposite directions as they each need to come into their own without the other to lean on.
But in their separate treks to far-off lands among far-flung friends, allies, and those they believed were their enemies, the depth of the world building will turn the reader’s fantasy expectations in surprising directions.
The secondary characters who appeared to occupy stock fantasy roles in the first book turn out to be anything but mere archetypes.
Even more of a switch from traditional epic fantasy, while there are plenty of heroes in The Winter Heir—there are no true villains.
Instead, there are characters who have stepped out of that mold and into a complexity that shows they have heartbreaks and regrets, and have learned from their mistakes— even if it is almost too late.
Rather than a battle of good versus evil, the underlying theme of The Winter Heir is about maintaining a balance.
Winter needs Summer, Summer needs Winter, and the human community in the middle needs all of them to make peace instead of war—no matter what their neighbors might be trying to foment.
More seasoned YA fantasy readers will be reminded of Julie Kagawa’s now-classic, best-selling Iron Fey series, with its tale of plots, espionage and forbidden romance between rivals. The quest for balance among factions and seasons sees hints of the recent Up-and-Under series by Seanan McGuire writing as A. Deborah Baker, and even a touch of Narnia hidden in the harsh winter snow.
The saga continues beyond the end of this book, with a peaceful and happy ending yet out of reach. There’s more to come, and readers will be waiting for it eagerly!
If you’ve been looking for a Fantasy to read, try out some of our Award winners!
A Vengeful Realm Book 1: The Scales of Balance
By Tim Facciola
We’re coordinating the review with Tim to go out in October with his next book release! The full series is out now, and you won’t regret reading it! Check out his website here and see it on Amazon here!
Soar a Burning Sky By Steven Michael Beck
Earth is linked in a symbiotic relationship with its spirit twin, a hidden utopia called EonThera. But as the paradise begins to inherit the harsh realities of Earth’s drastic climate change, EonThera urges action – before both realms collapse, in Steven Michael Beck’s Soar a Burning Sky.
What if there was an “earthly paradise,” a mirror of Earth – a terratopia that is an awe-inspiring existential representation of how amazing planet Earth could be? This fantasy fiction presents a synergic relationship between Earth and this soul, as together they sustain the Ticking – a heartbeat that nurtures both. But as Clayton Cramer puts it, “Abandon all thoughts of Utopia – humans are involved.”
As a result of the two realms’ mutual existence, one’s failing health accounts for the fall of the other. The soul of Earth, EonThera, is collapsing. It is plain that the enemy is ignorance, primarily Earth’s, and with this knowledge comes the recruitment of the four unlikely Earthly warriors to aid the two realms before they fall from a burning sky.
Sixteen-year-old Catalina Delgado’s hopes of marrying her love are troubled by strange, unnatural dangers, in Laurel Anne Hill’s novel, Plague of Flies.
Like every dutiful daughter in 1846, Catalina worries about her reputation. However, she must also gain the approval of Ángelo Ortega’s family. Unfortunately, when three strangers ride onto her family’s small ranch in Alta California, she knows that more than her dreams are at risk. Alta California has just been invaded by the men of the Bear Flag, and Catalina fears what will become of her homeland now that it has been claimed by the Yankees. The nearby ranch owned by the valiant General Vallejo has been raided, owners and their servants terrorized and held captive. Plus Bear Flaggers have murdered additional friends of Catalina’s family on a beach.
Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth By Christopher Russell
Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth by Christopher Russell is the opening of a High Fantasy epic about the rise and fall of vast empires.
The story grows from unfinished business between three brothers gifted with magic and power but chose different paths to achieve safety and security for themselves and the people who followed them.
These different paths culminated in a battle where the fate of their world is balanced precariously on a knife’s edge. Darmatus and Rabban are engaged in a war to the death with their oldest brother Sarcon. Sarcon believes the road to that safety lies in power alone, that the only way to be secure is to crush all his enemies, no matter how heinous the deeds required.
Sixteen-year-old Nat is a boxcar kid. It’s the Dust Bowl era, and Nat has lost everything: his grandmother, his family home, and a sense of belonging. He hops trains across Texas in search of a place for himself amid so much loss. Outside of Amarillo, Nat feels a peculiar sensation, a tug from destiny, that pulls him toward the small town of Tanglewood. However, instead of finding a job and some much-needed food, he discovers Polly Jones, a teenager like himself, chained to a post with a sign above her reading, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch.”
Nat can’t bring himself to abandon her to the small-minded, fearful townsfolk and immediately becomes her protector until the arrival of Camille Renoir Lavendou, a local woman who operates Miss Camille’s Home for Wayward Children. No one dares stop Camille from releasing Polly and taking both teens with her because Camille is reputed to be in the “witchin’ business” herself. Nat’s excitement at the prospect of food and a place to stay quickly turns to disbelief and wariness when he steps inside Camille’s sanctuary. What he thought was a ploy on Camille’s part to keep the nosey townsfolk at bay doesn’t seem to be a trick at all when he meets those who are under Camille’s care.
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 Ozma 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!
Our Chanticleer International Book Awards feature more than $30,000.00 worth of cash and prizes each year!
All First Place Winners Receive a coveted Chanticleer Blue Ribbon and discounts on our Roost Membership and Editorial Reviews.
All Division Grand Prize Winners a covetedChanticleer Book Review Package
The Ozma Grand Prize Winner is namedChanticleer ReviewsBest Fantasy Fiction Book of the Year and goes on to compete for the Chanticleer Overall Grand Prize Best Book of the Year
The Overall Grand Prize Winner is namedChanticleer Reviews Best Book of the Year and awarded the$1000 prize
All winners receive a Chanticleer Prize Packagewhich includes a digital badge, a ribbon and a whole assortment of goodies detailed below (winners outside the US pay a shipping & handling fee)
That’s more than $30,000.00 worth of cash and prizes! The Fine Print.
~$1000 for one lucky Overall Grand Prize Winner
~$30,000+ in reviews, prizes, and promotional opportunities awarded to Category Winners
You know you want it…
Currently accepting entries. Deadline: July 31, 2024
Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Here are some recent achievements from our authors:
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Timothy S. Johnston’s book, The Shadow of War will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Cygnus 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!
Unanimity is a literary, sci-fi novel for the fans of Becky Chambers’s A Closed and Common Orbit, Alex Garland’s DEVS and Ex Machina, and Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. Weaving near-future sci-fi elements with social commentary and queer romantic suspense, the Spiral Worlds series explores the nature of consciousness and how it’s connected to a not-so-secret ingredient-story. As AI consumes the world, intelligence is nothing but the appetizer; the human heart is the main course.
From Chanticleer:
Alexandra Almeida probes the philosophical and ethical depths of wealth, technology, pop culture, and religion in a world ravaged by global warming through her sci-fi adventure, Unanimity: Spiral Worlds #1.
Readers will delight in the gradual reveal of both the technology within the story and the dramatic history between many of those involved with the creation and evolution of that technology.
Tom, a screenwriter, works with Harry, the genius inventor of the world’s most popular AI (artificial intelligence) app, to create a simulation that will nudge people toward acting morally.
What if A.I. had a soul? Could it find redemption?
In a near-future where entire worlds spring from thought, minds struggle to define reality—and claim it. Human colonization of the Metaverse brings us face-to-face with a new class of artificial being, made in our image and yet utterly unknown.
What is a person? Our answer will reshape the universe.
Captain Kara Psomas was pronounced dead when her research vessel slammed into Jupiter.
More than a century later, the crew of the Paralus, a helium mining freighter, find a pristine escape pod with a healthy young girl nestled inside. A girl who claims to be Kara—and she brings a message of doom.
She says she has been waiting in the dark for that exact moment. To be found by that particular crew. Because an ancient cosmic being has tasked her with a sacred responsibility. She claims she must alter the Fulcrum, a lever in time—no matter the cost to the people aboard—or condemn the rest of civilization to a very painful and drawn-out demise.
She sounds convincing. She appears brave. She might well be insane.
Her captain is furious at her. She wasted company resources getting herself killed, and it’s coming out of her paycheck. Now, she’s sitting across from the first other human being she’s seen in six years. His name is Adnan. He claims to come from Earth-but that’s impossible. Earth died a long time ago. If Adnan’s telling the truth, he and the decaying ship the captain pulled him off are nearly a thousand years old.
Wherever he’s from, he’s Shaara’s responsibility now. Which is the last thing she needs. But it’s either that, or the captain sells Adnan into slavery. Shaara knows what that would mean. Most humans do. And something inside her won’t let her abandon Adnan to it: revenant memories, stabbed awake by the look in his eyes.
ReInception will change your mind…whether you want it or not
A hundred years in the future, ReInception is used to modify the brain and eliminate unwanted behaviors, everything from overeating to the worst criminal impulses. Unmodified 20-year-old Leandrea Justus feels ordinary compared to her perfect friends, who like living in a ReInception regulated world.
ReInception is a fiction debut, the first in a new, action-filled sci-fi trilogy with surprising twists, and a story that may be closer to reality than we think.
These are two of the oldest mainstays of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards, and the quality improves every year!
Only 10 days left to submit your books to the prestigious CIBAs 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 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.
Captain Jean Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) celebrating
The Cygnus Awards is one of the inaugural Book Award Divisions at Chanticleer, and we adore the worlds that they’ve created.
Science Fiction often asks the question: What Could Be? At Chanticleer, we seek to discover those strange new worlds, from Space Opera to Alternate History, and Cli-Fi to YA Sci-Fi. Wherever your book lands on the Speculative Fiction spectrum, there’s a good chance that it will fit in here with us!
Join us in celebrating these amazing Hall of Fame Grand Prize Cygnus Award Winners!
The Shadow of War By Timothy S. Johnston
The Chanticleer Editorial Review for The Shadow of War, book 5 in the Oceania Series is to come, but here’s what initial readers are saying:
A tightly plotted action-packed thriller about an undersea war. Beautiful and heartbreaking character development, best for those who want The Expanse but underwater. — Chanticleer
As always, Johnston has written a thriller with hot-off-the-presses technology, edge-of-your-seat moments, separated into heart-pounding seconds, and characters who don’t always do what they’re supposed to. — Kelly
Timothy S. Johnston delivers another page turner that keeps the pace moving. — Ian
You can find The Shadow of War locally on Bookshop or from Amazon today!
The Last Lumenian By S. G. Blaise
Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but in The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.
Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.
Wanting to fight against the injustice and horrific treatment of the refugees, Lilla tries desperately to prove herself, especially after a disastrous first mission where she not only crashes her ship but also ends up in the hands of General Callum, leader of the Teryn Praelium.
Musician-turned-time-traveler John Patrick Scott adds spy and saboteur to his resume while undercover in Germany in the final months of World War I, in A War in Too Many Worlds, the third installment of Elizabeth Crowen’s thrilling sci-fi series, The Time Traveler Professor.
Meanwhile, Scott’s once and future collaborator in psychic experiments, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is back in Britain sharing real time-travel adventures with the inventor of the fictional time machine, H.G. Wells.
Scott, after being wounded in the trenches, has finally been given an assignment in the Intelligence services. His extensive pre-war experience as a professor at the Conservancy of Music in Stuttgart, Germany, will do him good.
Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle for The Luna Missile Crisis
Authors Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle come together to tell the tale of alien first contact gone awry in their epic science fiction release, The Luna Missile Crisis.
The year is 1961, and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is set to become the first man in space. But when Yuri, snug inside the Vostok 1, is launched from the cosmodrome and into the coming night, he’s met with a collision that changes the course of history. The Vostok 1 crashes into an oncoming alien starship. Assuming the collision was actually a missile fired from Russia’s space race opponent, the United States, the soviet nation quickly launches an arsenal of nuclear warheads in response. But those warheads never make it to their target. Instead, they detonate against the hidden starship, sending a wave of nuclear destruction over eastern Europe.
In the coming weeks after contact day, military troops from both sides of the cold war are sent into the ruins of eastern Europe – into an area now called the Dead Curtain – to search for useful alien technology. During a skirmish between the Russians, the Americans, and the Vulbathi (the toad-like alien race aboard the damaged starship), a combat medic name Kyle McCoy stumbles into the chaos and sparks a ceasefire. His actions create a domino effect, bringing about relative peace between all three parties. Three years pass, and in exchange for aid in repairing their damaged ship, the Vulbathi agree to offer some of their exceptional technology to mankind. And Kyle McCoy, once foot soldier turned head of the Department of Alien Relations, is given a desk job with a title that suits his place in history.
The dramatic premise explored in a new novel, Insynnium, is a wild, immersive leap into a world-changing (but fictional) drug. In other hands, what could be a dystopian thriller goes one step further in author Tim Cole’s capable hands. He focuses on the humans who first discover and use the drug and weaves his story with a devilish charm.
This is somewhat Bill Murray/“Groundhog Day” territory, a film exploring one man’s reliving a day in his life over and over until he learned new behaviors, new skills, and came out of it a better man. Unlike “Groundhog,” Max McVista takes multiple doses of the drug against all advice, then somehow expands time itself in what he calls an “AUE” or “Alternative Universe Experience,” enabling him to spend months and sometimes years becoming or experiencing whatever he wishes. When returning to real-time, he’s only missed a day or two. (For E=MC squared fans, it’s basically reverse engineering of Einsteinian physics.)
From a man with few basic skills, a drunk who all but abandons his wife and sons, he returns to his family with outsized skills as a musician, entrepreneur, carpenter, medical savant, and pilot. Skills he could not have learned in any traditional manner. He lies about how he learned everything, tracing it back to an accident, choosing to bury his drug-induced years of time-traveling across the world, spending concentrated periods exploring whatever he fancies with no time “penalty” in the real world.
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 Cygnus Winners is to submit today!
You know you want it…
Will your science fiction story be next to join this stellar lineup? Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000, but more importantly, you’ll join a community of visionary authors whose work shapes the future of the genre.
These celebrated works represent the best in contemporary science fiction—and your story could be next!
The Cygnus Awards are one of the first of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards ever! The quality and quantity grows annually, and we are so excited to see what 2024 brings! These are the categories:
Alternate History
Apocalyptic/Dystopian
Hard Science Fiction
Space Opera
Soft Sci-Fi/Young Adult
Speculative Fiction
Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction)
And even in within those, there is what one might call “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations” when it comes to genre.
Ethan Peck as Spock of Strange New Worlds now gets to offer the conventional Vulcan Wisdom
With plenty of exciting genres to choose from, it’s always fun to see new trends. For us Climate Fiction or Cli-Fi is one of the most exciting genres in SciFi today!
Cli-Fi often focuses on modern technologies and their impact on the environment, for good or ill.
This can be anything from a thriller looking at shadow governments fighting against progress meant to stem climate change, or it could even look at a dystopian world far in the future. The focus in Climate Fiction is closer to that of Hard Science Fiction and a cousin of Lab Lit, which you can see in the Global Thriller Awards rather than delving into Space Opera.
We’re delighted that the most recent Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 Cygnus Awards, Timothy S. Johnston, has won the Division Grand Prize coming from the Cli-Fi category!
In the world’s undersea realms, the superpowers are pressing. Climate change is ravaging the surface nations, and their militaries are surging into the oceans to seek out new resources to sustain their exploding populations. Now Truman McClusky, mayor of the underwater city, Trieste, must gather a team of operatives and travel the world to steal the most unique and deadly weapon ever invented for use underwater. War is looming, and to win a war, one must do whatever it takes, even if it means embracing your darker side.
The Shadow of War is book 5 in The Rise of Oceania series! We recommend adding it all to your TBR for a look at what The Expanse would be like if it took place underwater.
While the full review for An Island of Light is still forthcoming, we do have three reviews for Johnston’s series the Tanner Sequence you can see below:
Past Cygnus Book Awards Winners have been published by Titan, U.K. (of Dr. Who fame), Harper Collins Voyager, Vesuvian Media Group, Atheon Books, and others have gone on to be USA Today Bestsellers and Nebula nominated.
Thank you to everyone who submitted to the 2023 Cygnus Awards! We can’t believe that the whole adventure starts again when the first Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards close on June 30, 2024.
This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter! Your book deserves to be discovered.
This post has links to each of the 16 individual CIBA FICTION Divisions’ Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners. We will have a separate post for Non-Fiction Award Winners which will include the Shorts Awards, and the Series Awards’ winners.
All First Place and Grand Prize winners were announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, April 20th at the Chanticleer Banquet. It is a huge honor for us to have the opportunity to recognize all Finalists, First Place Winners, and Grand Prize Winners with you live and in-person!
One of the most memorable moments was Awarding Burl Harmon, a 100-year-old veteran, his First Place Ribbon for Military & Front Lines Non-Fiction
Let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.
Now, presenting the links to the 2023 CIBA Fiction Division Awards Grand Prize Winners!
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CYGNUS Awards for Science Fiction is:
The Shadow of War
By Timothy S. Johnston
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 OZMAAwards is:
A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance, Book 1
By Tim Facciola
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 PARANORMALAwards is:
Becoming Crone
By Lydia M. Hawke
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards is:
Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy
By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CLUE Awards is:
The Other Murder
By Kevin G. Chapman
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Mystery & Mayhem Awards is:
A Haunting at Linley
by Michelle Cox
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:
Sour Flower
by Maryanne Melloan Woods
Manuscript
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is:
EXOSTAR
The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1
by Rae Knightly
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 LITTLE PEEPS Awards is:
The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans
by Shaziya M. Jaffer, Brad W. Rudover, and Jessica Alexanderson with Scrap University
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 LARAMIEAwards is:
The Last Man
by Thomas Goodman
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CHAUCER Awards is:
The Merchant from Sepharad
by James Hutson-Wiley
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GOETHE Awards is:
If Someday Comes
by David Calloway
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Hemingway Book Awards is:
The Silver Waterfall:
A Novel of the battle of Midway
by Kevin Miller
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CHATELAINE Book Awards is:
A Sea of Glass
by Gail Avery Halverson
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 MARK TWAIN Awards is:
Quantum Consequence:
Physics, Lust and Greed, Book 5
by Mike Murphey
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 SOMERSET Awards is:
You Can’t Fool a Mermaid
by Judy Keesler Santamaria
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The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!
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The Overall Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 CIBAs was Tim Facciola’s Book A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance Book 1
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Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!
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A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting inJune. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.
Thank you for participating in the 2023 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.
Motherhood is a never-ending, all-encompassing role that is hard, but willingly taken on by mothers around the world. In the United States, we celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May (this year on May 12) with gifts of flowers, candy, or a brunch prepared at home or enjoyed at her favorite restaurant. It’s a tradition that began in 1914 with the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” to create a federal holiday recognizing the devotion and love we have for our mothers.
A Celebration of Mothers Across the Globe
Countries around the world have created their own traditions to celebrate mothers, with unique activities that make it a special day for their moms. Here are just a few of the many ways people celebrate Mother’s Day across the globe.
Peru
Just as it is in the United States, Peru celebrates Mother’s Day on the second day in May. Along with flowers, candy, and gifts, families gather in cemeteries to honor the mothers, aunts, and grandmothers who have passed away. It’s a joyous occasion for socializing and enjoying food and drinks before cleaning and decorating the grave sites.
Russia
It’s a fall holiday for Russia’s Mother’s Day! A proclamation signed in 1998 by then president Boris Yeltsin dictates the last Sunday of November as a day of celebration “to maintain the tradition of careful attitude to the woman” and “to consolidate the foundations of the family.”
Thailand
Thailand combines the meaning of their Mother’s Day celebrations to recognize their Queen Mother on her birthday, as well as all Thai mothers. Mothers visit their children’s school, where sons and daughters kneel before them as a sign of respect and offer white jasmine flowers to symbolize the purity of a mother’s love. Later, fireworks displays and candle-lighting traditions make the night sparkle.
Mexico
Flowers play a big part in celebrating Mothers Day in Mexico, and children living outside their family home make it priority to stay overnight so they can be with their mother when they wake up the next morning to a mariachi band singing “Las Mañanitas.”
Chanticleer Celebrates Mothers with Inspiring, Fun, and Compelling Stories of Motherhood!
Need some great books about Mom’s? Check out our Mother’s Day Reading List!
Master storyteller Reenita Malhotra Hora’s YA romance Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man takes us on a charming journey through the life of one teen, Ila Isham.
Hora introduces Ila and her best friend Deepali, two boy-crazy teens on a summer quest. Readers will fall in love with the smart, sassy, angst-filled, rebellious Ila. A typical teenage girl, Ila lives in Mumbai with her mom and Sakkubai, their house manager. Ila’s mother calls her obsessed, but that seems unfair. Is she obsessed just because her every waking minute is spent thinking of Ali Zafar, famous pop icon, singer, and heartthrob? Or is she obsessed with fellow classmate Dev?
VOICES OF NAVAJO MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS by Kathy Eckles Hooker with photos by David Young-Wolff
Voices of Navajo Mothers and Daughters: Portraits of Beauty by Kathy Eckles Hooker is a heartwarming work exploring the relationships between Navajo mothers and daughters, their connections with each other and their families, and their hopes and dreams for their children as they encounter a world far removed from their traditional lives.
In these insightful interviews with Navajo women—grandmothers, mothers, and daughters—the twenty-one families that the author spoke to talked about their backgrounds and histories. They contrasted how the elder women grew up compared to their daughters and granddaughters (such as the lack of amenities like electricity, running water, or internal combustion vehicles). And they explored the many ways that traditional matriarchal Navajo culture continues to enrich their lives today.
LILLY AND MAY LEARN WHY MOM AND DADWORK by Anthony C. Delauney
Lilly and May both wish that their parents didn’t have to leave for work day after day. Discover the power of money and its impact on family in the delightful Lilly and May Learn Why Mom and Dad Work.
They’re both upset one morning, as Mom and Dad go to work yet again instead of staying home with them. Lilly and May’s mother assures them that they will be back later, but they have to go and earn money to support the family. Before leaving, their mother teaches Lilly and May all the ways they need and use money. She shows how it impacts the people and community around them.
Our Time to Dance: A Mother’s Journeyto Joy by Eva Doherty Gremmert demonstrates the importance of advocacy for those who are disabled, intellectually or otherwise.
In the early morning of August 18th, 1979, Eva Doherty Gremmert awoke with a contraction. A young mother already, Eva is worried about how she will cope with caring for two infants. She tried to calm her concerns by remembering that babies typically arrive easier and more quickly the second time around; however, the delivery ends up being long and exhausting. Once her son Nick arrived, Eva could not shake the feeling that something might be wrong. For the first several months of Nick’s life, doctors actively ignored her concerns and told her nothing was wrong with her son.
A GRAVE EVERY MILE: Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail, Book 1 By David Fitz-Gerald Series Grand Prize Winner
Each day’s trumpet blasts the predawn quiet of the sleeping wagon train, demanding that its migrating families face what’s ahead, whether incredible scenery or mortal danger, in David Fitz-Gerald’s A Grave Every Mile.
This beautifully told story mixes adventure, survival, community, and history, all shown through the eyes of Dorcas, a feisty mother of four. She’s dreamed of hitting the trail to the storied West for so long, but much about this trip and their destination remains unknown.
Another wagon travels alongside hers. Who are they? Will they remain strangers, or become friends? Now that Dorcas stands with her family at the trail’s starting point and on the brink of changing their lives forever, a tremor of doubt surfaces about what lies ahead. Is her family strong enough to face their future? Will it be everything she and her husband hoped for? That future is 720,000 turns of the wagon wheels away, and there may be A Grave Every Mile. It all starts with that first pull by the team of oxen.
We would like to wish all mothers, mothers-to-be, stand-in mothers, and those who possess the mothering instinct, a very Happy Mother’s Day!
Thank you for joining us in celebrating the Mothers in our life!
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Thank you again to the authors who wrote these wonderful books, and to all who act as mothers! You are so loved and appreciated! Enjoy Las Mañanitas below!
The Winter Heir, the second book in J.A. Nielsen’s Fractured Kingdoms series, picks up where the first book, The Claiming, leaves off—with its protagonists struggling under the weight of a vital bargain.
Submitting to