150 Award Genres
Children
- Children - Action
- Children - Adventure
- Children - Animals
- Children - Audiobook
- Children - Christian
- Children - Coming of Age
- Children - Concept
- Children - Educational
- Children - Fable
- Children - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Children - General
- Children - Grade 4th-6th
- Children - Grade K-3rd
- Children - Mystery
- Children - Mythology/Fairy Tale
- Children - Non-Fiction
- Children - Picture Book
- Children - Preschool
- Children - Preteen
- Children - Religious Theme
- Children - Social Issues
Christian
- Christian - Amish
- Christian - Biblical Counseling
- Christian - Devotion/Study
- Christian - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Christian - Fiction
- Christian - General
- Christian - Historical Fiction
- Christian - Living
- Christian - Non-Fiction
- Christian - Romance - Contemporary
- Christian - Romance - General
- Christian - Romance - Historical
- Christian - Thriller
Fiction
- Fiction - Action
- Fiction - Adventure
- Fiction - Animals
- Fiction - Anthology
- Fiction - Audiobook
- Fiction - Chick Lit
- Fiction - Crime
- Fiction - Cultural
- Fiction - Drama
- Fiction - Dystopia
- Fiction - Fantasy - Epic
- Fiction - Fantasy - General
- Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
- Fiction - General
- Fiction - Graphic Novel/Comic
- Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
- Fiction - Historical - Personage
- Fiction - Holiday
- Fiction - Horror
- Fiction - Humor/Comedy
- Fiction - Inspirational
- Fiction - Intrigue
- Fiction - LGBTQ
- Fiction - Literary
- Fiction - Magic/Wizardry
- Fiction - Military
- Fiction - Mystery - General
- Fiction - Mystery - Historical
- Fiction - Mystery - Legal
- Fiction - Mystery - Murder
- Fiction - Mystery - Sleuth
- Fiction - Mythology
- Fiction - New Adult
- Fiction - Paranormal
- Fiction - Realistic
- Fiction - Religious Theme
- Fiction - Science Fiction
- Fiction - Short Story/Novela
- Fiction - Social Issues
- Fiction - Southern
- Fiction - Sports
- Fiction - Supernatural
- Fiction - Suspense
- Fiction - Tall Tale
- Fiction - Thriller - Conspiracy
- Fiction - Thriller - Environmental
- Fiction - Thriller - Espionage
- Fiction - Thriller - General
- Fiction - Thriller - Legal
- Fiction - Thriller - Medical
- Fiction - Thriller - Political
- Fiction - Thriller - Psychological
- Fiction - Thriller - Terrorist
- Fiction - Time Travel
- Fiction - Urban
- Fiction - Visionary
- Fiction - Western
- Fiction - Womens
Non-Fiction
- Non-Fiction - Adventure
- Non-Fiction - Animals
- Non-Fiction - Anthology
- Non-Fiction - Art/Photography
- Non-Fiction - Audiobook
- Non-Fiction - Autobiography
- Non-Fiction - Biography
- Non-Fiction - Business/Finance
- Non-Fiction - Cooking/Food
- Non-Fiction - Cultural
- Non-Fiction - Drama
- Non-Fiction - Education
- Non-Fiction - Environment
- Non-Fiction - Genealogy
- Non-Fiction - General
- Non-Fiction - Gov/Politics
- Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
- Non-Fiction - Health - Fitness
- Non-Fiction - Health - Medical
- Non-Fiction - Historical
- Non-Fiction - Hobby
- Non-Fiction - Home/Crafts
- Non-Fiction - Humor/Comedy
- Non-Fiction - Inspirational
- Non-Fiction - LGBTQ
- Non-Fiction - Marketing
- Non-Fiction - Memoir
- Non-Fiction - Military
- Non-Fiction - Motivational
- Non-Fiction - Music/Entertainment
- Non-Fiction - New Age
- Non-Fiction - Occupational
- Non-Fiction - Parenting
- Non-Fiction - Relationships
- Non-Fiction - Religion/Philosophy
- Non-Fiction - Retirement
- Non-Fiction - Self Help
- Non-Fiction - Short Story/Novela
- Non-Fiction - Social Issues
- Non-Fiction - Spiritual/Supernatural
- Non-Fiction - Sports
- Non-Fiction - Travel
- Non-Fiction - True Crime
- Non-Fiction - Womens
- Non-Fiction - Writing/Publishing
Poetry
Romance
Young Adult
- Young Adult - Action
- Young Adult - Adventure
- Young Adult - Coming of Age
- Young Adult - Fantasy - Epic
- Young Adult - Fantasy - General
- Young Adult - Fantasy - Urban
- Young Adult - General
- Young Adult - Horror
- Young Adult - Mystery
- Young Adult - Mythology/Fairy Tale
- Young Adult - Non-Fiction
- Young Adult - Paranormal
- Young Adult - Religious Theme
- Young Adult - Romance
- Young Adult - Sci-Fi
- Young Adult - Social Issues
- Young Adult - Thriller
Illustration Award
Recommend this book:
How the Camp Fire Girls Won World War II . . . and Other Memories
Rebecca G. Morris
2019 Finalist
230 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Anthology
How the Camp Fire Girls Won World War II . . . and Other Memories is a mostly time-linear series of short stories spanning the author's life. Rebecca G. Morris intentionally obscures which stories are fiction and which are not, but the feel is that of a complete piece. The titular Camp Fire Girls segment is something easily envisioned; many of us can remember stories where the height of patriotism was to scavenge any metal for the war effort. Along the way, stories include vignettes about growing up during the Depression, movie house afternoons, a rescued player piano, life in Catholic boarding schools during the war, first stirrings of the call-to-write inspired by a manual typewriter in her high school years, and a move to attend Columbia University in New York where as a newlywed graduate student she contracts tuberculosis. The disease necessitates a lengthy quarantine stay in Bellevue and seems to have precipitated a divorce. The balance of the book contends with the emotional aftermath and how she won through subsequent hardships.
I very much enjoyed How the Camp Fire Girls Won World War II. The scenes growing up in Ohio feel real and fully inhabited. I find Rebecca G. Morris's writing to be superb and vivid. The segment where she waits for her Reno divorce to be final, in the full heat of summer, is both heartbreaking and real. In such situations, a routine of daily swims, ice cream, and gin-before-bedtime is something we can all understand. Even afterward, the routine supports the beginnings of a new life. Morris takes the reader's hand and safely leads them through various points of view for each tragedy while not losing sight of where they are in the larger narrative. Any book which can engender such deep emotions in a reader is one which should be taken seriously.
Recommend this book:
I Punched Myself in the Eye
Stories of self-sabotage, imperfection, and perfect amazing grace
Pamela Capone
2017 Gold Medal
208 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Anthology
I Punched Myself in the Eye is a look at a lifetime collection of very short essays highlighting the life of Pamela Capone and her family. Each essay was unique and had a special thought, emotion, idea or event to pass along. Pamela shares her stories beautifully, both the good and the bad, with readers - starting with her message; followed up by her favorite chocolates; going to Grandma’s house; God encounters; her childhood, her husband and her children; making bread; traveling to foreign countries and to New York City; a middle of the night intruder; a scary train, and mermaids. There are just too many to tell you about and it is impossible to include more of the details without spoilers, but each one was special in itself.
I Punched Myself in the Eye is easy to read and many times I found myself shaking my head in agreement and laughing or crying at a remembered moment in my own life. Pamela Capone has written her essays with love and an invitation to become part of her family and share in their life. This non-fiction story of real life happenings is indeed worth reading and, as the description claims, it is filled with imperfection and perfect grace. I found it impossible not to like Pamela, and felt as though she was sitting in my family room and we were sharing the stories of our lives. If you are a mother, wife, woman, and a believer in God, this is a must-read.
Recommend this book:
100 People to Meet Before You Die
Travel to Exotic Cultures
Jackie Chase
2017 Silver Medal
334 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Anthology
Jackie Chase is a driven woman. Where others enjoy the comforts of home, Chase gets out there and lives life. In 100 People to Meet Before You Die: Travel to Exotic Cultures, Chase shares her adventures with the aim of visiting people who live their lives, for the most part, innocent of modern ways. No four-star hotels for this wife and mother of four, Chase visits the people who share the same joys and sorrows of life as we do – the joy of children at play and the life events of children entering adulthood, getting married and the sorrows of funerals. Not for the faint of heart, Chase’s travels take her to places uncomfortable at best and downright dangerous at worst. In one memorable passage, we read about the Mursi tribesmen of Ethiopia, who have traded their spears for Russian AK-47 semi-automatic rifles, using them to demand money and food before allowing visitors to travel through their tribal territory.
Jackie Chase introduces her readers to the little known people of Borneo, a land of floating villages, tattoos and blackened teeth. We are called to prayer at a Muslim mosque, spend 24 hours on a boat, take a shower using river water, and experience the generosity of strangers, they to Chase and Chase to them. We join in a Kayan tribal wedding and we learn how the Islamic and Viking cultures influenced the Kayan people of Borneo. Next we visit the El Moro tribe of Kenya where women walk 20 miles to get water. We visit the beautiful country of Ethiopia and meet the spiritual people of Bali, where it is the practice of the people to begin each new year with a day of silence. We go to Ecuador and on to six more countries, learning that we might have to live on pouches of tuna, but as Anais Nin writes: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
We get along without the internet, we ride on the back of a gentle giant elephant in Jaipur, and we say “Namaste,” which means “I bow to you.” We learn firsthand why Darien is known as one of the most dangerous places on the planet. But always we strive and seek in the words of Lord Tennyson “to find, and not to yield,” and learn to respect the simple ways of the people of the world. Chase’s descriptive words make the reader feel as if they are riding along on the water, biking in the heat to “Dragon’s Back Bone” in China, or trekking the jungle paths, reaching deep inside to find our strength along with the author.
Recommend this book:
Vignettes & Postcards from Morocco
Erin Byrne
2017 Honorable Mention
292 Pages
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Non-Fiction - Anthology
Vignettes & Postcards From Morocco by Erin Byrne is an engaging and exciting read that takes readers on a journey to Morocco and will make them want to travel there and experience what the author has mentioned in the book. This is motivation to travel beyond the seas and make life worth living. As each story unfolds, readers can experience and feel the essence and spirit of all that makes Morocco an exotic place to visit! Each story is a revelation of the cuisine, the memories, traditions, vignettes, mysteries, and the timelessness of the place.
The colorful aspects of Morocco have been captured well and readers can feel the pulse of the place through the vibrant stories, poems, photographs, and sketches. The stories will definitely inspire readers to travel to Morocco as they explore the souks, mosques, and hearts of the people of this ancient land. The stories give a fascinating and insightful introduction to Morocco and its brilliance. The photographs shared in the book are wonderful, and readers get a feel of the place and its beauty. The stories leave a lasting impression and they add color and warmth in the minds of readers. Every story has magic in it, and is unique and interactive as it takes us through beauty, bewilderment, and a jumble of myriad emotions. For all those who are interested in traveling and want to discover new lands, this is a good book to read!