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:
Molding My Destiny
A Story of Hope That Takes One Child from Surviving to Thriving
Patrice M Foster
2018 Finalist
392 Pages
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
Molding My Destiny by Patrice M Foster is an inspirational story that is as relevant to this time and age as it is encouraging, and there is no doubt that many readers will resonate with the message of the book. This memoir tells the story of an immigrant, a Jamaican girl who leaves her native home, reminiscent of the sounds of reggae, to travel to the land “of milk and honey,” where dreams are fulfilled. But would the America of her dreams be the solution to all her problems? With beauty and subtlety of language, Patrice M Foster takes readers through her heartaches, deceptions, abuses, and rejection to ultimately underscore a powerful message of hope, a message that she translated into her own life and one that helped her transform her depression into a beautiful experience — we are the architects of our own destiny. Readers get a feel of life in Jamaica. Writing about her childhood and her irresponsible father who drove his Volkswagen around, “the love buggy,” picking up women or getting into debt, allows her a beautiful social commentary of her milieu and she does so with detachment and humor.
Patrice M Foster’s memoir, Molding My Destiny, is a book that every immigrant should read, a book that can stop millions from surrendering to the river of depression. It will help many people to stand up for themselves. The prose is simple and eloquent, and as one reads, one can feel the current of energy impregnating every word. This book, slim as it may be, was able to help me identify some of the illusions I have carried with me for many years. Life doesn’t just happen. We create it. We can use every negative experience to steer us towards the place we want to be. This is an incredible memoir written to give hope and strength to the despairing. A highly recommended read for the start of a new year.
Recommend this book:
Heart Medicine
A True Love Story - One Couple's Quest for the Sacred Iboga Medicine & the Cure for Addiction
E. Bast
2017 Finalist
412 Pages
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
Heart Medicine by E. Bast is a powerful memoir that explores love, addiction, and healing. The heart of the message of this book is captured in the sub-title: A True Love Story - One Couple's Quest for the Sacred Iboga Medicine & the Cure for Addiction. Getting clean from an addiction is one of the huge challenges that millions of people are facing across the world. The greatest fear of a “user” is to relapse. This has been the worst nightmare of Chor Boogie, a man who has been clean for over a decade before meeting his wife. This lyrical, brutally honest, and raw narrative takes readers on an odyssey of healing from addiction, a journey to the miracle of the iboga plant. Can one get completely clean from addiction? Yes. Chor Boogie and E. Bast find the answer in the African indigenous plant called the iboga.
E. Bast’s story is a powerful message of hope for everyone who feels trapped in their addictions, suffering from one relapse to another, a book that documents the perils of drug addiction and the secrets to lasting healing. Heart Medicine is well-written; the prose is crisp and polished, and it rings through with vivid imagery and lyricism. Apart from being an inspiring story, it has great potential to entertain readers. The naturally woven dialogues make the story come alive and allow the reader to understand the depth of the psychological conflict and the challenges the characters face. Readers will find the ultimate cure for addiction in this book, but they will also discover the mysterious power of love. I enjoyed every bit of this story — the beautiful prose, the sheer honesty of the narrator, the logical sequence of events, and the transformation that comes along as a result of love. This book is the best I have ever read about love and addictions. It’s magical.
Recommend this book:
The Two Week Wait Challenge
A Sassy Girl's Guide to Surviving the TWW
Lindsay Fischer
2017 Finalist
71 Pages
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
In a fun guide with lots of good information, The Two Week Wait Challenge: The Sassy Girl's Guide to Surviving the TWW, author Lindsay Fischer has done a great job of providing an easy to read and humorous perspective on what can be a very trying and emotional time for many people. Giving advice on what women and couples can do to keep themselves occupied and, let's face it, sane during the two weeks from when one might have conceived until being able to test for a pregnancy, this guide might just be a life-saver for those dealing with difficulty in conceiving. This book includes areas for readers to record their own thoughts, positive affirmations to focus on, and advice for supporting partners, all of which is quite invaluable.
I very much enjoyed The Two Week Wait Challenge: The Sassy Girl's Guide to Surviving the TWW. Author Lindsay Fischer has done a great job in creating something that her readers will treasure and find themselves coming back to, time and again, in a very difficult period of their lives. The humor and 'sassiness' is a much needed relief to the stress that many find with the conception process, and the glossary and explanation of terms will also be extremely useful to any who are new to the world of fertility issues. I highly recommend The Two Week Wait Challenge: The Sassy Girl's Guide to Surviving the TWW to any reader who is dealing with the frustrating dance that fertility can sometimes be, and I certainly hope to see more on this topic from the obviously talented and insightful author, Lindsay Fischer, in the very near future!
Recommend this book:
Role Reversal
How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents
Iris Waichler
2017 Honorable Mention
304 Pages
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
Role Reversal: How to Take Care of Yourself And Your Aging Parents by Iris Waichler is a helpful tool to all those who are involved in the caretaking of their loved ones as they grow older. The book encourages everyone to listen to their parents, the stories they have to tell, and find out what they want. The author shares her experiences of taking care of her father, and the importance of identifying and assessing the needs of an elderly parent. She also highlights the skills required, ranging from determination, patience, money, and knowledge, and how to work on them to walk through complicated issues like having a health plan, engaging other family members, and making final decisions. The book will also enable all those who are challenged by helping elderly loved ones in their families face them with renewed vigor, energy, and a fresh insight.
I found the book useful and the tips and techniques shared by the author will guide everyone to be more patient and focused while handling aged parents. She also speaks about the challenges faced by caregivers like her, and advises readers on how to divide their time choosing caretaker responsibilities, choosing a nursing home, and how to manage hospital bills, which are all useful to those handling aged people. She also provides useful links to additional governmental, nonprofit, and private resources. It is an excellent guide for all caretakers and it is also a good book to have in one’s personal collection so that one can be organized when it comes to the needs of their aged parents.
Recommend this book:
Motherhood
Lost and Found
Ann Campanella
2017 Bronze Medal
Kindle Edition
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
Motherhood: Lost and Found by Ann Campanella is an autobiography tracing the story of her life after she married, through several miscarriages, the family dynamics of her parents aging, most specifically her mother’s slow and painful decline with Alzheimer's disease. Her love of horses is a constant thread in the book and we have flashbacks to her earlier life, moving from place to place since her father was a colonel in the United States army. Living quite a distance from her parents, other members of the family, and their annual vacation to the ancestral home, requires travelling long distances, but not as many as Joel, her husband, makes as he flies around the world, building his own very successful company.
This was not an easy book to read, although I found it difficult to put down, and the last third saw me totally engrossed, ignoring the rest of the world as I simply had to finish it and find out what happens at the end. On every page of Motherhood I could feel her frustration and anguish. She is torn between her life with her husband, her loyalty towards her parents and, in the later stages, more responsibility for her mentally challenged brother. She despairs as she sees her mother sink further and further into dementia, only to see her rally on many occasions and then once again lose her grip on reality. The author struggles to cope, especially running her riding school on her own while her husband is overseas, and sadly she is forced to give it up. The only joy she finds is in her writing, and the awards she wins for her poetry are the only accolades she receives as she struggles to manage on her own with both her emotions and the day to day practicalities – losing one baby after another, plus her constant worry about her parents. She finds it hard to come to terms with the role reversal, parenting those who were once caring for her. This book is written beautifully, the words flow smoothly, and even if the reader had not been told, the poetic influence shines through. Every word has its place in the narrative and I have no hesitation in awarding it five stars. A really, great read.
Recommend this book:
Hatching Charlie
A Psychotherapist's Tale
Charles Creath McCormack
2017 Silver Medal
Kindle Edition
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
Hatching Charlie: A Psychotherapist's Tale by Charles Creath McCormack is a memoir with a powerful inspirational message. I was hesitant when I picked up this book, but the author’s promise in the prologue encouraged me and I am happy I read it. He writes: “I write to encourage you to take responsibility for your happiness. If there are two counter-intuitive things I’ve discovered in my wending journey as a man and as a psychotherapist, it’s that it takes great courage to be happy and that most of us are as happy as we can stand.” Writing one’s own journey is one of the therapies that helps to redefine one’s purpose, enhance healing, and unveil ways to determine how one’s life ends. McCormack’s memoir, like Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, is a memoir that is purpose-driven, a story in which the author answers the universal question: What does it really take to live a happy, fulfilling life?
With unalloyed frankness, the author takes readers on the path to his own darkness, his brokenness, his fears and uncertainties, and weaves a message that points to the light he’d discovered through his own commitment to grow and to help others. Readers will find lessons learned from the author’s personal life experiences and those that come through his practice as a psychologist. The author’s prose flows beautifully, devoid of any professional jargon, and the man whom readers will encounter in these pages will remind them of their own struggles, their own darkness, their own questions about life and happiness. They will understand that they own the key to unlocking the door to immense wealth and happiness. I was touched at how the author shares his struggles with “low self-esteem, the egotism, the mistakes made and then made again, the lessons learned and then forgotten, the failures and successes, the joys and heartbreak.” You’ll read your story in this beautiful book. Then you’ll wake up, determined to embrace life, your life, broken as it is, and to make some meaning out of the broken pieces. Hatching Charlie: A Psychotherapist's Tale by Charles Creath McCormack is a book for everyone, because there is a fragment of each of us in some of the pages.
Recommend this book:
Lessons from a CF Cornerman
38 Lessons I Learned During my Wife's Illness and Lung Transplant
Raymond L. Poole
2017 Gold Medal
382 Pages
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
Lessons from a CF Cornerman: 38 Lessons I Learned During my Wife's Illness and Lung Transplant by Raymond L. Poole is a story that will certainly communicate hope to readers and help them look at the future positively, expectantly. In this nonfiction book, the author shares his experience of his wife’s illness and the lessons he learned through the process. It’s a story of pain and triumph, of family and love, a journey through illness that is both inspiring and motivating.
Rebecca Poole has lived with cystic fibrosis for 37 years. On New Year’s Eve of 2014, she had respiratory failure and was put on life support. She only had a few days to live. But she stayed on a ventilator for 171 days and was in the hospital for 218 days, an incredibly long period to cause stress in anyone. In this book, the husband tells the story and shows readers how the experience affected him and the lessons he learned. What was it like to stay positive when life was fading in his wife? What did it take to inject life into their relationship? How did he handle the very low days? How did he deal with the many obstacles that came along the way? This book answers these questions and offers readers insights that will help them deal with any major illness in their families.
Raymond L. Poole’s book will make readers cry and laugh at the same time. It is hard not to listen to his confident, upbeat, and humorous voice. I loved the excellent prose and the author’s storytelling skills. There were moments I found myself laughing in spite of the grim situations the author found himself in. For instance, when his wife tells him at the beginning of their relationship that she had cystic fibrosis, he never went into details to find out what it really meant. The story is complemented by beautiful images that are telling. Lessons from a CF Cornerman: 38 Lessons I Learned During my Wife's Illness and Lung Transplant is a beautiful gift that will be loved by those with family members who are sick, a story with a lot of beautiful lessons and entertaining moments.
Recommend this book:
Caskets From Costco
Kelly Wilson
2016 Finalist
184 Pages
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
Caskets from Costco by Kelly Wilson is an interesting read. The book filled me with a whole mixture of emotions while reading it. The book is funny but sad at times. It also makes you want to hug the author while slapping the people around her. I chose this book because I wanted to see how someone else deals with grief.
I thought Caskets from Costco was going to be mainly about the death of the author’s father-in-law and depression, but it was also about her life, the birth of her children and the abuse she suffered. It was a history of the beginning of her PTSD. The birth of Wilson’s first child brought back so many memories to me about the birth of my own child. We both had C-sections and were both unable to hold our child on the first day. We both also made deals with our spouses in order to get pregnant. Wilson’s deal with her husband was a remodeled kitchen. I also really loved the story of Big John and Little John. It had a great message in it.
I enjoyed reading Caskets from Costco. This is a great book for anyone who has ever been depressed. Wilson made me feel like I am not alone, seeing how she has been through some of the same things that I have. I am glad to know that I am not the only one who finds Christmas time depressing. Most importantly, I also learned that Costco does in fact sell caskets!
Recommend this book:
Finding Faith in the Field
Benjamin Hylden
2016 Honorable Mention
138 Pages
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
In an inspiring, hopeful and truly wonderful new book steeped in the author's strongly held Christian beliefs, Finding Faith in the Field by author Benjamin Hylden, readers will find a story absolutely worthy of their time. The author recounts his experience as a young star athlete, and the terrible car accident he suffered on the way to his high school prom. He was thrown from the vehicle, badly injured, and found himself alone, freezing, in a desolate field. While many would have thought that their life was about to end, what Ben found was very different. He found the beginning of a new life, a new life through Christ.
I very much enjoyed Finding Faith in the Field. Ben's book is one that will grab readers from the first page and will keep them reading straight through to the end. I so appreciated that he was able to take the story of a difficult and life-changing experience and use it to change his own life, as well as to inspire, change and hopefully improve the lives of the others set in his path. Ben's experiences during and after his accident, his personal experiences with the Lord, and his ability to profess his experiences with a true heart for evangelism, and to provide hope to others have gifted the world with a wonderful message of redemption and hope. I highly recommend this book to any reader looking for a spiritually uplifting read. I also hope that author Benjamin Hylden will continue his work in spreading God's word, perhaps with another book in the future. I, for, one, would certainly be in line to read it!
Recommend this book:
Frock Off
Living Undisguised
Jo Dibblee
2016 Bronze Medal
320 Pages
Check current price
Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
The saying goes that clothing maketh the man, but all too often, clothing serves as armor and disguise, hiding the pain and heartbreak of derailed human lives. Jo Dibblee knows all about hiding. As Frock Off: Living Undisguised chronicles, some of her earliest lessons in life revolved around hiding her dysfunctional family's doings from the outside world and protecting her flawed and damaged parents from the interference of social workers. At times, an 'earth angel' offers a respite from the tension. At times, hurtful family secrets are uncovered. With grim determination and an occasional lucky break, she is able to turn her life around.
Frock off: Living Undisguised is ultimately a well-written and uplifting tale of survival - both physical and emotional - against great adversity and against all odds. The book graphically illustrates exactly what potential dangers are faced by youth at risk, (especially when parents are incapable of providing adequate support) as well as the potential for damage that is realized when society turns a blind eye. I liked the honesty and introspection with which the author tackles her own past. I enjoyed her voice and her fighting spirit - people who have faced a struggle or two in their lives make worthier role models than overachievers born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouths. I think this book can serve as great inspiration for anyone who strives to turn a damaged life around. It could also provide greater insight into the dynamics of dysfunctional families. Jo Dibblee should be praised for sharing her past with such courage and integrity.