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:
Outbreak
The Dark Days Series Book 1
Paul Hoon
2021 Honorable Mention
212 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
When a virus spreads throughout the country, the people infected become mindless man-eating creatures seeking fresh blood, and a preteen boy must fight them to protect those he loves in the action-packed horror story Outbreak (The Dark Days Series Book 1) by Christopher Cole. When a viral outbreak takes the world by storm and the quarantine area can no longer contain its flesh-eating inmates, Sonny, his parents, and their friend Brad and his daughters Ashley and Carrie stay at Fort Drum for protection. After an invasion, the military decides to move to the larger and more secure location of Fort Denver. Flying the children out first, the adults plan on joining them when the carriers return for them. Unfortunately, soon after Sonny, Ashley, and Carrie arrive at Fort Denver, a large group of zombies invades and overtakes the fort, leaving the three children to survive on their own. Determined to protect the girls, Sonny seeks a safe spot for them to stay until his parents arrive. But if the highly guarded and defended fort can be defeated, what are the chances his parents are still alive? With nothing but their wits and courage, can Sonny, Ashley, and Carrie survive in a world full of zombies?
Filled with breathtaking action and flesh-eating creatures, Outbreak (The Dark Days Series Book 1) by Christopher Cole is a spine-tingling zombie apocalypse novel that is unforgettable! The story exemplifies the extraordinary and admirable qualities that catastrophic events bring out in people. I was impressed with Sonny's portrayal, showing how exceptional people have the innate ability to meet tragic circumstances with stoicism and courage, no matter their age. They are the leaders and heroes in extreme situations, and Sonny's character embodies these traits as a guardian and warrior. As the initial book of an exciting new sci-fi horror series, it is sure to thrill fans of zombie fiction. Skillfully written, it is a stunning page-turner with thrilling, action-packed scenes and engaging characters that will delight those who are fans of the televisions series, The Walking Dead. Because graphic violence and explicit language are laced throughout the story, the book is more suitable for readers who are not disturbed by blood, guts, gore, and cursing.
Recommend this book:
Ski Weekend
A Novel
Rektok Ross
2021 Bronze Medal
288 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
Ski Weekend is a work of fiction in the thriller genre. It is aimed at young adults and was penned by Rektok Ross. The book follows a group of teenagers who are on a ski trip that goes terribly wrong when their SUV crashes and strands them in the mountains with no hope of calling help and limited food supplies. The lead character Sam is forced to take extreme measures to care for her brother after an attempt to seek out help leaves him with a broken leg and a fever that only gets worse as the crisis stretches out into days.
This is a suspenseful book that had me thoroughly hooked from page one, with the relationship between Sam and the other members of her group being quickly established as the group gets ready for their journey. The harsh conditions of a freezing mountain make for a brilliant backdrop to the story and Rektok Ross’s excellent prose and descriptive writing leads the reader to imagine the danger in the cold and dark surroundings. As the story unfolds, the desperation begins to set in with the characters, and their slow descent into the darker aspects of survival necessity had me on the edge of my seat. The emotional journey of Ski Weekend is relentless as the events of the story force Sam and her companions to make life-changing realizations about themselves in the face of the constant need for life or death decision-making that will haunt them forever if they are able to survive. I’d recommend this book to any young adult readers.
Recommend this book:
The Leviathan Trial
Oliver Madison
2021 Silver Medal
222 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
Picture 12 super-intelligent children, aged from pre-pubescent to their twenties, adopted, bred, and educated over the years by an eccentric billionaire. Except for the very young, each child has developed exceptional skills in varying areas. When the 90-year-old “father” suddenly dies, this mixed family is immediately locked in his massive mansion. Cell-phone communication is impossible. How will they escape? Each child wears a “Leviathan” key-pendant which will unlock specific rooms. But which room? Worse yet, the father’s dying plan is for them to use their highly developed skills to determine his rightful heir. But to do so, they must eradicate each other. It’s a horrible survival of the smartest contest. Who will survive and inherit billions and at what unmeasurable cost? And just who or what keeps flitting through the shadows?
If Hollywood is looking for a movie or TV series script where Hunger Games meets Escape Room, producers need to look no further than The Leviathan Trial by Oliver Madison. This is a Young Adult thriller on steroids! The premise of The Leviathan Trial is creepy and thoroughly engaging for those who love this kind of book. Death and danger lurk behind every door. Oliver Madison is a writer who is really enjoying where his clever mind is taking him and his readers. The action is fast-paced, the dialogue swift, and the settings elaborate and cinematic. Plot-wise and visually, this story just begs for film production. Little wonder it’s just been awarded a Silver Medal by Readers Favorite!
Recommend this book:
Swarm
Artificial Intelligence Decodes End Time Prophecies
Guy Morris
2021 Gold Medal
444 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
Swarm: Artificial Intelligence Decodes End Time Prophecies by Guy Morris is a deftly plotted and brilliantly written thriller that will entice fans of conspiracy and espionage. Derek Taylor is a fugitive hacker and contractor for the National Security Agency, using the name of a murdered friend to stay alive. His ties with a terrorist hacker group make him a primary target of an investigation by Lt. Jennifer Scott, who has political backing and resources. SLVIA is an AI program that escaped NSA Lawrence Laboratory and has never been recovered. Now, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) internet virus threatens national security and SLVIA warns Taylor about the breaking of the fifth seal of end-time prophecy. It means only one thing: impending doom. The stakes get higher when a dictator, the president of the United States, releases a defective AI weapon. Two people stand the chance of saving the world: Lt. Scott and Taylor. But can they work together while the impending danger grows stronger and SLVIA is at risk of annihilation?
Guy Morris has written a novel that is gripping and intense when it comes to the action and plot points. The characters are extraordinary and they are pulled from strong backgrounds, including the Joint Artificial Intelligence Command, the CIA, the US Senate and Congress, National Security, Artificial Intelligence Task Force, and many others. The writing is crisp and gorgeous, and I enjoyed the descriptions and how the author explores the intelligence and state of mind as well as the emotions of the characters. The author weaves details into the characters and the plot in a way that is fascinating. The vocabulary is rich and the imagery is exceptionally written. Swarm: Artificial Intelligence Decodes End Time Prophecies is cleverly plotted, gripping, featuring characters that are rock-solid and a conspiracy that feels real.
Recommend this book:
I Know When You're Going To Die
Michael J Bowler
2020 Gold Medal
239 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
I Know When You're Going To Die by Michael J Bowler is a YA thriller/horror story. Leonardo Cantrell – Leo to his friends, Ninja Turtle to the bullies at school – is 16 years old and so shy he can’t look anyone in the eye. His life turns upside down when an old man at the shelter where he volunteers makes eye contact with him and passes on a gift – the power to see when someone will die. JC, Leo’s best friend, thinks it’s cool until the day Chet Hamilton, the biggest school bully, forces Leo to look in JC’s eyes and see his death, a bloody murder that will happen in less than a fortnight unless Leo can stop it. Together with Laura, the new girl at school, they go through everything Leo saw and think they have figured out who the murderer is. Laying a trap, they plan to stop the murder and change the future but everything goes horribly wrong. The truth is much worse than they ever thought and all three are in for the longest night of their lives, a night that could see them all dead.
I Know When You're Going To Die by Michael J Bowler is a fabulous story with an incredibly unique plot. Written in first-person, from Leo’s point-of-view, the story grabs hold of you straight away. The story centers on the main protagonist, his friends, and enemies, all of whom are exceptionally well-developed. The action is constant, with never a dull moment or any dead spots, and there are plenty of twists and turns, especially the ending. There are several threads running through this story – rich, so-called privileged kids who aren’t quite as privileged as you might think, bullying, friendship, and perhaps the overwhelming thread is that people aren’t always who you think they are and we should never take anyone at face value. This is an excellent story, adults young and older will enjoy it – I did and I look forward to reading more from Michael J Bowler.
Recommend this book:
Cass and Wat
A Young Adult Mystery/Thriller
Cagey Magee
2020 Silver Medal
324 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
Cass and Wat is the first book in the NorthWatch series, a young adult mystery that is very enjoyable, a well-written coming-of-age by Cagey Magee. Thirteen-year-old Cass wants only one thing: to protect her brother and help in her father's presidential campaign. But there is a big problem: she is trapped in a luxury suite in NorthWatch Castle, owned by her family. She suspects her family is behind this but how can she escape?
This is an engaging story filled with humor, a novel with strong themes of family, coming-of-age, and intrigue. The story is beautifully told, with elements of the setting well captured. Places are not just named and I enjoyed how the author establishes the relationship between characters and places. The descriptions are terrific and it is exciting to see the world and events through the lens of the characters. The description of the room in which Cassie is confined is vivid, a huge room that ends with windows, with light spilling in above the heavy drapes, yet there is a spookiness that is likened to her brother's brain.
Character is one of the author's strengths and I loved how Cassie, as well as other characters including Senator Glen Wat, are developed. The relationships and intrigue come out brilliantly. The young protagonist is a fascinating character with a unique perspective on life, one that helps to deepen the use of humor in the story. The reader will want to unravel the mystery, to identify the mind behind Cass's predicament and to find out if she can live up to her goal. This novel is hilarious, highly engaging, and entertaining.
Recommend this book:
Merged
Jim Kroepfl and Stephanie Kroepfl
2020 Bronze Medal
300 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
Who wants to live forever? This is the question that the husband and wife team of Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl explore in their YA novel, Merged. An elite group of scientists called the Darwinians wants to shatter the belief that we only live once, so they assemble six young men and women representing different fields in the Nobel Prize as experiments, where the Darwinians will transfer their consciousness through brain implantation. For good measure, they include art along with the other six disciplines in the hope of transferring the ability to create a kind of art that can alter the way society thinks. The selected teens called Nobels submit to the experiment with high hopes, even if the process encounters setbacks. The story revolves around three Nobels: Lake (chemistry), Orfyn (art), and Stryker (peace). The tension begins when Lake fails to fully merge with his Mentor.
This is a highly-absorbing story on the subject of mind-uploading. Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl do not stop at writing about teen issues but provide a subject broad in concept and philosophy effectively delivered in a manner that readers of all ages can understand. You might end up wanting a balanced character exploration of all the teen Nobels in this story, but do note that this is only the beginning of a series. Perhaps we will get to know the rest of them in the following volumes. Merge handles a thought-provoking subject that is now doing the rounds in the field of artificial intelligence and neuroscience, and for this alone, the book makes for a great page-turning experience.
Recommend this book:
Some Laneys Died
A Skipping Sideways Thriller
Brooke Skipstone
2020 Honorable Mention
268 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
The discovery of two young girls' bodies triggers an unprecedented phenomenon in the brilliant young adult mystery, Some Laneys Died (A Skipping Sideways Thriller) by Brooke Skipstone. When Delaney West was thirteen, she found her father in the arms of another woman. Laney tells her mother and life as they knew it exploded. Her father leaves, and three years later, Laney still hasn't heard from him. Visualizing how she could have handled the situation differently, Laney writes alternate versions of the incident. Recently, after reading about two bodies found in the vicinity where her father's faithlessness was exposed, things begin changing around Laney. She becomes obsessed with the girls and also begins seeing more alternative life choices. Her mother is a physics professor, and after reading some of Laney's accounts, she recognizes the similarity of Laney's different portrayals to the Many Worlds Theory. After her mother explains how each option exists in its own universe, Laney realizes she is experiencing more than imagination. Somehow, other universes are seeping into her own. Now Laney wonders if it is possible to skip sideways into another reality.
Some Laneys Died (A Skipping Sideways Thriller) by Brooke Skipstone is a scintillating young adult novel with a science-fiction theme. This dramatic mystery holds more than the usual teenage angst and drama. The intriguing concept of quantum mechanics, Many World Interpretations is the fabric from which the story is woven. It moves from space to space, threading through the anomaly of multiverses. It is a spellbinding story with infinite possibilities, an irresistible protagonist, and an intricate plot. This sensational and thrilling adventure will delight science-fiction mystery enthusiasts from sixteen years old on up. Word of caution; there are many scenes with violence, sexual acts, and inferences throughout the book which are not advisable for younger readers.
Recommend this book:
Super Doll
Erin Schulz
2020 Finalist
326 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
Super Doll is a work of adventure fiction aimed at young adult readers and was penned by author Erin Schulz. The central character is Ruth ‘Piper’ Pfeiffer, a seventeen-year-old who has learned a lot of independence and insolence in her life as she is shunted around as an Air Force child. When Piper is offered eight weeks in the Caribbean to practice her Spanish, she relishes the idea of freedom, but soon finds that it comes with a price. On the mysterious island of Carabajel, warring factions vie for supremacy and there is even a little magic afoot. Piper’s sudden involvement in their quarrel lands her straight in an adventure she never bargained for.
Author Erin Schulz tells a culturally unique and fascinatingly realistic tale of magic, romance, and independence that young adult readers are sure to enjoy, and adult readers will find much to adore too. The atmospheric descriptions of the Black Mariahs and the General’s people bring a new culture to life that Piper – and the reader – must learn all about, delivering some superb lessons in mystery and intrigue that any writer could appreciate. The scenery is lavish and the characters are very likable from the off, particularly Piper for her rebellious ways and cool attitude. When put to the test, she becomes a heroine to truly fall in love with, and the romance elements of the tale are not overdone or overtaking of the main plot. Overall, Super Doll is a high-quality YA work that’s not to be missed.
Recommend this book:
Kings and Criminals
Mungo Magennis
2019 Finalist
514 Pages
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Young Adult - Thriller
Kings and Criminals is a work of thriller fiction written for young adults by author Mungo Magennis. The novel focuses on the visionary young Max, who sees the intense problems of the world he’s about to become an adult in, and wants to devote his future to fixing them. As such, Max begins a collection of other young people with the goal of training them for important positions that will bring about a future change of government, culture and ideology. But even as his grand plan is starting to develop, the world around Max changes again for the worse, and his group of future freedom fighters must decided whether the fight now is more important than the one yet to come.
An epic and complex work of political ideology lies behind this interactive narrative of offbeat teens, and I’d certainly recommend Kings and Criminals for older teens and new adults reflecting on recent times. Max is a very forward thinking character, a young prodigy that readers may not relate to, but will certainly look up to as he fights for his noble cause. The characters who join him in his mission round out the crowd of diverse and interesting political opinions, engaging in a very hopeful future and a powerful revolt when things take a difficult turn in their present day. Mungo Magennis is an author with a similar vision to his main character, penning a compelling narrative and argument for the future of a broken world. A highly readable and important tale.