Winners
Best New Voice: Fiction
2024 WINNERS - BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION
See below for the list of 2024 winners in the BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2023.
Lest She Forget
2024 Gold Winner
Author: Lisa Malice
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 97780744307153
Waking up with amnesia after a car crash, a young woman must remember her dark past before the murderer intent on finding her succeeds in wiping her memory clean–permanently.
The Half-Caste: A Novel
2024 Silver Winner
Author: Jason Zeitler
Publisher: Polyphony Press
ISBN: 9798989269228
In Jason Zeitler’s debut novel The Half-Caste, two friends—Vernon Prins, a mixed-race Ceylonese postgraduate student, and Saul Maccabee, a wealthy Jewish intellectual —fight against the evils of fascism and imperialism in 1930s England and Ceylon.
The Truth About Horses: A Novel
2024 Silver Winner
Author: Christy Cashman
Publisher: SparkPress
ISBN: 9781684632121
Fourteen-year-old Reese’s dream of winning the Black Elk race is shattered when her beloved horse, Trusted Treasure, falls at the last jump. While still reeling from that loss, her family suffers a second tragedy - one that results in the end of their family business, the sale of Trusted Treasure, and irreparable damage to Reese’s relationship with her father. Through heartaches and triumphs, Reese must prove her worth if she wants to heal her family and show everyone that some dreams are worth fighting for.
2023 WINNERS - BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION
See below for the list of 2023 winners in the BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2022.
Death Warrant
2023 Gold Winner
Author: Bryan Johnston
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744305081
A mentalist agrees to be assassinated on the most popular show on the planet: Death Warrant. But once she signs on, her memory is wiped clean of the deal. She has no idea she will soon be killed in spectacular fashion. She could be a star, if only she lives that long.
Darkness Dwells in Dixie
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Mike E. Reynolds
Publisher: Berry Powell Press
ISBN: 9781957321004
Based on real events, Mike E Reynolds weaves a jarring yet moving coming-of-age story set in a small town near Florida’s Apalachicola River swamp and the crystal-clear Florida Keys. With grit and grace, this riveting tale reminds us that faith and forgiveness are ultimately more powerful than the darkness within.
Out Front the Following Sea: A Novel
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Leah Angstman
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
ISBN: 9781646031948
When King William’s War comes to the brutal wilds of New England in 1689, an Englishwoman accused of witchcraft must choose which side she’s really on and how far she would go to save the life of a French sailor charged with treason in this moody, action-packed historical epic.
2022 WINNERS - BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION
See below for the list of 2022 winners in the BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2021.
The Ghosts of Thorwald Place
2022 Gold Winner
Author: Helen Power
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744301434
Rachel Drake is murdered in the elevator of her apartment building, but that’s only the beginning of her story. Her spirit tethered to her death spot and the apartments nearby, she observes her neighbors’ lives, uncovering their secrets and lies—while trying to figure out who killed her and why.
Daughter of the Salt King
2022 Silver Winner
Author: A. S. Thornton
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744303919
Emel, a young woman imprisoned by the Salt King, must navigate not only court intrigue and a mounting rebellion but her own heart after she discovers the secret to the Salt King’s tyranny over the desert—a wish-granting jinni who is as much a slave as Emel herself.
Paper Airplanes: A Novel
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Tabitha Forney
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781647421779
When Erin loses her husband on September 11, she thinks her life is lost, too. She surrenders to fate by diving into a cocktail of grief, guilt, and substance abuse. But when the road to destiny presents a twist, she has one more chance to decide whether marriage means forever, or if there’s life after happily ever after.
2021 WINNER - BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION
See below for the list of 2021 winners in the BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION category, for books with a copyright date of 2020. Click here to watch the Gold and Silver winner speeches.
Far Away Bird
2021 Gold Winner
Author: Douglas A. Burton
Publisher: Silent Music Press
ISBN: 9781733022101
Byzantium, Sixth Century. From the brothels to the bathhouses, a poor girl named Theodora learns to embrace her exploitation and let go of the people she loves most. But when Theodora chooses her personal sovereignty, no matter the cost, her battle will lead her to an impossible destination–the throne of the empire.
Iceman Awakens
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Sharon Krasny
Publisher: Koehler Books
ISBN: 9781646632176
Forgotten and frozen for 5000 years, the most studied corpse in the world known as Ötzi was found emerging from a glacier on the Italian Alps. Murdered, shot through the back, his story creates a haunting need to understand how he got there. Young Gaspare tells his story as the Iceman, as he faces the rites of passage of an ancient tribe, the longing for love and deepening friendship, and the scars of cowardice. Gaspare’s four challenges will test his wit, strength, and the love of a mother for her son. If he is to find his place in the changing tribe, he must understand his greatest fear.
Poisoned Jungle
2021 Silver Winner
Author: James Ballard
Publisher: Koehler Books
ISBN: 9781646631148
Poisoned Jungle speaks to the long tentacles war has on the life of Vietnam War medic, Andy Parks. In a powerful human saga, Andy teeters on the chasm of survivor's guilt, desperate to find equilibrium. An intimate glimpse into one veteran's struggle for meaning after the despair of war.
2020 WINNERS - BEST NEW VOICE: FICTION
See below for the list of 2020 winners in the BEST NEW VOICE: CHILDREN'S / YOUNG ADULT category, for books with a copyright date of 2019.
The Boys Who Woke Up Early
Author: A.D. Hopkins
Publisher: Imbrifex Books
ISBN: 9781945501272
A gritty but tender story about adolescence and racism set in the hills of western Virginia at the end of the Eisenhower years.
The Last Getaway
Author: Clay Savage
Publisher: Ocean Park Press
ISBN: 9781733880602
When a bank heist goes sideways, two getaway drivers come together to figure out what the hell happened, and make the score of a lifetime.
Sassafras
Author: Trish Heald
Publisher: Glasswing Media
ISBN: 9781733226806
A retired curmudgeon struggles to create a new identity after the death of his wife and the discovery of a devastating family secret.
The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus
Author: Alanna McFall
Publisher: Atthis Arts
ISBN: 9781945009341
Chelsea is determined to make it to her brother’s wedding. And she won’t let the fact that she’s been dead for two years stop her.
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