Results for our 2025 Summer Contest
SUPER-CATEGORY CHAMPIONS
(Medal Winners)
Outstanding Creator Award for
Best Fiction Book of Summer 2025
1st Place
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
“The Philly Phenoms” Nate Oxman
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
“Animal Revenge” David Bush
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“A Crown of Gilded Thread” Evangaline Pierce
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“Trust on Trial” G.S. Gerry
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” Scott Swisher
2nd Place
“Adventures Are Everywhere” Elizabeth Horst
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
“There Are No Stars Here” J.S. Thompson
“The Last First Date” Jay Hall
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
3rd Place
“Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” Paul Wood
“Republic of Mars” Dr. Sam Sammane
“Cataclysm” T.V. Holiday
Outstanding Creator Award for
Best Non-Fiction Book of Summer 2025
* For the first time in 15 contests, ALL NON-FICTION books scored in the same tier (9.4+ to 9.6), resulting in an unprecedented tie in the tier!
1st Place
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
“Tesla’s Cottage” Barbara Daddino
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“The Blessing Book” Francis Shaw
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” Jack Wolf
“Vademecum of English” Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
“Story Monster Ink: February 2025” Story Monsters LLC
“Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” Story Monsters LLC
Outstanding Creator Award for
Best Children's Book of Summer 2025
1st Place
“Poo and Order” Angeli Fitch
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” Bridget Farry
“Hello, Japan!” Ekaterina Otiko
“Why?” Elena Kayne
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
“John Visits San Francisco” O’Cyrus
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” Suchi Sairam
“Stormy Sailing” Tuula Pere, PhD
“Our Song, Our Voice” Tuula Pere, PhD
“Gigglet Goes to School” Amber Berkowitz
“The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” Wanda Roush
2nd Place
“Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” Kim LeBlanc
“Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” Michael Dow
3rd Place
“The Dream House” Tuula Pere, PhD
“Museum Robbery” Tuula Pere, PhD
Best Fiction Book of Summer 2025
1st Place
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
“The Philly Phenoms” Nate Oxman
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
“Animal Revenge” David Bush
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“A Crown of Gilded Thread” Evangaline Pierce
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“Trust on Trial” G.S. Gerry
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” Scott Swisher
2nd Place
“Adventures Are Everywhere” Elizabeth Horst
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
“There Are No Stars Here” J.S. Thompson
“The Last First Date” Jay Hall
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
3rd Place
“Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” Paul Wood
“Republic of Mars” Dr. Sam Sammane
“Cataclysm” T.V. Holiday
Outstanding Creator Award for
Best Non-Fiction Book of Summer 2025
* For the first time in 15 contests, ALL NON-FICTION books scored in the same tier (9.4+ to 9.6), resulting in an unprecedented tie in the tier!
1st Place
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
“Tesla’s Cottage” Barbara Daddino
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“The Blessing Book” Francis Shaw
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” Jack Wolf
“Vademecum of English” Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
“Story Monster Ink: February 2025” Story Monsters LLC
“Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” Story Monsters LLC
Outstanding Creator Award for
Best Children's Book of Summer 2025
1st Place
“Poo and Order” Angeli Fitch
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” Bridget Farry
“Hello, Japan!” Ekaterina Otiko
“Why?” Elena Kayne
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
“John Visits San Francisco” O’Cyrus
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” Suchi Sairam
“Stormy Sailing” Tuula Pere, PhD
“Our Song, Our Voice” Tuula Pere, PhD
“Gigglet Goes to School” Amber Berkowitz
“The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” Wanda Roush
2nd Place
“Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” Kim LeBlanc
“Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” Michael Dow
3rd Place
“The Dream House” Tuula Pere, PhD
“Museum Robbery” Tuula Pere, PhD
CATEGORY WINNERS
Outstanding Creator Award for
Fantasy
1st Place
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“Animal Revenge” David Bush
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
“A Crown of Gilded Thread” Evangaline Pierce
2nd Place
“Cataclysm” T.V. Holiday
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
3rd Place
“A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” A. Carina Spears
“Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” Paul Wood
Honorable Mentions
“Knightfall” C.L. Embry
“Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
Outstanding Creator Award for
Science-Fiction (Sci-Fi)
1st Place
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” Scott Swisher
“There Are No Stars Here” J.S. Thompson
2nd Place
“Republic of Mars” Dr. Sam Sammane
3rd Place
“Shadows of Carath” S. Donovan Croft
Outstanding Creator Award for
Music
1st Place
“Theme Song of Marky the Magnificent Fairy” Studio Story Monster, Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Cynthia Kern O'Brien
“Hey Mommy Theme Song” Studio Story Monster, Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Siona Talekar
Outstanding Creator Award for
Language / Communications
1st Place
“Vademecum of English” Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
Outstanding Creator Award for
Audiobooks
1st Place
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
Outstanding Creator Award for
Autobiographies & Memoirs / Biographies
1st Place
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“Tesla’s Cottage” Barbara Daddino
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
Outstanding Creator Award for
Travel / Adventure
1st Place
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” Bridget Farry
“Hello, Japan!” Ekaterina Otiko
“John Visits San Francisco” O’Cyrus
Outstanding Creator Award for
Videos / Multimedia
1st Place
"I Know What You Do When I Go to School Book Trailer" Siona Talekar, Story Monsters LLC
Outstanding Creator Award for
Law & Justice / Crime / Crime Fiction
1st Place
“Poo and Order” Angeli Fitch
“Trust on Trial” G.S. Gerry
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
LGBTQ+
1st Place
“Her Wild Body” Noa Raveh
Outstanding Creator Award for
Historical Fiction
1st Place
“Animal Revenge” David Bush
Outstanding Creator Award for
History (Non-Fiction)
1st Place
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
“Tesla’s Cottage” Barbara Daddino
Outstanding Creator Award for
Performing Arts / Dance
1st Place
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” Suchi Sairam
Outstanding Creator Award for
Holidays / Easter / Christmas Books
1st Place
“The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” Wanda Roush
Outstanding Creator Award for
Thriller
1st Place
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
2nd Place
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” Scott Swisher
3rd Place
“Chameleon Chronicles: Book One- The Missing Lieutenant” Barbara Kruk
Outstanding Creator Award for
Supernatural Books / Paranormal Books
1st Place
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
2nd Place
“Cataclysm” T.V. Holiday
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
3rd Place
“A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” A. Carina Spears
Honorable Mention
“The Alpha’s Hunter” Lily Redd
Outstanding Creator Award for
Books About Disabilities
1st Place
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
2nd Place
“Mysteries at School” Robert Gilbert
Outstanding Creator Award for
Short Stories / Anthologies / Collections
1st Place
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
2nd Place
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
“Adventures Are Everywhere” Elizabeth Horst
3rd Place
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Mental Health
1st Place
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
2nd Place
“Adventures Are Everywhere” Elizabeth Horst
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Business
1st Place
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” Jack Wolf
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
Romance
1st Place
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
“The Last First Date” Jay Hall
2nd Place
“False Neutral” Joshua S. Narins
Outstanding Creator Award for
Erotica / Steamy Romance
1st Place
“Her Wild Body” Noa Raveh
2nd Place
“The Alpha’s Hunter” Lily Redd
Outstanding Creator Award for
Comedy / Humor / Satire
1st Place
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
Outstanding Creator Award for
Middle Grade Books / Juvenile Literature
1st Place
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
2nd Place
“Mysteries at School” Robert Gilbert
Outstanding Creator Award for
Dystopia / Apocalyptic Fiction / Near-Future
1st Place
“There Are No Stars Here” J.S. Thompson
Outstanding Creator Award for
Parenting
1st Place
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
Outstanding Creator Award for
Speculative Fiction / Experimental Fiction
1st Place
“There Are No Stars Here” J.S. Thompson
2nd Place
“Republic of Mars” Dr. Sam Sammane
3rd Place
“False Neutral” Joshua S. Narins
Outstanding Creator Award for
Self-Help & How-to Books
1st Place
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” Jack Wolf
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“The Blessings Book” Francis Shaw
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
Educational & Reference Books
1st Place
“Tesla’s Cottage” Barbara Daddino
“Vademecum of English” Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
2nd Place
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
3rd Place
“Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” Michael Dow
Outstanding Creator Award for
Christian Literature / Christian Fiction / Christian Non-Fiction
1st Place
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“The Blessing Book” Francis Shaw
“Trust on Trial” G.S. Gerry
2nd Place
“Cataclysm” T.V. Holiday
“The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” Wanda Roush
Outstanding Creator Award for
Family
1st Place
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
Outstanding Creator Award for
Psychological Fiction
1st Place
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
2nd Place
“Adventures Are Everywhere” Elizabeth Horst
3rd Place
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Horror
1st Place
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
2nd Place
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
Outstanding Creator Award for
Multicultural / Multilingual / Bilingual Literature
1st Place
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
“Hello, Japan!” Ekaterina Otiko
“Vademecum of English” Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
“Our Song, Our Voice” Tuula Pere, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Children's Motivational & Inspirational Books & Multimedia
1st Place
“Our Song, Our Voice” Tuula Pere, PhD
“Gigglet Goes to School” Amber Berkowitz
“Why?” Elena Kayne
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” Suchi Sairam
“Stormy Sailing” Tuula Pere, PhD
2nd Place
“Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” Kim LeBlanc
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
3rd Place
"I Know What You Do When I Go to School Book Trailer" Siona Talekar, Story Monsters LLC
“Hey Mommy Theme Song” Studio Story Monster, Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Siona Talekar
Outstanding Creator Award for
Motivational / Inspirational Books
1st Place
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“The Philly Phenoms” Nate Oxman
2nd Place
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“The Blessing Book” Francis Shaw
3rd Place
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
Outstanding Creator Award for
Teen & Young-Adult (YA) Fiction
1st Place
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” Scott Swisher
Outstanding Creator Award for
Puzzle, Coloring, and Activity Books
1st Place
“Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” Michael Cook
Outstanding Creator Award for
Health
1st Place
“Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” Michael Dow
Outstanding Creator Award for
Mystery
1st Place
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
2nd Place
“Mysteries at School” Robert Gilbert
“A Keen Mind and A Phantom Song” A. Carina Spears
“Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
3rd Place
“Chameleon Chronicles: Book One- The Missing Lieutenant” by Barbara Kruk
Outstanding Creator Award for
Poetry
1st Place
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
2nd Place
“Her Wild Body” Noa Raveh
Outstanding Creator Award for
Animal Literature
1st Place
“Animal Revenge” David Bush
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” Bridget Farry
“Poo and Order” Angeli Fitch
2nd Place
“Gigglet Goes to School” Amber Berkowitz
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Myths & Legends / Fairy Tales / Mythical Creatures / Cryptids
1st Place
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“A Crown of Gilded Thread” Evangaline Pierce
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
2nd Place
“A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” A. Carina Spears
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
3rd Place
“Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” Paul Wood
“Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” Michael Cook
Outstanding Creator Award for
Magic & Wizardry
1st Place
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
“A Crown of Gilded Thread” Evangaline Pierce
2nd Place
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
3rd Place
“Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” Paul Wood
Outstanding Creator Award for
Literary Fiction
1st Place
“The Philly Phenoms” Nate Oxman
2nd Place
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
3rd Place
"False Neutral" Joshua S. Narins
Outstanding Creator Award for
Westerns
1st Place
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
Outstanding Creator Award for
Sports Fiction
1st Place
“The Philly Phenoms” Nate Oxman
2nd Place
“Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” Kim Leblanc
Outstanding Creator Award for
Magazines / Catalogs / Newspapers / Newsletters
1st Place
“Story Monster Ink: February 2025” Story Monsters LLC
“Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” Story Monsters LLC
Outstanding Creator Award for
Writing / Publishing
1st Place
“Story Monster Ink: February 2025” Story Monsters LLC
“Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” Story Monsters LLC
Fantasy
1st Place
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“Animal Revenge” David Bush
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
“A Crown of Gilded Thread” Evangaline Pierce
2nd Place
“Cataclysm” T.V. Holiday
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
3rd Place
“A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” A. Carina Spears
“Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” Paul Wood
Honorable Mentions
“Knightfall” C.L. Embry
“Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
Outstanding Creator Award for
Science-Fiction (Sci-Fi)
1st Place
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” Scott Swisher
“There Are No Stars Here” J.S. Thompson
2nd Place
“Republic of Mars” Dr. Sam Sammane
3rd Place
“Shadows of Carath” S. Donovan Croft
Outstanding Creator Award for
Music
1st Place
“Theme Song of Marky the Magnificent Fairy” Studio Story Monster, Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Cynthia Kern O'Brien
“Hey Mommy Theme Song” Studio Story Monster, Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Siona Talekar
Outstanding Creator Award for
Language / Communications
1st Place
“Vademecum of English” Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
Outstanding Creator Award for
Audiobooks
1st Place
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
Outstanding Creator Award for
Autobiographies & Memoirs / Biographies
1st Place
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“Tesla’s Cottage” Barbara Daddino
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
Outstanding Creator Award for
Travel / Adventure
1st Place
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” Bridget Farry
“Hello, Japan!” Ekaterina Otiko
“John Visits San Francisco” O’Cyrus
Outstanding Creator Award for
Videos / Multimedia
1st Place
"I Know What You Do When I Go to School Book Trailer" Siona Talekar, Story Monsters LLC
Outstanding Creator Award for
Law & Justice / Crime / Crime Fiction
1st Place
“Poo and Order” Angeli Fitch
“Trust on Trial” G.S. Gerry
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
LGBTQ+
1st Place
“Her Wild Body” Noa Raveh
Outstanding Creator Award for
Historical Fiction
1st Place
“Animal Revenge” David Bush
Outstanding Creator Award for
History (Non-Fiction)
1st Place
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
“Tesla’s Cottage” Barbara Daddino
Outstanding Creator Award for
Performing Arts / Dance
1st Place
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” Suchi Sairam
Outstanding Creator Award for
Holidays / Easter / Christmas Books
1st Place
“The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” Wanda Roush
Outstanding Creator Award for
Thriller
1st Place
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
2nd Place
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” Scott Swisher
3rd Place
“Chameleon Chronicles: Book One- The Missing Lieutenant” Barbara Kruk
Outstanding Creator Award for
Supernatural Books / Paranormal Books
1st Place
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
2nd Place
“Cataclysm” T.V. Holiday
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
3rd Place
“A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” A. Carina Spears
Honorable Mention
“The Alpha’s Hunter” Lily Redd
Outstanding Creator Award for
Books About Disabilities
1st Place
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
2nd Place
“Mysteries at School” Robert Gilbert
Outstanding Creator Award for
Short Stories / Anthologies / Collections
1st Place
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
2nd Place
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
“Adventures Are Everywhere” Elizabeth Horst
3rd Place
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Mental Health
1st Place
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
2nd Place
“Adventures Are Everywhere” Elizabeth Horst
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Business
1st Place
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” Jack Wolf
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
Romance
1st Place
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
“The Last First Date” Jay Hall
2nd Place
“False Neutral” Joshua S. Narins
Outstanding Creator Award for
Erotica / Steamy Romance
1st Place
“Her Wild Body” Noa Raveh
2nd Place
“The Alpha’s Hunter” Lily Redd
Outstanding Creator Award for
Comedy / Humor / Satire
1st Place
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
Outstanding Creator Award for
Middle Grade Books / Juvenile Literature
1st Place
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
2nd Place
“Mysteries at School” Robert Gilbert
Outstanding Creator Award for
Dystopia / Apocalyptic Fiction / Near-Future
1st Place
“There Are No Stars Here” J.S. Thompson
Outstanding Creator Award for
Parenting
1st Place
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
Outstanding Creator Award for
Speculative Fiction / Experimental Fiction
1st Place
“There Are No Stars Here” J.S. Thompson
2nd Place
“Republic of Mars” Dr. Sam Sammane
3rd Place
“False Neutral” Joshua S. Narins
Outstanding Creator Award for
Self-Help & How-to Books
1st Place
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” Jack Wolf
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“The Blessings Book” Francis Shaw
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
Educational & Reference Books
1st Place
“Tesla’s Cottage” Barbara Daddino
“Vademecum of English” Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
2nd Place
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
3rd Place
“Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” Michael Dow
Outstanding Creator Award for
Christian Literature / Christian Fiction / Christian Non-Fiction
1st Place
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“The Blessing Book” Francis Shaw
“Trust on Trial” G.S. Gerry
2nd Place
“Cataclysm” T.V. Holiday
“The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” Wanda Roush
Outstanding Creator Award for
Family
1st Place
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
Outstanding Creator Award for
Psychological Fiction
1st Place
“The Art of Dying” Christopher Eustache
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
2nd Place
“Adventures Are Everywhere” Elizabeth Horst
3rd Place
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Horror
1st Place
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
2nd Place
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
Outstanding Creator Award for
Multicultural / Multilingual / Bilingual Literature
1st Place
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
“Hello, Japan!” Ekaterina Otiko
“Vademecum of English” Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
“Our Song, Our Voice” Tuula Pere, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Children's Motivational & Inspirational Books & Multimedia
1st Place
“Our Song, Our Voice” Tuula Pere, PhD
“Gigglet Goes to School” Amber Berkowitz
“Why?” Elena Kayne
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” Suchi Sairam
“Stormy Sailing” Tuula Pere, PhD
2nd Place
“Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” Kim LeBlanc
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
3rd Place
"I Know What You Do When I Go to School Book Trailer" Siona Talekar, Story Monsters LLC
“Hey Mommy Theme Song” Studio Story Monster, Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Siona Talekar
Outstanding Creator Award for
Motivational / Inspirational Books
1st Place
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” D.A. Mintaka
“The Philly Phenoms” Nate Oxman
2nd Place
“Half a Century Ago” Angela Arias
“A Break in the Silence” Donald T. Hardison II
“The Blessing Book” Francis Shaw
3rd Place
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
Outstanding Creator Award for
Teen & Young-Adult (YA) Fiction
1st Place
“Worldwide Crush” Kristin Nilsen
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” Scott Swisher
Outstanding Creator Award for
Puzzle, Coloring, and Activity Books
1st Place
“Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” Michael Cook
Outstanding Creator Award for
Health
1st Place
“Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” Michael Dow
Outstanding Creator Award for
Mystery
1st Place
“Something in the Blood” H.H. Mika
2nd Place
“Mysteries at School” Robert Gilbert
“A Keen Mind and A Phantom Song” A. Carina Spears
“Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
3rd Place
“Chameleon Chronicles: Book One- The Missing Lieutenant” by Barbara Kruk
Outstanding Creator Award for
Poetry
1st Place
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
2nd Place
“Her Wild Body” Noa Raveh
Outstanding Creator Award for
Animal Literature
1st Place
“Animal Revenge” David Bush
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” Bridget Farry
“Poo and Order” Angeli Fitch
2nd Place
“Gigglet Goes to School” Amber Berkowitz
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
Myths & Legends / Fairy Tales / Mythical Creatures / Cryptids
1st Place
“The Son of Poetry” P.M. Gill
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
“A Crown of Gilded Thread” Evangaline Pierce
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
2nd Place
“A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” A. Carina Spears
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
“Feral Fables” Lucy Jones, PhD
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
3rd Place
“Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” Paul Wood
“Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” Michael Cook
Outstanding Creator Award for
Magic & Wizardry
1st Place
“Blood of the Raej” Hayley Rae Johnson
“The Pentacle” Marieke Lexmond
“A Crown of Gilded Thread” Evangaline Pierce
2nd Place
“The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” J.M. Celi
3rd Place
“Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” Paul Wood
Outstanding Creator Award for
Literary Fiction
1st Place
“The Philly Phenoms” Nate Oxman
2nd Place
“A Thousand More” K.S. Lynn
3rd Place
"False Neutral" Joshua S. Narins
Outstanding Creator Award for
Westerns
1st Place
“Diablo Canyon” C. Flemish
Outstanding Creator Award for
Sports Fiction
1st Place
“The Philly Phenoms” Nate Oxman
2nd Place
“Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” Kim Leblanc
Outstanding Creator Award for
Magazines / Catalogs / Newspapers / Newsletters
1st Place
“Story Monster Ink: February 2025” Story Monsters LLC
“Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” Story Monsters LLC
Outstanding Creator Award for
Writing / Publishing
1st Place
“Story Monster Ink: February 2025” Story Monsters LLC
“Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” Story Monsters LLC
SPECIAL AWARDS
* These are fun, less formal awards inspired by the Academy & Razzie Awards (to which we share no direct affiliation) intended to recognize the unique accomplishments of each work. Despite the less formal decision process and ranking system associated with them, Special Awards are still recognized as Outstanding Creator Awards.
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Cover”
Winners:
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
"Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule" by Paul Wood
"Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny" by Wanda Roush
“The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd
Honorable Mentions:
“Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
"Worldwide Crush" by Kristin Nilsen
"Trust on Trial" by G.S. Gerry
"A Break in the Silence" by Donald T. Hardison II
"The Last First Date" by Jay Hall
"There Are No Stars Here" by J.S. Thompson
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Writing (Fiction)”
Winners:
“A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
“Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
Honorable Mention:
“False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins
“Feral Fables” by Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Writing (Non-Fiction)”
Winner:
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
Honorable Mentions:
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” by Jack Wolf
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Research”
Winners:
“Tesla’s Cottage” by Barbara Daddino
“Vademecum of English” by Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
Honorable Mentions:
“Animal Revenge” by David Bush
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” by Jack Wolf
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best World-Building”
Winner:
“There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson
Honorable Mentions:
“Feral Fables” by Lucy Jones, PhD
“John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus
“Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
"Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule" by Paul Wood
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Character”
Winners:
Flavia from “Animal Revenge” by David Bush
Sam from “The Philly Phenoms” by Nate Oxman; Honorable Mention: Lee
Honorable Mentions:
Deidre Gale, Erik from “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears
Gigglet, Mama Pig from “Gigglet Goes to School” by Amber Berkowitz
Angela from “Half a Century Ago” by Angela Arias
Ruby from “Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch
Jonathan Meyers, Tony/Anthony C. Perrilli/Michael Pearson, Abigail Baxter from “Chameleon Chronicles: Book One-The Missing Lieutenant” by Barbara Kruk
Cooper from “Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” by Bridget Farry
Axel Albrecht from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Tiburcio “Tibu” Vasquez, Jack Morrison from “Diablo Canyon” by C. Flemish
David, Jason, Jared, Atlas, Norman from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache
Cassius from “Animal Revenge” David Bush
Jacie Sparks, Tessa Hart, Evelyn McAllister, Rachel, Lisa, Eddy, Elliot Michaels, Joe, Nathan, Jonah, Max, Lily, Liam from “When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” by D.A. Mintaka
Sophie, Stephi, Globik from “Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko
Ella from “Why?” by Elena Kayne
Shelby, Johnny McDuff, Nathan Levy from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst
Gwen, Mr. Woodworth/Aurius, Prince Ryland, Princess Avonlee from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Earnest Trust from “Trust on Trial” by G.S. Gerry
Terry Volkner, Eddie from “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
Terhese from “Blood of the Raej” by Hayley Rae Johnson
Solanis “Solar” Tailor, Manuel, Walter from “There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson
Lisa Cooper from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Liam, Michelle, Scott, Shelby/Danielle from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Saul, Ted, Ruth, Joe, Rico, Lynn, David from “Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” by Kim LeBlanc
Millicent Jackson, Rory Calhoun from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Joanna Sullivan from “The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd
Lizard, la Torera, el Toro, the Lady Who Found the Armadillo from “Feral Fables” by Lucy Jones, PhD
Lucy, Tara from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Master Rabbit from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
Nurse Florence, Jean, Condi, Sonia from “Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” by Michael Dow
Sophia from “Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
Eleanor from “Her Wild Body” by Noa Raveh
Louis Song, Anne Engliesin from “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill
Rekule from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Ryan Griffith from “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert
Nico Bribane, Zachary Hawkins, Lani, Vera from “Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
Dash, Farah Ram, Marko from “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
The Ring Fold: Jordan, Rocco, Steffi, Jacob, Carissa, Scarlett from “Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
Surya from “Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” Suchi Sairam
Travis from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Marky from “Theme Song of Marky the Magnificent Fairy” by Studio Story Monster, Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Cynthia Kern O'Brien
Liban, Liban’s Dad from “Stormy Sailing” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Little Sisu, Grandma Una from “Our Song, Our Voice” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Samira, Samira’s Father, Samira’s Mother from “The Dream House” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Emma, Oliver from “Museum Robbery” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Little Larva, Little Lad, Easter Bunny from “The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” by Wanda Roush
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Supporting Character”
Winner:
Mom from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen; Also, honorable mention to: Grandma/Cheryl, Billy, Shauna
Honorable Mentions:
Sean, Finn, Orla, Fiona, Christine, Raoul, Madame Giry from “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears
Loli from “Half a Century Ago” by Angela Arias
Katori from “Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch
Ysabelle; Annaliese and Amelia (“because they’re funny”) from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Crystal, Lisa, Sandy, Jose, Esmeralda from “Diablo Canyon” by C. Flemish
Sharron, Farina, Tawna, Jess, Masud, Hanna from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache
Jackat, Maximus, Livia from “Animal Revenge” by David Bush
Eddy’s Dad, Mr. Pennington from “When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” by D.A. Mintaka
Spots, Sparkles, Turtle, Parrot, Yoshi from “Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko
Mom, Grandma from “Why?” by Elena Kayne
Blonde-Haired Girl, Bayley, Simon from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst
Captain Drake from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Harvey Shield, Judge Steel from “Trust on Trial” by G.S. Gerry
Hannah, Audrey Willard, Holly, Steve Albot, Liam, Joycie, Paige Glore, Mel Nestor from “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
King Mason, Queen Mellany, Lenetta, Nathan, Natalie, Chloe from “Blood of the Raej” by Hayley Rae Johnson
Aiesha, Gabby, Greg from “There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson
Callie, Wally, Spencer, Sloan from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Neil, Andrea, Alice, Sophie, Coyotita, Amy Wagner from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Brad, Sam, Martha from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Freya, Luna, Bridget, Diane, Maeve, Cephalop, Set, Snowflake, Seamus from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Mother Rabbit, Lox, Martin from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
David, Grandpa from “Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
Esther Lionheart, Mowgli, Tom, Noga, Shira, Tammy Gil from “Her Wild Body” by Noa Raveh
Kei, Brittany, Hayden, Deidre, Gannet, George Muir, Keith Guillemot, Nym, Larimore from “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill
Chalene, Mnemosyne, Zekku, Lapetus from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Carl, Helen, Rachel from “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert
The Otters of Kronos: Tessandra/Tess, Parker, Raya, Logan, Jezebel/Jez, Eliza from “Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
Deepa, Teacher, Nicholas from “Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” by Suchi Sairam
Leslie, Crystal Kelly, Ashley from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Risu from “The Dream House” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Villain”
Winners:
Rustin from “The Philly Phenoms” by Nate Oxman
Aram from “The Dream House” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Honorable Mentions
Mother Superior from “Half a Century Ago” by Angela Arias
Mrs. McPoodle from “Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch
Thomas Edison from “Tesla’s Cottage” by Barbara Daddino
Tony/Anthony C. Perrilli from “Chameleon Chronicles: Book One- The Missing Lieutenant” by Barbara Kruk
Gunter, Basel, King Otto von Koenig from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Terraqual, Father McVan, The Sheriff, Wilms, Be’elzebub, Asmod from “Diablo Canyon” by C. Flemish
Mental Illness, Self-Hate, and Su**idal Ideation from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache
The Emperor from “Animal Revenge” by David Bush
The King from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Curtis Reed from “Trust on Trial” by G.S. Gerry
Kazimir “Kaz” Panas, Emilie Lepus, Joshua, Talon Warth from “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
Worthington, The Haze from “There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson
Hayden, Jack, Randall (Arguably) from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Fire Demon from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Her/She’s Husband from “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins
Vhumut the Fire Demon from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Wild Cat from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
Uranus, Chaos, Thanatos from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Frank from “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert
CISP, Eight-Zero, DoroEngines, Mr. Doran from “Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
Edward Moss, Mr. Leno, Owen Cornell from “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
Darren Kraus, Tempus from “Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
Luc, Monsoon, Crimson Queen from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
War, Crisis from “Stormy Sailing” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Mr. Oddyman from “Museum Robbery” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Hottest Character” / “Most Beautiful Character” / “Most Handsome Character”
Winner:
Joanna Sullivan from “The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd
Honorable Mentions:
Jess from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache
The Mom from “Why?” by Elena Kayne
Prince Ryland from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Beck, Sienna from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Her/She from “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins
Scott from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Farah Ram from “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
Crimson Queen, Crystal Kelly from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Ysabelle from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Cutest Character”
Winners:
Gigglet from “Gigglet Goes to School” by Amber Berkowitz
Cooper from “Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” by Bridget Farry
Ella from “Why?” by Elena Kayne
Honorable Mentions:
Turtle, Yoshi’s Shiba Dog from “Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko
Luna from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Chewie from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Bear from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Pringles from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Alligator, Giraffe, Bear, Kangaroo, Tiger from “John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus
Chalene from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Little Larva from “The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” by Wanda Roush
Shelby, Jo from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst
Master Rabbit from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Dynamic Duo”
Winner:
Lucy & Tara from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Honorable Mentions:
Gigglet & Mama Pig from “Gigglet Goes to School” by Amber Berkowitz
Millicent & Mom from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
John & Gabriel from “John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus
Travis & Crystal, Monsoon & Crimson Queen from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Liban & Dad from “Stormy Sailing” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Emma & Oliver from “Museum Robbery” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Vena & Lani from “Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
Terry Volkner & Eddie from “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Couple”
Winners:
Louis & Anne from “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill
Honorable Mentions:
Cassius & Flavia, Cassius & Livia from “Animal Revenge” by David Bush
Gwen & Aurius from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Beck & Sienna from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Her/She & Him/He from “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins
Liam & Michelle, Scott & Shelby, Shelby & Liam from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Millicent & Rory Calhoun from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Eleanor & Esther Lionheart from “Her Wild Body” by Noa Raveh
Rekule & Chalene from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Ryan & Rachel from “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Coolest Character”
Winners:
Tiburcio “Tibu” Vasquez from “Diablo Canyon” by C. Flemish; Honorable Mentions: Crystal, Jack Morrison
Lucy from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Honorable Mentions:
Mr. Woolworth/Aurius from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Rory Calhoun, Mom, Grandma Cheryl from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Joanna Sullivan from “The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd
Marko from “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
Jordan from “Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
Travis, Monsoon from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Grandma Una from “Our Song, Our Voice” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Sophia & Sierra from “Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
Erik (Phantom of the Opera) from “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears
Master Rabbit from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
Nurse Florence from “Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” by Michael Dow
Axel Albrecht from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Lisa Cooper from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Moment” (WARNING: May contain spoilers)
Winners:
* In “Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” by Story Monsters LLC, Christina Soontornvat said:
“The awards from adult judges mean so much—especially the ones from librarians like the Newbery Honor and the Sibert Honor. But there is no better accolade than having kids tell you things like, ‘Your book was the first one I read all by myself’ or ‘I stayed up all night reading your book and I don’t even like to read.’ Truly, those are the most rewarding moments for me.”
* After a mass casualty-event in the story “We’re All Gonna Die” from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst, the narrator vividly describes seeing a blonde-haired girl who falls dead in front of him, her eyes still tragically and hauntingly locked on him. An inchworm then crawls on him, which causes him to lament how some (like himself and the inchworm) are allowed to live while others (like the girl) are allowed to die.
Honorable Mentions:
* The opening sequence of “Blood of the Raej” by Hayley Rae Johnson, which chronicles the fall of King Mason & Queen Mellany’s regime (and the rule of the Raej).
* In “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins, Him/He takes Her/She on a motorcycle ride, driving past Yankee Stadium, knowing that Her/She is from three generations of Yankee fans.
* Louis singing “Greensleeves” in honor and remembrance of Anne in “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill; Also: Anne losing feeling in her legs and feet due to the extreme cold and lack of adequate provisions, creating a desperate scenario that prompts Louis to have to carry her.
* Ryan realizing that Rachel really enjoys ballet and deciding to get her ballet tickets in “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert.
* The times when the Otters of Team Kronos (the antagonists) bond with heroic members of the Ring Fold, for example: 1. Steffi tells Logan, her enemy, that his headaches from time travel will hurt less with time “I promise” after empathizing with him, remembering how her headaches felt in the first book, 2. Tess hears and starts dancing to the “Macarena” because it’s a song familiar to her time period, and it’s also familiar to members of the Ring Fold, 3. In the jazz-club sequence, Rocco jumps on piano (riffing from “Maple Leaf Rag” into “Shake, Rattle and Roll”), and Logan (with Team Kronos) asks Steffi (with the Ring Fold) to dance. They actually dance together. Paul and Carissa pair up beside them. It’s the clearest cross-faction moment of shared joy via music.
* Liban & his dad braving the storm in a makeshift raft to escape an active warzone and having to send the girls ahead of them in “Stormy Sailing” by Tuula Pere, PhD
* Chance encounter with Rory Calhoun in “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Funny, Strange, and Bizarre” (WARNING: May contain spoilers)
*This section:
1. Enables judges to vent about strange, annoying, or funny things in each book (because nothing is perfect), 2. Proves that each book was read, for better or for worse (which is more than we can say for some other book contests), 3. Allows all participants to have fun and laugh together (like at a roast banquet)
Winners:
* The line “I’m sorry you’re dying and stuff” from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache; Also, a boy wearing a Call of Duty hoodie asks a main character, “Does it get any better?” The character thinks the boy means life, providing a response appropriate to that assumption, but the boy is actually talking about the video game.
* In “Why?” by Elena Kayne, Ella asks her mom if she’s a million years old and says that her grandma must spend a long time in the bathtub because her skin is all wrinkly.
Honorable Mentions:
* The quote “I’m sorry if I hurt you little baby plant. You’re a nice plant. I hope you and your mommy find a good home” from “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears.
* Apparently, the pigs in “Gigglet Goes to School” by Amber Berkowitz always wear clothes except when they’re sleeping.
* Tony (from “Chameleon Chronicles: Book One- The Missing Lieutenant” by Barbara Kruk) is a jerk because his dad was a jerk, which we're repeatedly reminded of; He supposedly performed heart surgery and other complicated medical procedures successfully without training
* Gunter (from “Knightfall” C.L. Embry) is a jerk because his dad was a jerk;
Also, the narrative keeps losing focus. We have a feeling the author may have changed their mind multiple times about what they actually wanted to write about; Everything involving Baron Vogle’s two “ugly” daughters, Amelia and Annaliese, is hilarious!
*In “Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko, the book shows us characters playing and swimming with the monkeys at Snow Monkey Park only to tell us this isn’t allowed and wouldn't really happen in real life.
* In the story “Night Journey to Sanity’s End” from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst, the melodramatic narrator keeps saying that his predicament is so bad that no one in the annals of time and the existence of humanity can understand or comprehend how bad it is.
* In “Trust on Trial” by G.S. Gerry, the narrative keeps telling us that the next thing that’s going to happen is super big and very important.
* In “There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson, there just seems to be too much going on and too many characters.
* In “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi, Neil believes that Lisa Cooper, his accursed vampiric girlfriend, is actually a witch who is being hunted by an evil coven and who can make their dog disappear. What makes this extra funny is that Neil is completely convinced that he’s correct, and Lisa plays into it to keep him off the real trail; Also, when hungry for blood, she starts fantasizing about eating Neil while he’s talking to her, but then feels bad about even thinking about it.
* In “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins, the two main characters are never named, which honestly, became a bit frustrating, so we just resorted to calling them Her/She and Him/He; Her/She and Him/He start talking to each other like they’re opposing sides in court, and it seems really unnatural and awkward, although it may also indicate playfulness, camaraderie, and mutual understanding between the two; It always seems like the narrative is trying to paint the picture that Her/She was always wrong and that Him/He was always right, which made us feel like Him/He was a self-insert character trying to confirm personal biases; Also, the description in the back of this book is one of the most vague, nondescript things we’ve ever seen.
* In “Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” by Kim LeBlanc, the name “Rico” is spelled as “Ricco” in the illustrations; The baseball characters often look like they’re in pain or agony upon impacting things, which somewhat troubled us. Then again, it’s comedic, comical, exaggerated, and expressive, not much different from something like Looney Tunes or Tom & Jerry.
* In “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen, Millicent tells her mom that she wants her to stop babying her. Her mom then responds, “Have a very plain day. I have neutral feelings for you.”; Also, the line: "I tiptoe back into my room and climb into bed with my clothes on. Then I get up again and scoop Pringles up off my rug, which is not easy because she is so fat..."; Also, the grandma (Cheryl) is addicted to Mountain Dew and wears a plastic bag “turban” on her head, all while being incredibly superstitious about saying and doing things that ruin her perms and aging herself.
* “The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd just seems to us to be one of those books that gets side-tracked, distracted, and preoccupied with unrelenting sex scenes, many of which don’t seem to advance the plot or develop the characters, at least since the last... session. It also begs the question: Don’t these characters have things to do and have problems to solve? Like stopping or solving all of these deaths? Preventing the werewolf rebellion? If any of that actually mattered, the main protagonists–who supposedly have the power to fix things—wouldn’t be stopping like ten times a day to rail each other, right? They would be trying to fix these problems; It would also help if Marcus Blackwood were actually a good guy we could get behind, but he comes across as forceful, aggressive, pushy, angry, violent, possessive, and controlling–the kind of guy that restraining orders were made for! Like, we were practically rooting for Ethan King to end up with Joanna and take over the pack because Marcus seemed like such a terrible, unlikable guy who should be 100 feet from Joanna at all times.
* Regarding “Feral Fables” by Lucy Jones, PhD: Why are these stories so cryptic and confusing? Like, we get that fables are supposed to be a little mysterious and have hidden meanings, but wouldn’t you want people going through mental health crises to not be even more lost and bewildered? Thankfully, there are sections of this book that explain and help guide you toward answers, but the stories themselves were like a labyrinthine Gordian knot of “WTH is happening?”
* Regarding “Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler: it bugged us that the main character is only in kindergarten and that the premise is that she and her classmates may not get to “walk the stage” (graduate) because they could fail kindergarten. According to Nicholas Seidler about 4 to 6.2% of students are held back in the first two years of school. Still, the threat/assertion the teacher in the book makes just doesn’t seem appropriate or make much sense for the age level. Something else that doesn’t seem to make sense for the age level is that the main character (again, a kindergartener) competes in a science fair, and not only competes in it but decides to do her science fair project on cartography (science of map making). All of this would make infinitely more sense if she were in middle school or high school.
* Regarding “Her Wild Body” by Noa Raveh: This book had a lot of potential to tell some really powerful and great stories about Eleanor’s Jewish heritage, abortion issues, and other deep, profound things like about life, womanhood, and motherhood (or lack thereof). Yes, there are glimpses of those things here and there (like with the mother hedgehog or passages like "the Holocaust in my womb"), but all of that constantly gets overshadowed and seemingly brushed aside as the book goes back to the non-stop, relentless erotic sex scenes that absolutely dominate the bulk of the book. That would be fine if the sex was facilitating movement or advancement in the narrative, but even in the last few pages of the book, the characters were still going at it as if the book had a hundred more pages of story left to tell. Like, hello, ladies, wrap it up! We’ve got literally zero pages left to develop anything or come to a resolution of some sort. These characters had almost 300 pages to go at each other, the last three pages might be a good time to wind it down, don’t you think?
* “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill was such a wonderful book for like 400 pages, but then it kept going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and going–and then when we thought our favorite characters were finally going to become the focus again, the book then started featuring the three bullies and other characters we didn’t like or care about as much.
* In “John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus, Gabriel’s tinted aviator glasses gave us the creeps, especially when his eyes are peering out of them, because they reminded us of Judge Doom’s glasses from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
* Regarding “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood: Even after Thanatos is irredeemable and far past the point of anyone in the audience actually sympathizing with or caring about him, Rekule is still lamenting that Thanatos is his best friend and how close they were and how he wishes he could save him–like, just kill him already, Rekule! No one wants to see this piece of trash alive anymore! No one even liked him to begin with or bought into your friendship with him. Him being evil and a traitor is the perfect excuse to finally get rid of this titanic waste of treacherous space!
* Regarding “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert: It was challenging for us to relate with Ryan’s motivation to be accepted into his preferred high school. We found this to be a “first-world problem.” But we also realized that Ryan is gifted, talented, and quite clearly on the autism spectrum, so his fixation with things that don’t seem to matter to most other people is understandable (given that context).
* Regarding “Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft: We started calling this book “the phone book” because so much of this book consists of naming and introducing characters, some of whom don’t even seem to do much and aren’t necessary for the plot. We don’t think we’ve ever read a book with so many characters!
Here are some of them:
Nico Bribane, Zachary Hawkins, Baron Vanat, Count Dura, High Commander Lesin, Chairman Lym Inma of Uwao, Chairman Inmak, Grand Duke Ashton, Duchess Larinna, Overlord Ni Ma’vang Okk, Edwin Rosa, Lady Sonja Kobus, Baron Kobus, Dr. Clarisa Halon, Oliver Fell, Emperor Percival Pelodred I, Empress Alrisa, Emperor Florian (dead), Empress Gabrianna (dead), Roland Banniston, Master Merlin, Ren Lexor, Den Baros, Leopold Galin, Prince Willard, Prince Jerod, Eight-Zero, Ten-Zero, Perovar, Pate, Cane, Kaba, Rash, Gord, Vado, Kole (Agent Ten Three), Dane (Agent Ten-Two), Kolin, Vena, Lani, Jeb Dahin/Zeph Pebon, Dahin, Drengal, Warder Clark, Grand Duke Mortimer, Cal’a’Vol, Sergeant Saril, Polli, Nina, Commander Ryla Mosin, General Hans Mosin, Commander Magnus Floyde, Helena Floyde, Duchess Rasondel, Commander Galen Jaesys, Keli Druest (an "award-winning motion picture actress"), Rala Rosal, Lawton Rasondel, Aneya Rasondel, Captain Leo Huron, Archduke Brondral, Commander Teufeix, Commander Teufeix's Spouse, and Commander Hosk.; Also, this book… just doesn’t seem focused at all. It seemed to go in as many different directions as there are characters. We were considering if this was intended as a short-story collection, but it clearly says “A Weapons of Legend Tale” on the cover (implying it’s one tale).
* “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane had one of the flattest first hundred pages we’ve ever read, but it (thankfully) eventually became interesting and exciting the deeper we got into the investigation and the mystery.
* In “Our Song, Our Voice” by Tuula Pere, PhD, what are Sisu’s parents doing when their mother/mother-in-law is dying from illness and their kid is out wandering to the Blue Mountains on his own?
* Regarding “The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” by Wanda Roush: We’re not sure how we feel about a bug and the Easter Bunny finding salvation. Like, on one hand, it’s cute and comforting. On the other hand, it goes against the advice that the mother of Phil Vischer (creator of “Veggie Tales”) told him: “Try not to imply that vegetables can have redemptive relationships with God.” But who are we to judge and decide that? It just made us feel… funny.
* Lance Bass (in “Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” by Story Monsters LLC) said that his kids loved his NYSNC song “Bye, Bye, Bye” so much that he had to play and listen to it over and over and over again in the car.
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Illustrated”
Winners:
“Our Song, Our Voice” by Tuula Pere, PhD, Illustrated by Muntasir Dipto
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” by Bridget Farry, Illustrated by Dave Globerson
Honorable Mentions:
“Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch, Illustrated by Mousam Banerjee
“Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko, Illustrated by Jose Gascon
“Why?” by Elena Kayne, Illustrated by Tetiana Matiikiv
“Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” by Kim Leblanc, Illustrated by Afton Jane
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler, Illustrated by Alisa Tverdokhleb
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” by Suchi Sairam, Illustrated by Vidya Vasudevan
“John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus, Illustrated by Branillius
“The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” by Wanda Roush, Illustrated by Alicia Renee
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Narrated”
Winner:
“Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Quote” / “Best Passage”
Winner:
From “When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” by D.A. Mintaka:
"Every story starts with a question... and the courage to dream up an answer."
Honorable Mentions:
From “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears:
“I felt like a fish that worried so much about the shadow of a cloud being a bird that it missed the silhouette of a fish coming up to eat it from below."
From “The Blessing Book” by Francis Shaw:
“...remind yourself… imagination is a messy business.”
From “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika:
“One claimed that psychos aren’t born, they’re made—y’know, products of their environment; family, school, work, society—whatever. They’re not even all killers. Lots of them just become CEOs and athletes or religious leaders, yada-yada.”
From “The Last First Date” Jay Hall:
“Seemingly random events happen all the time. We don’t give them much attention because alone, they are unimpressive or dismissible. But when you look back at an extraordinary event in anyone’s life, chances are you will discover a series of these random events which had to occur for the fantastical to be realized.” / “Can’t relate to lazy people.”
From “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins:
“It's that stomachache, those muscle cramps, those involuntary contractions, the emptiness I feel every day in that enormous, crowded mausoleum. I just never understood what it was telling me.”
* From “The Philly Phenoms” by Nate Oxman:
“Take your best shot.”
* From “Stormy Sailing” Tuula Pere, PhD:
“...sailing is like life. We can’t always go as straight as we’d like to.”
From “Story Monster Ink: February 2025” by Story Monsters LLC:
"I do love writing. I actually prefer to write things out. I feel that when we speak, the breeze catches our words, and they end up all over the place, but when we write, the words stay right where I put them. I like that." / “It is my dream to die with no ideas. I would like for my tombstone, or whatever they put me in, to say: Here lies a man with no more ideas... oh yeah, one more thing...”
- Martellus Bennett, Super Bowl Champion, NFL TE
From “Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” by Story Monsters LLC:
“Seeing how much my own kids genuinely love the book is my biggest reward. Toddlers don’t fake their feelings. If they didn’t like the book, it would never leave the shelf.”
- Lance Bass, NSYNC
“I think all of us spend our lives, in one way or another, settling scores with our childhood—positively or negatively. Surrendering, blending in, melding in with it, our childhood never leaves us. I was born in January 1929. I lived through the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, McCarthyism, and I saw the country change.”
- Jules Feiffer, Pulitzer Prize (1986) & Academy Award (1961) Winner
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Cover”
Winners:
“Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
"Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule" by Paul Wood
"Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny" by Wanda Roush
“The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd
Honorable Mentions:
“Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
"Worldwide Crush" by Kristin Nilsen
"Trust on Trial" by G.S. Gerry
"A Break in the Silence" by Donald T. Hardison II
"The Last First Date" by Jay Hall
"There Are No Stars Here" by J.S. Thompson
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Writing (Fiction)”
Winners:
“A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
“Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
Honorable Mention:
“False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins
“Feral Fables” by Lucy Jones, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Writing (Non-Fiction)”
Winner:
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
Honorable Mentions:
“Pulse: Young Authors Project” School Express Press, Sheila Rowe et al.
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” by Jack Wolf
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Research”
Winners:
“Tesla’s Cottage” by Barbara Daddino
“Vademecum of English” by Ana Maria Lopez Jimeno, Lexiway Editions
Honorable Mentions:
“Animal Revenge” by David Bush
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” by Jack Wolf
“Confidence Constellations” Lois van Waardenberg
"It's Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney" by David W. Craig, Abigail Hayes
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best World-Building”
Winner:
“There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson
Honorable Mentions:
“Feral Fables” by Lucy Jones, PhD
“John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus
“Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
"Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule" by Paul Wood
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Character”
Winners:
Flavia from “Animal Revenge” by David Bush
Sam from “The Philly Phenoms” by Nate Oxman; Honorable Mention: Lee
Honorable Mentions:
Deidre Gale, Erik from “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears
Gigglet, Mama Pig from “Gigglet Goes to School” by Amber Berkowitz
Angela from “Half a Century Ago” by Angela Arias
Ruby from “Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch
Jonathan Meyers, Tony/Anthony C. Perrilli/Michael Pearson, Abigail Baxter from “Chameleon Chronicles: Book One-The Missing Lieutenant” by Barbara Kruk
Cooper from “Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” by Bridget Farry
Axel Albrecht from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Tiburcio “Tibu” Vasquez, Jack Morrison from “Diablo Canyon” by C. Flemish
David, Jason, Jared, Atlas, Norman from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache
Cassius from “Animal Revenge” David Bush
Jacie Sparks, Tessa Hart, Evelyn McAllister, Rachel, Lisa, Eddy, Elliot Michaels, Joe, Nathan, Jonah, Max, Lily, Liam from “When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” by D.A. Mintaka
Sophie, Stephi, Globik from “Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko
Ella from “Why?” by Elena Kayne
Shelby, Johnny McDuff, Nathan Levy from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst
Gwen, Mr. Woodworth/Aurius, Prince Ryland, Princess Avonlee from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Earnest Trust from “Trust on Trial” by G.S. Gerry
Terry Volkner, Eddie from “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
Terhese from “Blood of the Raej” by Hayley Rae Johnson
Solanis “Solar” Tailor, Manuel, Walter from “There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson
Lisa Cooper from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Liam, Michelle, Scott, Shelby/Danielle from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Saul, Ted, Ruth, Joe, Rico, Lynn, David from “Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” by Kim LeBlanc
Millicent Jackson, Rory Calhoun from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Joanna Sullivan from “The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd
Lizard, la Torera, el Toro, the Lady Who Found the Armadillo from “Feral Fables” by Lucy Jones, PhD
Lucy, Tara from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Master Rabbit from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
Nurse Florence, Jean, Condi, Sonia from “Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” by Michael Dow
Sophia from “Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
Eleanor from “Her Wild Body” by Noa Raveh
Louis Song, Anne Engliesin from “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill
Rekule from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Ryan Griffith from “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert
Nico Bribane, Zachary Hawkins, Lani, Vera from “Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
Dash, Farah Ram, Marko from “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
The Ring Fold: Jordan, Rocco, Steffi, Jacob, Carissa, Scarlett from “Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
Surya from “Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” Suchi Sairam
Travis from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Marky from “Theme Song of Marky the Magnificent Fairy” by Studio Story Monster, Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Cynthia Kern O'Brien
Liban, Liban’s Dad from “Stormy Sailing” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Little Sisu, Grandma Una from “Our Song, Our Voice” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Samira, Samira’s Father, Samira’s Mother from “The Dream House” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Emma, Oliver from “Museum Robbery” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Little Larva, Little Lad, Easter Bunny from “The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” by Wanda Roush
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Supporting Character”
Winner:
Mom from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen; Also, honorable mention to: Grandma/Cheryl, Billy, Shauna
Honorable Mentions:
Sean, Finn, Orla, Fiona, Christine, Raoul, Madame Giry from “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears
Loli from “Half a Century Ago” by Angela Arias
Katori from “Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch
Ysabelle; Annaliese and Amelia (“because they’re funny”) from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Crystal, Lisa, Sandy, Jose, Esmeralda from “Diablo Canyon” by C. Flemish
Sharron, Farina, Tawna, Jess, Masud, Hanna from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache
Jackat, Maximus, Livia from “Animal Revenge” by David Bush
Eddy’s Dad, Mr. Pennington from “When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” by D.A. Mintaka
Spots, Sparkles, Turtle, Parrot, Yoshi from “Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko
Mom, Grandma from “Why?” by Elena Kayne
Blonde-Haired Girl, Bayley, Simon from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst
Captain Drake from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Harvey Shield, Judge Steel from “Trust on Trial” by G.S. Gerry
Hannah, Audrey Willard, Holly, Steve Albot, Liam, Joycie, Paige Glore, Mel Nestor from “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
King Mason, Queen Mellany, Lenetta, Nathan, Natalie, Chloe from “Blood of the Raej” by Hayley Rae Johnson
Aiesha, Gabby, Greg from “There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson
Callie, Wally, Spencer, Sloan from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Neil, Andrea, Alice, Sophie, Coyotita, Amy Wagner from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Brad, Sam, Martha from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Freya, Luna, Bridget, Diane, Maeve, Cephalop, Set, Snowflake, Seamus from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Mother Rabbit, Lox, Martin from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
David, Grandpa from “Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
Esther Lionheart, Mowgli, Tom, Noga, Shira, Tammy Gil from “Her Wild Body” by Noa Raveh
Kei, Brittany, Hayden, Deidre, Gannet, George Muir, Keith Guillemot, Nym, Larimore from “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill
Chalene, Mnemosyne, Zekku, Lapetus from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Carl, Helen, Rachel from “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert
The Otters of Kronos: Tessandra/Tess, Parker, Raya, Logan, Jezebel/Jez, Eliza from “Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
Deepa, Teacher, Nicholas from “Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” by Suchi Sairam
Leslie, Crystal Kelly, Ashley from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Risu from “The Dream House” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Villain”
Winners:
Rustin from “The Philly Phenoms” by Nate Oxman
Aram from “The Dream House” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Honorable Mentions
Mother Superior from “Half a Century Ago” by Angela Arias
Mrs. McPoodle from “Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch
Thomas Edison from “Tesla’s Cottage” by Barbara Daddino
Tony/Anthony C. Perrilli from “Chameleon Chronicles: Book One- The Missing Lieutenant” by Barbara Kruk
Gunter, Basel, King Otto von Koenig from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Terraqual, Father McVan, The Sheriff, Wilms, Be’elzebub, Asmod from “Diablo Canyon” by C. Flemish
Mental Illness, Self-Hate, and Su**idal Ideation from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache
The Emperor from “Animal Revenge” by David Bush
The King from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Curtis Reed from “Trust on Trial” by G.S. Gerry
Kazimir “Kaz” Panas, Emilie Lepus, Joshua, Talon Warth from “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
Worthington, The Haze from “There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson
Hayden, Jack, Randall (Arguably) from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Fire Demon from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Her/She’s Husband from “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins
Vhumut the Fire Demon from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Wild Cat from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
Uranus, Chaos, Thanatos from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Frank from “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert
CISP, Eight-Zero, DoroEngines, Mr. Doran from “Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
Edward Moss, Mr. Leno, Owen Cornell from “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
Darren Kraus, Tempus from “Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
Luc, Monsoon, Crimson Queen from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
War, Crisis from “Stormy Sailing” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Mr. Oddyman from “Museum Robbery” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Hottest Character” / “Most Beautiful Character” / “Most Handsome Character”
Winner:
Joanna Sullivan from “The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd
Honorable Mentions:
Jess from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache
The Mom from “Why?” by Elena Kayne
Prince Ryland from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Beck, Sienna from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Her/She from “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins
Scott from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Farah Ram from “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
Crimson Queen, Crystal Kelly from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Ysabelle from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Cutest Character”
Winners:
Gigglet from “Gigglet Goes to School” by Amber Berkowitz
Cooper from “Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” by Bridget Farry
Ella from “Why?” by Elena Kayne
Honorable Mentions:
Turtle, Yoshi’s Shiba Dog from “Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko
Luna from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Chewie from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Bear from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Pringles from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Alligator, Giraffe, Bear, Kangaroo, Tiger from “John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus
Chalene from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Little Larva from “The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” by Wanda Roush
Shelby, Jo from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst
Master Rabbit from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Dynamic Duo”
Winner:
Lucy & Tara from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Honorable Mentions:
Gigglet & Mama Pig from “Gigglet Goes to School” by Amber Berkowitz
Millicent & Mom from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
John & Gabriel from “John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus
Travis & Crystal, Monsoon & Crimson Queen from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Liban & Dad from “Stormy Sailing” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Emma & Oliver from “Museum Robbery” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Vena & Lani from “Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft
Terry Volkner & Eddie from “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Couple”
Winners:
Louis & Anne from “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill
Honorable Mentions:
Cassius & Flavia, Cassius & Livia from “Animal Revenge” by David Bush
Gwen & Aurius from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Beck & Sienna from “The Last First Date” by Jay Hall
Her/She & Him/He from “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins
Liam & Michelle, Scott & Shelby, Shelby & Liam from “A Thousand More” by K.S. Lynn
Millicent & Rory Calhoun from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Eleanor & Esther Lionheart from “Her Wild Body” by Noa Raveh
Rekule & Chalene from “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood
Ryan & Rachel from “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Coolest Character”
Winners:
Tiburcio “Tibu” Vasquez from “Diablo Canyon” by C. Flemish; Honorable Mentions: Crystal, Jack Morrison
Lucy from “The Pentacle” by Marieke Lexmond
Honorable Mentions:
Mr. Woolworth/Aurius from “A Crown of Gilded Thread” by Evangaline Pierce
Rory Calhoun, Mom, Grandma Cheryl from “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Joanna Sullivan from “The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd
Marko from “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane
Jordan from “Ring Fold Chronicles: Book 2: Blood of Time” by Scott Swisher
Travis, Monsoon from “Cataclysm” by T.V. Holiday
Grandma Una from “Our Song, Our Voice” by Tuula Pere, PhD
Sophia & Sierra from “Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler
Erik (Phantom of the Opera) from “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears
Master Rabbit from “Passamaquoddy Legends Puzzle Book Vol. 3: Amazing Master Rabbit” by Michael Cook
Nurse Florence from “Nurse Florence, What Are Some Healthy Habits?” by Michael Dow
Axel Albrecht from “Knightfall” by C.L. Embry
Lisa Cooper from “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Moment” (WARNING: May contain spoilers)
Winners:
* In “Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” by Story Monsters LLC, Christina Soontornvat said:
“The awards from adult judges mean so much—especially the ones from librarians like the Newbery Honor and the Sibert Honor. But there is no better accolade than having kids tell you things like, ‘Your book was the first one I read all by myself’ or ‘I stayed up all night reading your book and I don’t even like to read.’ Truly, those are the most rewarding moments for me.”
* After a mass casualty-event in the story “We’re All Gonna Die” from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst, the narrator vividly describes seeing a blonde-haired girl who falls dead in front of him, her eyes still tragically and hauntingly locked on him. An inchworm then crawls on him, which causes him to lament how some (like himself and the inchworm) are allowed to live while others (like the girl) are allowed to die.
Honorable Mentions:
* The opening sequence of “Blood of the Raej” by Hayley Rae Johnson, which chronicles the fall of King Mason & Queen Mellany’s regime (and the rule of the Raej).
* In “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins, Him/He takes Her/She on a motorcycle ride, driving past Yankee Stadium, knowing that Her/She is from three generations of Yankee fans.
* Louis singing “Greensleeves” in honor and remembrance of Anne in “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill; Also: Anne losing feeling in her legs and feet due to the extreme cold and lack of adequate provisions, creating a desperate scenario that prompts Louis to have to carry her.
* Ryan realizing that Rachel really enjoys ballet and deciding to get her ballet tickets in “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert.
* The times when the Otters of Team Kronos (the antagonists) bond with heroic members of the Ring Fold, for example: 1. Steffi tells Logan, her enemy, that his headaches from time travel will hurt less with time “I promise” after empathizing with him, remembering how her headaches felt in the first book, 2. Tess hears and starts dancing to the “Macarena” because it’s a song familiar to her time period, and it’s also familiar to members of the Ring Fold, 3. In the jazz-club sequence, Rocco jumps on piano (riffing from “Maple Leaf Rag” into “Shake, Rattle and Roll”), and Logan (with Team Kronos) asks Steffi (with the Ring Fold) to dance. They actually dance together. Paul and Carissa pair up beside them. It’s the clearest cross-faction moment of shared joy via music.
* Liban & his dad braving the storm in a makeshift raft to escape an active warzone and having to send the girls ahead of them in “Stormy Sailing” by Tuula Pere, PhD
* Chance encounter with Rory Calhoun in “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Funny, Strange, and Bizarre” (WARNING: May contain spoilers)
*This section:
1. Enables judges to vent about strange, annoying, or funny things in each book (because nothing is perfect), 2. Proves that each book was read, for better or for worse (which is more than we can say for some other book contests), 3. Allows all participants to have fun and laugh together (like at a roast banquet)
Winners:
* The line “I’m sorry you’re dying and stuff” from “The Art of Dying” by Christopher Eustache; Also, a boy wearing a Call of Duty hoodie asks a main character, “Does it get any better?” The character thinks the boy means life, providing a response appropriate to that assumption, but the boy is actually talking about the video game.
* In “Why?” by Elena Kayne, Ella asks her mom if she’s a million years old and says that her grandma must spend a long time in the bathtub because her skin is all wrinkly.
Honorable Mentions:
* The quote “I’m sorry if I hurt you little baby plant. You’re a nice plant. I hope you and your mommy find a good home” from “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears.
* Apparently, the pigs in “Gigglet Goes to School” by Amber Berkowitz always wear clothes except when they’re sleeping.
* Tony (from “Chameleon Chronicles: Book One- The Missing Lieutenant” by Barbara Kruk) is a jerk because his dad was a jerk, which we're repeatedly reminded of; He supposedly performed heart surgery and other complicated medical procedures successfully without training
* Gunter (from “Knightfall” C.L. Embry) is a jerk because his dad was a jerk;
Also, the narrative keeps losing focus. We have a feeling the author may have changed their mind multiple times about what they actually wanted to write about; Everything involving Baron Vogle’s two “ugly” daughters, Amelia and Annaliese, is hilarious!
*In “Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko, the book shows us characters playing and swimming with the monkeys at Snow Monkey Park only to tell us this isn’t allowed and wouldn't really happen in real life.
* In the story “Night Journey to Sanity’s End” from “Adventures Are Everywhere” by Elizabeth Horst, the melodramatic narrator keeps saying that his predicament is so bad that no one in the annals of time and the existence of humanity can understand or comprehend how bad it is.
* In “Trust on Trial” by G.S. Gerry, the narrative keeps telling us that the next thing that’s going to happen is super big and very important.
* In “There Are No Stars Here” by J.S. Thompson, there just seems to be too much going on and too many characters.
* In “The Unlife of Lisa Cooper” by J.M. Celi, Neil believes that Lisa Cooper, his accursed vampiric girlfriend, is actually a witch who is being hunted by an evil coven and who can make their dog disappear. What makes this extra funny is that Neil is completely convinced that he’s correct, and Lisa plays into it to keep him off the real trail; Also, when hungry for blood, she starts fantasizing about eating Neil while he’s talking to her, but then feels bad about even thinking about it.
* In “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins, the two main characters are never named, which honestly, became a bit frustrating, so we just resorted to calling them Her/She and Him/He; Her/She and Him/He start talking to each other like they’re opposing sides in court, and it seems really unnatural and awkward, although it may also indicate playfulness, camaraderie, and mutual understanding between the two; It always seems like the narrative is trying to paint the picture that Her/She was always wrong and that Him/He was always right, which made us feel like Him/He was a self-insert character trying to confirm personal biases; Also, the description in the back of this book is one of the most vague, nondescript things we’ve ever seen.
* In “Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” by Kim LeBlanc, the name “Rico” is spelled as “Ricco” in the illustrations; The baseball characters often look like they’re in pain or agony upon impacting things, which somewhat troubled us. Then again, it’s comedic, comical, exaggerated, and expressive, not much different from something like Looney Tunes or Tom & Jerry.
* In “Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen, Millicent tells her mom that she wants her to stop babying her. Her mom then responds, “Have a very plain day. I have neutral feelings for you.”; Also, the line: "I tiptoe back into my room and climb into bed with my clothes on. Then I get up again and scoop Pringles up off my rug, which is not easy because she is so fat..."; Also, the grandma (Cheryl) is addicted to Mountain Dew and wears a plastic bag “turban” on her head, all while being incredibly superstitious about saying and doing things that ruin her perms and aging herself.
* “The Alpha’s Hunter” by Lily Redd just seems to us to be one of those books that gets side-tracked, distracted, and preoccupied with unrelenting sex scenes, many of which don’t seem to advance the plot or develop the characters, at least since the last... session. It also begs the question: Don’t these characters have things to do and have problems to solve? Like stopping or solving all of these deaths? Preventing the werewolf rebellion? If any of that actually mattered, the main protagonists–who supposedly have the power to fix things—wouldn’t be stopping like ten times a day to rail each other, right? They would be trying to fix these problems; It would also help if Marcus Blackwood were actually a good guy we could get behind, but he comes across as forceful, aggressive, pushy, angry, violent, possessive, and controlling–the kind of guy that restraining orders were made for! Like, we were practically rooting for Ethan King to end up with Joanna and take over the pack because Marcus seemed like such a terrible, unlikable guy who should be 100 feet from Joanna at all times.
* Regarding “Feral Fables” by Lucy Jones, PhD: Why are these stories so cryptic and confusing? Like, we get that fables are supposed to be a little mysterious and have hidden meanings, but wouldn’t you want people going through mental health crises to not be even more lost and bewildered? Thankfully, there are sections of this book that explain and help guide you toward answers, but the stories themselves were like a labyrinthine Gordian knot of “WTH is happening?”
* Regarding “Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler: it bugged us that the main character is only in kindergarten and that the premise is that she and her classmates may not get to “walk the stage” (graduate) because they could fail kindergarten. According to Nicholas Seidler about 4 to 6.2% of students are held back in the first two years of school. Still, the threat/assertion the teacher in the book makes just doesn’t seem appropriate or make much sense for the age level. Something else that doesn’t seem to make sense for the age level is that the main character (again, a kindergartener) competes in a science fair, and not only competes in it but decides to do her science fair project on cartography (science of map making). All of this would make infinitely more sense if she were in middle school or high school.
* Regarding “Her Wild Body” by Noa Raveh: This book had a lot of potential to tell some really powerful and great stories about Eleanor’s Jewish heritage, abortion issues, and other deep, profound things like about life, womanhood, and motherhood (or lack thereof). Yes, there are glimpses of those things here and there (like with the mother hedgehog or passages like "the Holocaust in my womb"), but all of that constantly gets overshadowed and seemingly brushed aside as the book goes back to the non-stop, relentless erotic sex scenes that absolutely dominate the bulk of the book. That would be fine if the sex was facilitating movement or advancement in the narrative, but even in the last few pages of the book, the characters were still going at it as if the book had a hundred more pages of story left to tell. Like, hello, ladies, wrap it up! We’ve got literally zero pages left to develop anything or come to a resolution of some sort. These characters had almost 300 pages to go at each other, the last three pages might be a good time to wind it down, don’t you think?
* “The Son of Poetry” by P.M. Gill was such a wonderful book for like 400 pages, but then it kept going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and going–and then when we thought our favorite characters were finally going to become the focus again, the book then started featuring the three bullies and other characters we didn’t like or care about as much.
* In “John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus, Gabriel’s tinted aviator glasses gave us the creeps, especially when his eyes are peering out of them, because they reminded us of Judge Doom’s glasses from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
* Regarding “Labruula Awakens: The Chronicles of Rekule” by Paul Wood: Even after Thanatos is irredeemable and far past the point of anyone in the audience actually sympathizing with or caring about him, Rekule is still lamenting that Thanatos is his best friend and how close they were and how he wishes he could save him–like, just kill him already, Rekule! No one wants to see this piece of trash alive anymore! No one even liked him to begin with or bought into your friendship with him. Him being evil and a traitor is the perfect excuse to finally get rid of this titanic waste of treacherous space!
* Regarding “Mysteries at School” by Robert Gilbert: It was challenging for us to relate with Ryan’s motivation to be accepted into his preferred high school. We found this to be a “first-world problem.” But we also realized that Ryan is gifted, talented, and quite clearly on the autism spectrum, so his fixation with things that don’t seem to matter to most other people is understandable (given that context).
* Regarding “Shadows of Carath” by S. Donovan Croft: We started calling this book “the phone book” because so much of this book consists of naming and introducing characters, some of whom don’t even seem to do much and aren’t necessary for the plot. We don’t think we’ve ever read a book with so many characters!
Here are some of them:
Nico Bribane, Zachary Hawkins, Baron Vanat, Count Dura, High Commander Lesin, Chairman Lym Inma of Uwao, Chairman Inmak, Grand Duke Ashton, Duchess Larinna, Overlord Ni Ma’vang Okk, Edwin Rosa, Lady Sonja Kobus, Baron Kobus, Dr. Clarisa Halon, Oliver Fell, Emperor Percival Pelodred I, Empress Alrisa, Emperor Florian (dead), Empress Gabrianna (dead), Roland Banniston, Master Merlin, Ren Lexor, Den Baros, Leopold Galin, Prince Willard, Prince Jerod, Eight-Zero, Ten-Zero, Perovar, Pate, Cane, Kaba, Rash, Gord, Vado, Kole (Agent Ten Three), Dane (Agent Ten-Two), Kolin, Vena, Lani, Jeb Dahin/Zeph Pebon, Dahin, Drengal, Warder Clark, Grand Duke Mortimer, Cal’a’Vol, Sergeant Saril, Polli, Nina, Commander Ryla Mosin, General Hans Mosin, Commander Magnus Floyde, Helena Floyde, Duchess Rasondel, Commander Galen Jaesys, Keli Druest (an "award-winning motion picture actress"), Rala Rosal, Lawton Rasondel, Aneya Rasondel, Captain Leo Huron, Archduke Brondral, Commander Teufeix, Commander Teufeix's Spouse, and Commander Hosk.; Also, this book… just doesn’t seem focused at all. It seemed to go in as many different directions as there are characters. We were considering if this was intended as a short-story collection, but it clearly says “A Weapons of Legend Tale” on the cover (implying it’s one tale).
* “Republic of Mars” by Dr. Sam Sammane had one of the flattest first hundred pages we’ve ever read, but it (thankfully) eventually became interesting and exciting the deeper we got into the investigation and the mystery.
* In “Our Song, Our Voice” by Tuula Pere, PhD, what are Sisu’s parents doing when their mother/mother-in-law is dying from illness and their kid is out wandering to the Blue Mountains on his own?
* Regarding “The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” by Wanda Roush: We’re not sure how we feel about a bug and the Easter Bunny finding salvation. Like, on one hand, it’s cute and comforting. On the other hand, it goes against the advice that the mother of Phil Vischer (creator of “Veggie Tales”) told him: “Try not to imply that vegetables can have redemptive relationships with God.” But who are we to judge and decide that? It just made us feel… funny.
* Lance Bass (in “Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” by Story Monsters LLC) said that his kids loved his NYSNC song “Bye, Bye, Bye” so much that he had to play and listen to it over and over and over again in the car.
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Illustrated”
Winners:
“Our Song, Our Voice” by Tuula Pere, PhD, Illustrated by Muntasir Dipto
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” by Bridget Farry, Illustrated by Dave Globerson
Honorable Mentions:
“Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch, Illustrated by Mousam Banerjee
“Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko, Illustrated by Jose Gascon
“Why?” by Elena Kayne, Illustrated by Tetiana Matiikiv
“Saul the Baseball in the Big Game” by Kim Leblanc, Illustrated by Afton Jane
“Not Everyone Walks the Stage” by Sierra Andrews, Nicholas Seidler, Illustrated by Alisa Tverdokhleb
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” by Suchi Sairam, Illustrated by Vidya Vasudevan
“John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus, Illustrated by Branillius
“The Jellybean Gospel and the Born Again Bunny” by Wanda Roush, Illustrated by Alicia Renee
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Narrated”
Winner:
“Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Quote” / “Best Passage”
Winner:
From “When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” by D.A. Mintaka:
"Every story starts with a question... and the courage to dream up an answer."
Honorable Mentions:
From “A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song” by A. Carina Spears:
“I felt like a fish that worried so much about the shadow of a cloud being a bird that it missed the silhouette of a fish coming up to eat it from below."
From “The Blessing Book” by Francis Shaw:
“...remind yourself… imagination is a messy business.”
From “Something in the Blood” by H.H. Mika:
“One claimed that psychos aren’t born, they’re made—y’know, products of their environment; family, school, work, society—whatever. They’re not even all killers. Lots of them just become CEOs and athletes or religious leaders, yada-yada.”
From “The Last First Date” Jay Hall:
“Seemingly random events happen all the time. We don’t give them much attention because alone, they are unimpressive or dismissible. But when you look back at an extraordinary event in anyone’s life, chances are you will discover a series of these random events which had to occur for the fantastical to be realized.” / “Can’t relate to lazy people.”
From “False Neutral” by Joshua S. Narins:
“It's that stomachache, those muscle cramps, those involuntary contractions, the emptiness I feel every day in that enormous, crowded mausoleum. I just never understood what it was telling me.”
* From “The Philly Phenoms” by Nate Oxman:
“Take your best shot.”
* From “Stormy Sailing” Tuula Pere, PhD:
“...sailing is like life. We can’t always go as straight as we’d like to.”
From “Story Monster Ink: February 2025” by Story Monsters LLC:
"I do love writing. I actually prefer to write things out. I feel that when we speak, the breeze catches our words, and they end up all over the place, but when we write, the words stay right where I put them. I like that." / “It is my dream to die with no ideas. I would like for my tombstone, or whatever they put me in, to say: Here lies a man with no more ideas... oh yeah, one more thing...”
- Martellus Bennett, Super Bowl Champion, NFL TE
From “Story Monsters Ink: Issue 10, 2024” by Story Monsters LLC:
“Seeing how much my own kids genuinely love the book is my biggest reward. Toddlers don’t fake their feelings. If they didn’t like the book, it would never leave the shelf.”
- Lance Bass, NSYNC
“I think all of us spend our lives, in one way or another, settling scores with our childhood—positively or negatively. Surrendering, blending in, melding in with it, our childhood never leaves us. I was born in January 1929. I lived through the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, McCarthyism, and I saw the country change.”
- Jules Feiffer, Pulitzer Prize (1986) & Academy Award (1961) Winner
ULTIMATE CHAMPIONS
OCA Ultimate Championship Belt Winners
“Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
“The Philly Phenoms” by Nate Oxman
OCA Ultimate Championship Trophy Winners
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” by D.A. Mintaka
“A Break in the Silence” by Donald T. Hardison II
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” by Jack Wolf
“Confidence Constellations” by Lois van Waardenberg
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” by Bridget Farry, Illustrated by Dave Globerson
Tuula Pere, PhD (for various works)
“Tesla’s Cottage” by Barbara Daddino
“Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko
“Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch
Story Monsters LLC (for various works)
“Half a Century Ago” by Angela Arias
“John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” by Suchi Sairam
Additional Recognition
Honorary Award Winners
*Not officially a part of our 2025 Summer contest; Hand-selected by talent scouts
Kamila Valieva
(For Excellence in Athletics & Performing Arts)
Ron Killings for The White Album/"Moments Made 4 U"/"Count My Sins"
(For Excellence in Music)
Michelle & Nicole Kolev
(For Excellence in Athletics & Performing Arts)
Tenille Dashwood & Mike Rallis for "Where to Next, Honey?"
(For Outstanding Online Shows)
Salt Lake City Circus Center
(For Excellence in Athletics & Performing Arts)
Tony Piluso & Hack the Movies
(For Outstanding Online Shows)
Utah Football Fans Podcast
(For Outstanding Podcasts & Talk Shows)
Twitch Gong Show by Trisha Hershberger
(For Outstanding Online Shows)
Lilly May
(For Outstanding Vocal & Musical Performances)
Classy Librarian
(For Excellence in Fashion & Costume Design)
Krimson Rogue & "The Book Was Better" Series
(For Outstanding Online Shows)
James Rolfe ("Angry Video Game Nerd") & Cinemassacre
(Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Creative Content)
Doug Walker ("Nostalgia Critic") & Channel Awesome
(Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Creative Content)
OCA Ultimate Championship Belt Winners
“Worldwide Crush” by Kristin Nilsen
“The Philly Phenoms” by Nate Oxman
OCA Ultimate Championship Trophy Winners
“When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy” by D.A. Mintaka
“A Break in the Silence” by Donald T. Hardison II
“Critical Thinking for Go Getters” by Jack Wolf
“Confidence Constellations” by Lois van Waardenberg
“Cooper’s Campervan Adventures: Montana” by Bridget Farry, Illustrated by Dave Globerson
Tuula Pere, PhD (for various works)
“Tesla’s Cottage” by Barbara Daddino
“Hello, Japan!” by Ekaterina Otiko
“Poo and Order” by Angeli Fitch
Story Monsters LLC (for various works)
“Half a Century Ago” by Angela Arias
“John Visits San Francisco” by O’Cyrus
“Singing Surya Dreams to Dance” by Suchi Sairam
Additional Recognition
Honorary Award Winners
*Not officially a part of our 2025 Summer contest; Hand-selected by talent scouts
Kamila Valieva
(For Excellence in Athletics & Performing Arts)
Ron Killings for The White Album/"Moments Made 4 U"/"Count My Sins"
(For Excellence in Music)
Michelle & Nicole Kolev
(For Excellence in Athletics & Performing Arts)
Tenille Dashwood & Mike Rallis for "Where to Next, Honey?"
(For Outstanding Online Shows)
Salt Lake City Circus Center
(For Excellence in Athletics & Performing Arts)
Tony Piluso & Hack the Movies
(For Outstanding Online Shows)
Utah Football Fans Podcast
(For Outstanding Podcasts & Talk Shows)
Twitch Gong Show by Trisha Hershberger
(For Outstanding Online Shows)
Lilly May
(For Outstanding Vocal & Musical Performances)
Classy Librarian
(For Excellence in Fashion & Costume Design)
Krimson Rogue & "The Book Was Better" Series
(For Outstanding Online Shows)
James Rolfe ("Angry Video Game Nerd") & Cinemassacre
(Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Creative Content)
Doug Walker ("Nostalgia Critic") & Channel Awesome
(Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Creative Content)
The Young Writers & Contributors of "Pulse: Young Authors Project" by School Express Press:
Alfredo Alegria, Arlette Amaro-Arias, Anaisa Baldenegro-Navarro,
Gage Bluestein, Raina Coleman, Sofia Gonzalez, Thomas Husted Billingsley,
Jasmine Jamison, Marianna Jimenez Godoy, Aria Lacchei, Milanni Macias,
Isabella Mendez-Higareda, Naomi Rodriguez Herrera, Lesley Serrano, Anna Truong,
Meraly Uribe Franco, Amaiyah Valdez, Alexa Webb, and Julia Young.
Alfredo Alegria, Arlette Amaro-Arias, Anaisa Baldenegro-Navarro,
Gage Bluestein, Raina Coleman, Sofia Gonzalez, Thomas Husted Billingsley,
Jasmine Jamison, Marianna Jimenez Godoy, Aria Lacchei, Milanni Macias,
Isabella Mendez-Higareda, Naomi Rodriguez Herrera, Lesley Serrano, Anna Truong,
Meraly Uribe Franco, Amaiyah Valdez, Alexa Webb, and Julia Young.
Congratulations to all of our new returning Outstanding Creator Awards winners!
Don't forget that our next contest (2025 Clash of Champions) is now open
& accepting new entries!
Don't forget that our next contest (2025 Clash of Champions) is now open
& accepting new entries!
