Winners- Spring 2023

Outstanding Creator Awards
Spring 2023 Results

OVERALL WINNERS
(Medalists)

Outstanding Creator Award for
Best Fiction Book of Spring 2023

1st Place

“General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms” David Bush

“Valiance” Vanessa Caraveo

“Saving Sophie” Debbie Schrack

2nd Place

“The Dagger: The Madigan Chronicles #1” Marieke Lexmond

“Sword Above All” Domenic Melillo

“Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse” Aurora Winter

“A Dream of Shadows” Peter Elliott

“The Little Toy Car” Gabe Oliver

“Corruption” Parker Samuels

3rd Place

“Sacred Vengeance” Evangaline Pierce

“Pedaling West” E.A. Coe

“Grave Intervention” Shira Shiloah

“The Dirt Bike Detective” Douglas Hoover

Honorable Mentions:

“The Intrepid” Arnie Benn

“The Pirate's Conquest” Charlene Centracchio

“The Last Shadow” Michael Hardy

“The Time Agents: Search for the Leon Key” Samuel Libraty

“A Machine Divine” Derek Paul

“The Hero Rule” Brandon Hughes

Outstanding Creator Award for
Best Non-Fiction Book of Spring 2023

1st Place

“Start with Collaboration” Lois Sonstegard

“The Stress Book” D. Terrence Foster, MD

2nd Place

“Abraham Lincoln's Path to Reelection in 1864” Fred J. Martin

“SACRED” O'Cyrus

“More Than Just a Pretty Space” Reiko Gomez

“On Sunny Days We Sang” by Jeanette Grunhaus de Gelman

3rd Place

“Badge 149: 'Shots Fired'” Gary Jones

“EINSTEIN: The Man and His Mind” Gary S. Berger, MD

“Perception” Different Leaves, Same Roots

Honorable Mentions:

“Saint Bloodbath” Frederick Douglass Reynolds

Outstanding Creator Award for
Best Children's Book of Spring 2023

1st Place

“Story Monsters Among Us” Conrad J. Storad

“Sadie Sasquatch Goes to School” C. James Sweeney

“Nature Study Buddies” Charlene McIver

“Treasure Isle” Catherine Corcoran

“The Dragon in the Closet” Carolyn Watson-Dubisch

2nd Place

“Kenzie and Bun Bun: First Dance Class” Stephanie Pyles

“Great Big Breath” DW Long

“Mice to Meet You” Sylvia Elba

“Chella Chicken” Travis Shiwji

“Sora Searches for a Song” Once Upon a Dance

“Between the Walls” Tuula Pere

”The Many Questions of Rollie” Cody DeWitt

”Mira and the Lost Baby Whale” Yuqian Wang

3rd Place

“Mother's Bread Dough” Tuula Pere

“Finding Joy” Raven Howell

”The Girl Who Loves Lemons” Debbie Vehnekamp

SPECIAL AWARDS

* These are fun, less formal awards intended to recognize the unique accomplishments of each work. They are still recognized as Outstanding Creator Awards.

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Book Cover”

Winners:

"Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse" Aurora Winter

“Nature Study Buddies” by Charlene McIver

”Diaspora” by J.P. Ozuna

Honorable Mentions:

“Song of the Sea” by Meredith Burton

"The Magical Tarot Deck" by Marieke Lexmond

"Machine Divine" by Derek Paul

"The Dirt Bike Detective" by Douglas Hoover

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Writing (Fiction)”

Winner:

“General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms” David Bush

Honorable Mention:

“The Little Toy Car” Gabe Oliver

“A Dream of Shadows” by Peter Eliott

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Writing (Non-Fiction)”

Winners:

“SACRED” by O'Cyrus

“Start with Collaboration” by Lois Sonstegard

Honorable Mentions:

”On Sunny Days We Sang” by Jeanette Grunhaus de Gelman

”Perception” by Different Leaves, Same Roots

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Research”

Winners:

“On Sunny Days We Sang” by Jeanette Grunhaus de Gelman

“Abraham Lincoln's Path to Reelection in 1864” by Fred J. Martin

“EINSTEIN: The Man and His Mind” by Gary S. Berger, MD

Honorable Mentions:
”Saint Bloodbath” by Frederick Douglass Reynolds

”Badge 149: 'Shots Fired'” by Gary Jones

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best World-Building”

Winners:

“General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms” by David Bush

“A Dream of Shadows” by Peter Elliott

Honorable Mentions:

“Magic, Mystery, and Multiverse” by Aurora Winter

“The Dirt Bike Detective” by Douglas Hoover

“The Magical Tarot Deck” by Marieke Lexmond

“Greedy as a Ghoul” by Casey Sutton

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Character”

Winners:

Gene Oliver Dixon from ”The Little Toy Car” by Gabe Oliver

Chella Chicken from “Chella Chicken” by Travis Shiwji

Honorable Mention:

Vazeer the Lash from ”Dream of Shadows” by Peter Eliott

Barclay Griffith from ”The Hero Rule” by Brandon Hughes

Carrie Brinkley from”Pedaling West” by E.A. Coe

Gabe & Sophie from “Saving Sophie” by Debbie Schrack

Mallory from “The Millionaire's List” by Cortney Donelson

Nana from ”The Dragon in the Closet” by Carolyn Watson-Dubisch

Miaow from ”General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms” by David Bush

Asher Auden from ”Machine Divine” by Derek Paul

Diego from ”Valiance” by Vanessa Caraveo

Chase from ”The Dirt Bike Detective” by Douglas Hoover

Leo from ”Between the Walls” by Tuula Pere

Nurse Florence(R) from ”Nurse Florence(R), How Do We Grow?” by Michael Dow

Catherine Lawrence from ”A Compromising Position” by Diane Merrill-Wigginton

Alle from ”Sacred Vengeance” by Evangaline Pierce

Mother from ”Mother's Bread Dough” by Tuula Pere

Eddy from ”A Special Sweater” by Tuula Pere

Eros from ”Blood Relations” by Glenn Stevens

Kedi & Crystal from ”The Cat Who Fell to Earth” by Nick Korolev

John Proctor from ”Macleish Sq.” by Dennis Must

Griff Hunter from ”Corruption” by Parker Samuels

Kris Hellion & Nadia from ”The Last Shadow” by Michael Hardy

Kate from ”Stumble & Fall” by Amy Rivers

Dr. Amir & Patrick Doyle from”Grave Intervention” by Shira Shiloah

Sadie from ”Sadie Sasquatch Goes to School” by C. James Sweeney

Nolan from ”Watch Out! It's Nolan!” by Dark Joseph Ravine

Courtney from ”The Girl Who Loves Lemons” by Debbie Vehnekamp

Malfus from ”Greedy as a Ghoul” by Casey Sutton

Sora from ”Sora Searches for a Song” by Once Upon a Dance

Captain Timothy Lockwood from ”The Pirate's Conquest” by Charlene Centracchio

Grandpa Tom from ”All Grandpas Fish” by Jon Coley

Talia Grey from ”Cult Girls” by Natalie Grand

Aksel Bolt, Dr. Allison Yarrow, and Dr. Kioni Kihumba from ”The Intrepid” by Arnie Benn

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Supporting Character”

Winners:

Margarita from ”Valiance” by Vanessa Caraveo

Cosmos & Tara from ”Nature Study Buddies” by Charlene McIver

Honorable Mentions:

Dad from ”The Many Questions of Rollie” by Cody DeWitt

Agent Jackson from ”Diaspora” by J.P. Ozuna

Nascinthe from ”A Dream of Shadows” by Peter Eliott

Barcarole from ”Song of the Sea” by Meredith Burton

Ana Rahela Balenovic from ”The Dirt Bike Detective” by Douglas Hoover

Eli from ”Macleish Sq.” by Dennis Must

Alan from “Cult Girls” by Natalile Grand

Roman from “Stumble & Fall” by Amy Rivers

John from “Green Glass” by Tucker Madison

Joy from ”Finding Joy” by Raven Howell

Edy from “Watch Out! It's Nolan!” by Dark Joseph Ravine

Gabriel from “Sacred Vengeance” by Evangaline Pierce

Rebecca from “Valiance” by Vanessa Caraveo

Hank from “Franklin Girl's Story: Roses” by Dave Mayer

Nico from “Machine Divine” by Derek Paul

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Villain”

Winner:

Lucy from “The Dagger” by Marieke Lexmond

Honorable Mentions

Silky, Damien, and Sloan from ”Pedaling West” by E.A. Coe

Crimson Reaper (Whaling Ship) from “Mira and the Lost Baby Whale” by Yuqian Wang

Glissando from “Song of the Sea” by Meredith Burton

Miasma from “Machine Divine” by Derek Paul

Mab from “The Magical Tarot Deck” by Marieke Lexmond

Jacob from “The Little Toy Car” by Gabe Oliver

Linda from “Blood Relations” by Glenn Stevens

Donovan from “Corruption” by Parker Samuels

Moogur from “The Time Agents: Search for the Leon Key” by Samuel Libraty

Alfredo the Ringmaster from “The Last Shadow” by Michael Hardy

Azazel from “Sword Above All” by Domenic Melillo

Geoffrey Lyndon from “The Pirate's Conquest” by Charlene Centracchio

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Hottest Character”

Winners:

Gabriel from ”Sacred Vengeance” by Evangaline Pierce

Shoshanna from “The Time Agents: Search for the Leon Key” by Samuel Libraty

Honorable Mentions:

Ida & John from ”Green Glass” by Tucker Madison

Stefanie Craig & Grant Stevenson from”Sinful Duty” by Philip Burbank Pallette

Dr. Kioni Kihumba from ”The Intrepid” by Arnie Benn

Agent Jackson from ”Diaspora” by J.P. Ozuna

Nascinthe from ”A Dream of Shadows” by Peter Eliott

Crimson Sensor from ”Magic, Mystery, and Multiverse” by Aurora Winter

Jennifer from ”The Pirate's Conquest” by Charlene Centracchio

Eros, Christine, Camellia, Laurie from ”Blood Relations” by Glenn Stevens

Talia Grey, Rosa, and Alan from ”Cult Girls” by Natalie Grand

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Cutest Character”

Winners:

Leigh from ”Nature Study Buddies” by Charlene McIver

Kenzie from ”Kenzie and Bun Bun: First Dance Class” by Stephanie Pyles

Ballerina Konora from ”Sora Searches for a Song ” by Once Upon a Dance

Honorable Mentions:

Quinn from "Great Big Breath" by DW Long

Chella Chicken, Bob, and Dale from “Chella Chicken” by Travis Shiwji

Joy from “Finding Joy” by Raven Howell

Jax from “The Dirt Bike Detective” by Douglas Hoover

Zachary from ”Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse” by Aurora Winter

The Dragon from ”The Dragon in the Closet ” by by Carolyn Watson-Dubisch

Baby Whale from ”Mira and the Lost Baby Whale” by Yuqian Wang

Sadie from ”Sadie Sasquatch Goes to School” by C. James Sweeney

Fritzi, Lola, Mr. Beard, Brom Bones from “The Myth of the Drowsy Hollow” by Jeanne K. Juhos

Mice from "Mice to Meet You" by Sylvia Elba

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Dynamic Duo”

Winner:

Ana & Zachary from ”Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse” by Aurora Winter

Honorable Mentions:

Oliver & Chase from “The Dirt Bike Detective” by Douglas Hoover

Camila & Gaby from “Diaspora” by J.P. Ozuna

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Couple”

Winner:

Gabe & Sophie from “Saving Sophie” by Debbie Schrack

Honorable Mentions:

Diego & Rebecca from “Valiance” by Vanessa Caraveo

Vazeer & Nascinthe from “A Dream of Shadows” by Peter Eliott

Talia & Alan in “Cult Girls” by Natalie Grand

Oliver & Jax from ”The Beast in the Shadows” by Douglas Hoover

Kate & Roman from ”Stumble & Fall” by Amy Rivers

Orin & Lucy from ”The Dragon in the Closet” by Carolyn Watson-Dubisch

Alle & Gabriel from ”Sacred Vengeance” by Evangaline Pierce

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Weapon”

Winner:

Sword of Judgment from “Sword Above All” by Domenic Melillo

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Moment”
(WARNING: May contain spoilers)

Winner:

* Gene confronting and punching Jacob after years of abuse shortly after quitting his job and having his guitar cruelly destroyed in “The Little Toy Car” by Gabe Oliver

Honorable Mentions:

* Two families from different sides of a war coexist in a makeshift shelter in ”Mother's Bread Dough” by Tuula Pere

* Susan's speech from ”Sword Above All” by Domenic Melillo

* The opening scene in ”Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse” by Aurora Winter

* Patrick Doyle (the ghost's) backstory in “Grave Intervention” by Shira Shiloah

* Leigh photographing the owl in “Nature Study Buddies” by Charlene McIver

* Gabe telling his mother and brother, Josh, off in prison when Josh forgets the names of the people he killed in the car crash (from “Saving Sophie” by Debbie Schrack)

* Cali .vs. Leslie in “A Franklin Girl's Story: Roses” by Dave Mayer

* Taking on the Crimson Reaper and saving the baby whale’s mom in “Mira and the Lost Baby Whale” by Yuqian Wang

* Chella Chicken takes flight after years of trying, being doubted by her siamese cow neighbor, and attending college to learn engineering in “Chella Chicken” by Travis Shiwji

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Funny & Bizarre Moment(s)”

(WARNING: May contain spoilers)

Winner:

* Sadie Sasquatch passing gas in class on her first day of school in “Sadie Sasquatch Goes to School” by C. James Sweeney

Honorable Mentions:

* The lines “I’m glad the shark didn’t eat you” and “a pesky shrimp swimming in the wrong direction” (i.e. choking on a shrimp) from “A Compromising Position” by Diane Merrill-Wigginton

* These lines from “Blood Relations” by Glenn Stevens:
”...the woman screams so loud during orgasm the entire floor claps when it's over ”/
“I think it's the venom. I think it turned me into a lesbian” /
“...the minute I bite her I turn her into a lesbian” /
”More Oxytocin means more lesbian, right? ” /
“Some of the women turn more lesbian”;
Also, why is this book 600+ pages long!?!

* John keeps showing up, randomly saving people like he's Superman in ”Green Glass” by Tucker Madison. Similarly, Ida keeps saving random people in and out of her hospital, being an absolute saint while also being the prettiest female in town and the best/fastest swimmer. John & Ida are presented as the perfect super-people akin to Superman and Wonder Woman—Gary Stu and a Mary Sue; There are times when it feels like an endless cycle of the two characters saving people, swimming, and almost dying; When you establish that a character does a certain thing frequently/daily, you don’t have to keep showing it, the audience probably gets it already and wants to see advancement/progression; A character feels like they’re dying over and over again to the point where you kinda wish they would so we could get on with the plot (we compared them to Kenny in South Park)

* ”General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms ” by David Bush might be the most overwritten book we've ever read; Also, how do the hyenas know what Russian roulette is during the first six days of creation (before Russia exists)?

* Vazeer won't shut up about his harbeen thing and keeps describing it in ”A Dream of Shadows” by Peter Eliott

* These quotes from “Teeth & Crumpets” by Joel Shoemaker:
“...they'd made it all the way to the third grade. They were survivors.” /
“your ass is significant”

* Griff keeps making lighthearted comments about his sunburns and his need for sunscreen even in life-and-death situations in ”Corruption” by Parker Samuels

* Oliver's crush on Jax in ”The Dirt Bike Detective” by Douglas Hoover; Also: Oliver's dislike for Ana Rahela Balenovic, a near-perfect Mary Sue with an inspirational backstory as a refugee from a war-torn country. She is a straight-A student with scholarship offers from Ivy League colleges & recognition from the president himself. She is also sometimes helpful and insightful (especially in “The Beast in the Shadows”) despite the fact that Oliver doesn't want to acknowledge or listen to her.

* We’ve collectively read “Macleish Sq.” by Dennis Must about six times and still aren’t exactly sure what happened in it. Here’s what we comprehended: the elderly main character is dying and returns to his hometown. He meets a boy named Eli who inspires hope in the future generation and reminds him of better days. The two are probably related via a scandalous relationship the MC had. The MC may or may not already be dead/experiencing purgatory or the afterlife with his comatose thoughts constantly interrupted by his favorite literary works, namely Moby Dick by Melville. Macleish Sq. itself might be like the gates of Heaven/Hell or the Bifrost/Rainbow Bridge. The MC views Eli as his “Ishmael” and wants him to figuratively float on his coffin (learn from his life/death) as Ishmael floated on Queeqeg’s coffin and learned from the mistakes of Queeqeg and Ahab. … Or something like that…. To the author’s credit, it’s very surreal and dreamlike.

* ”The Intrepid” by Arnie Benn is written in present-tense and in a matter-of-fact, scientific manner. This makes it sound like a patient's medical report or case study a lot of the time.
Also: The name Johnny Bang.

* The notion that JWs believe that exercise is the devil. To be fair, that's most people.
(From “Cult Girls” by Natalie Grand)

* Nana's over-the-top killing-spree in “The Dragon in the Closet” by Carolyn Watson-Dubisch; Also: The dragon needing to flash-fry and eat other animals constantly; Also: “Nana, are you a witch?”

* Moogur being Moogur in "The Time Agents: Search for the Leon Key" by Samuel Libraty

* In “Nurse Florence(R), How Do We Grow?” the students seem to randomly ask Nurse Florence(R) about how people grow without any real provocation, inciting incident, or motivation besides just being spontaneously curious about this specific topic (for some reason). It was somewhat established that they were interested in taking higher-level science courses, but why this specific topic? It would have made more sense if it had been established that one of them was experiencing puberty or had gotten into bodybuilding (or something along those lines).

* These lines from ”Saving Sophie ” by Debbie Schrack:
“...they sell out faster than Trojans on prom night” /
“And let's face it no one can sit on one of these chairs for longer than ten minutes without getting hemorrhoids.”/ ”We walk to the door slowly, hand in hand, while Joe [the dog] sniffs around and pees on some bushes. ” /
”She stops and stares at me. Her expression goes blank. I wonder if she's going to have a seizure but Joe's just lying on the rug licking his crotch. ”

* Dennis in ”The Cat Who Fell to Earth ” by Nick Korolev being a stereotypical right-wing, climate-change-denying, religious bigot who somehow comes to admire the wonders of Wicca after finding his partner’s Wicca book and meeting an alien. Also: Most religions are treated like dogmatic, inferior belief systems that blind people to the truth, however, Wicca is treated like the greatest, truest, most eye-opening belief system ever. This might’ve worked if it didn't completely contradict the earlier point and the narrative’s constant insistence that it’s trying to be objective.

* The animals in “The Myth of the Drowsy Hollow” by Jeanne K. Juhos trying to nicely tell Fritzi (the bird) that he’s too short and fat to play Ichabod, a tall and skinny character; Also: This book would’ve made so much more sense if it were just written in prose as a short-story or novel. It was so hard to tell the different characters apart and what the plot was supposed to be in script format; Also: The animal characters talk about each other as if we already know all of this intimate, personal information about each and every one of them (but we don’t), which causes a great deal of confusion while reading; a lot of this information is something that only the owner of the animals probably knows or is aware of, leaving fresh eyes/new readers in the dark-–another reason why prose would’ve worked better because it would’ve given the author an opportunity to explain more of the context behind each animal character.

* Alle talking and acting like she's 12-years-old in “Sacred Vengeance” by Evangaline Pierce; Also: Tireless, teen-like thirsting for Gabriel, Alle’s “too-gorgeous, totally off-limits guardian angel”

* Camila & Gaby in “Diaspora” by J.P. Ozuna talking like they're toddlers, being compared to toddlers (by the narrator), yet occasionally breaking out in expletives like drunk adults who just returned from an active warzone; Also: The expletive-filled rant about genders—which is supposed to be a profound, eye-opening moment—just seems to come out of left field and seems completely unearned/undeserved; Also: Both boyfriends act like mindless drones 90% of the time and always conveniently appear together (for some reason) doing little to nothing other than waiting on their girlfriends, telling them how "hot" they are and how good a job they're both doing. We compared them to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Hamlet because they have names yet are completely interchangeable and don't really have to exist for the plot to happen. The one time any of the boyfriends does something remotely resembling having a will, Camila has a complete meltdown and gives her aforementioned rant about men and women.

* Mab's over-the-top orgy in “The Magical Tarot Deck” by Marieke Lexmond

* Poor Bob & Dale are implied to have been turned into ground beef in “Chella Chicken” by Travis Shiwji

* The line “He's not dead, I felt it” from “The Pirate's Conquest” by Charlene Centracchio

* Commas in random places in “Mice to Meet You” by Sylvia Elba

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Illustrated”

Winner:

“Nature Study Buddies” by Charlene McIver, Illustrated by Claudia Gadotti

“You Can Fly, Little Bird” by Tuula Pere, Illustrated by Alexandra Burda

“Mice to Meet You” by Sylvia Elba

Honorable Mentions:

“Cult Girls” by Natalie Grand, Illustrated by Cassandre Bolan

“Sadie Sasquatch Goes to School” by C. James Sweeney, Illustrated by The Ople

“Chella Chicken” by Travis Shiwji, Illustrated by Deborah Bello

“The Dragon in the Closet” by Carolyn Watson-Dubisch

“Sora Searches for a Song” by Once Upon a Dance, Illustrated by Scott Partridge

”Nurse Florence(R), How Do We Grow?” by Michael Dow, Illustrated by Kylie Yoshida

”Kenzie and Bun Bun: First Dance Class” by Stephanie Pyles, Illustrated by Maru Salem-Vargas

”The Girl Who Loves Lemons” by Debbie Vehnekamp

“Mira and the Lost Baby Whale” by Yuqian Wang

”Treasure Isle” by Catherine Corcoran, Illustrated by Natalie Lundeen

Outstanding Creator Award for
“Best Quote”

Winner:

”Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

- Albert Einstein in ”EINSTEIN: The Man and his Mind” by Gary S. Berger, MD

Honorable Mention:

”Like a beautifully balanced meal, bitterness enhanced the sweetness.”

- From ”Sacred Vengeance” by Evangaline Pierce

Outstanding Creator Awards Spring 2023 Results

OVERALL WINNERS(Medalists)

CATEGORY WINNERS

SPECIAL AWARDS

Outstanding Creator Awards
Spring 2023 Results

OVERALL WINNERS
(Medalists)