Dear friends here we are with the finalists of our 8th contest. We are very glad to announce them (more submissions more categories, more finalists) but also have (more than ever) this inconvenient feeling as so many well-written books could not be included in the shortlist.
The number of finalists is defined according to the submissions in the specific category so, this is the reason why there are more finalists in the novels than the children’s books categories.
This year we had to launch three new categories and even divide historical novels from memoirs!
Here you can see finalists of all categories and the place of their residence. We are happy to mention that this year there were submissions from 33 different countries from all over the world.
Judges for this years’ contest are P.H.C. Marchesi (Children’s books/graphic novels), Andriana Minou (Poetry, LGBTQIA+ Self-published books), Barbara Black (Short stories) Gregory Papadoyiannis ((Novels, Scifi, Thriller,) Katherine Wiseman (Historical novel-Memoir).
Congratulations to all, many thanks for sharing all these fine books. Prize winners to be announced as always on December 30, 2025. Good luck to all!
NOVELS PUBLISHED
Fire on the Island – Timothy Jay Smith
France
The Body In Zeller’s Barn – Arian Harandi
USA
More Lies – Richard James Allen
Australia
Play me! – Charles Harris
United Kingdom
Once Upon a Tarot Card – Jaelen Davis
United Kingdom
Foreign Attachments – Roslyn McFarland
Australia
Pins, Pains and Promises – Dr Manisha T Kundnani
India
Making A Moveable Feast – Paul W. B. Marsden
Wales
NOVELS UNPUBLISHED
Kingdom of Slaves – Mahboobeh Zare
IRAN
Gandhi Colony – Vikram Kapur
India
Cleanse Me with Pleasure – Aleksandra Binkowska
Poland
The Art of Surviving in a Glass of Water – Raluca Comanelea
USA
Sette: A Novel – Oyéshiku Carr
USA
The Best of All Worlds – Ofir Oz
Israel
The Father is Absent – Diamond Keener
USA
SHORT STORY PUBLISHED
A Fine Madness and Other Mad Stories – Jeffrey M. Feingold
USA
Tena tyaktena bhunjitha – Neha Srivastava
India
Tamiami trail – Jennifer Bannan
USA
The Eunuch’s Daughter & Stories – Khanh Ha
USA
The Planet Spins On Its Axis, Regardless – Kavita A. Jindal
U.S.A.
Beneath a Darkening Sky – Judith Crow
Scotland
So Many Shapes and Sizes: Stories (Small, Medium, and Large) – John Sheirer
USA
SHORT STORY UNPUBLISHED
The Noisy Quietude of Mikhail Gorky and other stories- Ken Pisani
USA
The House of Genyo and other stories – Terry Watada
Canada
Life Lines (and Other Stories) – Dreena Collins
Channel Islands
Title: The man without a shadow – Gjore Gjelev
N.Macedonia
The Defect of Existing – Fabiana Elisa Martínez
USA
I Can See It in Your Eyes – Javier R. Abella
USA
At Sea – Charlotte Beck
Canada
HISTORICAL PUBLISHED
The Fastest Girl on Earth – Lisa Brace
United Kingdom
Beyond the black gate – Mark JF Hudson
United Kingdom
Cerca Trova – Tamer Ramadan
Egypt
A Noble cunning: the countess and the tower – Patricia Bernstein
USA
The Death Of Us All – Gregg Brandalise
USA
HISTORICAL UNPUBLISHED
A Funny Thing (about Old Man Drought) – Steve Hawe
Australia
The Pinioned Bird – Tong Ge
Canada
The Grand Master – Randal Moore
USA
Love is for the Brave – Sophie Neville
United Kingdom
The Other Life of Mary English – GD Harper
United Kingdom
CHILDREN’S PUBLSHED
Life Lessons and Tales of Little MisFit (Book 3)-Susan Krup Grunin
Mulberry Seeds~A Novella: Stories of Youth and Innocence – Lisa-Behrens Smith,
USA
Loukas & Lydia and the Secret of the Disk – A.F. Helios
USA
Pandora’s Choice Subtitle: The Oracle Must Be Obeyed – E.A. Dickinson
U.S.A
Ordell’s Constellation – J. C. Cole
U.S.A
CHILDREN’S UNPUBLSHED
Flora’s Flock and Other Stories to Read Aloud – Mike Mesterton-Gibbons
United Kingdom
Starfish and Tide: A Journey Through Grief Toward Light – Dinah Gay-Dorviul
U.S.A
DJ Kramer – Pod 31
U.S.A
Coco in the Land of the Heart – Toru Matsumoto
Japan
Pinkurella și Spotless: The Tale of an Unusual Friendship – Gabriela Dimache
United Kingdom
POETRY PUBLISHED
Exits – Stephen C. Pollock
U.S.A.
Barefoot Poetess – Paris Rosemont
Australia
The Gift of Self – Vandana Bhasin
India
What Trammels the Heart – Kelly Fordon
U.S.A.
Seang (Hungering) – Anne Casey
Australia.
Just Give Me The Pills – Koraly Dimitriadis
Australia
Map of the Self – Mona Dash
United Kingdom
Eject city – Jason L Morphew
USA
POETRY UNPUBLISHED
My Soul to Keep – Steven Bucher
USA
Edges of Unease – Jane Bower
United Kingdom
Journey to the iron gate – Stamatia (Matina) Tsalouma
Greece
More or Less, and other poems – Craig Matheson
Canada
Ducks in Arizona -Nellie English
United Kingdom
SCI-FI/THRILLER/CRIME PUBLISHED
Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF diversion) – Bolat Ospanov
Kazakhstan
Dive beyond eternity – Valeriya Salt
United Kingdom
Dirty Deeds – Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid
USA
Chaos Theory – Sylvia Leatham
Ireland
The Bright Highway – Nick Crawford
USA
Last of the autumn rain – Diana Louise Webb
USA
SCI-FI/THRILLER/CRIME UNPUBLISHED
Innocent Until – Jagdish Acharya
India
Erased – Mihai Stet
United Kingdom
Thanks for Meeting Me Here – Jillisa Bronfman
USA
The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook – Tessa Barrie
USA
A Sweet and Faithful Lullaby… – Amichai Kolberg
Philippines
LGBTQIA+
Adjacent – Asia Ali
United Kingdom
Empty water – Ksenia Smirnova
Russian Federation.
Before We Became Men – Osman Njai
USA
Swimming in words – Luke Icarus SIMON
Australia
Open your eyes -Elizabeth Hohenberg
United Kingdom
MEMOIR
The Illogical Adventure : A Memoir of Love and Fate – James MacDuff and Mirriam Mweemba
Canada
Child of Earth and Starry Heaven – L. Annette Binder
LIFE: Plexus of emotions – Dr Sohail Shali
India
Breakfast Wine -Alex Poppe
USA
Memoirs of a Woman SURVIVOR from the First Year OF the Holocaust in Gaza – Njoud Ghassan Salem
Palestine
Frickin Short Life – Khawar Salim
Pakistan
Amid the Alien corn: A Son’s memoir – Dennis Walde
United Kingdom
The Nutcracker Chronicles: A Fairytale Memoir –Janine Kovac
USA
SELF PUBLISHED
Delphi – Karen Martin
Australia
Sunshine – Tashi Chaturvedi
India
The A-Word – Alyssa Murray
USA
Wonderland – Max Eidelman
USA
When the Past Awakens – Helena Kidd
Australia
Baking Secrets & Otherworldly Mysteries – Daisy Hans-Burrell
USA
FINALISTS FOR U20 DISTINCTION
Karma – Sidney Garrett
The mystery of Tate Buchen – Omoyeni Hamid
Nigeria
Murder by the page – Faith Bisong
Eyelands Book Awards 