The Mermelf : A Fable for Our Times
Runner Up
2025 London Book Festival

Deirdre Anne Hines In a future a long time ago, the Nomenclature have banned books and imprisoned all anomalies. Escaping The Outerskirts, 25-03 A, the girl with a blue birthmark, meets Xiu, the Cygnian Mermelf, and the fantastical Resistance. What if dreams are Imagination’s stars? A haunting verse fable from an award-winning poet.

The Stranger WithIn
Honorable mention
2025 San Francisco Book Festival

AJ Maloney AJ Maloney’s powerful story is a gripping journey through childhood trauma, spiritual warfare, and emotional healing. From early abuse and abandonment to confronting dark forces—both literal and symbolic—The story is raw, real, and redemptive. With unwavering honesty, she shares the pain of being misunderstood, the struggle with mental health, and the miracles that…

Catching Memories
Runner Up
2025 Beach Book Festival

Peggy Lotz Young Peggy visits the Oregon coast with her parents and siblings, Gayle and John, and it’s a magical day. The sand, the waves, the tidal pools… what could be better? When her dad goes fishing and catches a perch in the ocean, Peggy and her siblings are in for the surprise of their…

Seasons Change and So Do I
Honorable mention
2025 Beach Book Festival

Carol A Vigoda-Fuchs Johnny mourns his uncle. He misses him, as he doesn’t come to play with him anymore. Or does he? A touching and affectionate story about a boy, who finds consolation in nature and is lovingly supported by his parents and grandmother. He discovers that his uncle is by his side through all…

Life in the Shadows- A Story of Resilience
Honorable mention
2025 San Francisco Book Festival

Kathleen Geuder Martin Her father was schizophrenic but she was not. So why keep it a secret? Martin’s memoir reveals heart wrenching honesty of family dynamics dealing with mental illness. The emotional journey also transmits joy, enchantment and love as she limns her family roots. Mental illness the silent stigma!

Sentience Hazard
Runner Up
2025 San Francisco Book Festival

Alexandru Czimbor In 2053, the US struggles to create an Artificial Intelligence to rival the one that China had already developed. A tragic love story ends up bootstrapping the AI creation. The Chinese authoritarian regime and their plan to conquer the stars put the world in unprecedented danger. Can humanity survive?

Scars Of The Heart
Winner
2025 San Francisco Book Festival

Bob Van Laerhoven Through ten stories set in different countries and eras, Van Laerhoven explores the destructive consequences of our passions as a common thread that unites them. The stories highlight the dark side of love, which fuels our violence, inner loneliness, and greedy egos.

If They Won’t Bend, Break Them!®
Runner Up
2025 San Francisco Book Festival

Geoffrey Michael This book focuses on practical negotiating advice that can be used by everyone to get what they want at the price they want. We all negotiate in our daily lives, sometimes without realizing it. This book is valuable to the average person and to anyone who negotiates for a living.

The Selfish Shellfish and the Sick Sea
Honorable mention
2025 Beach Book Festival

Andrea Harrison Caleb, a self-centered King Crab leader of the Shellfish does not want to face that his shellfish subjects are struggling to survive in the polluted ocean. He learns a valuable lesson about the importance of sharing and caring when his friends take up the cause to try and find a solution to heal…

Everything is an Event A Step-by-Step Guide
Honorable mention
2025 San Francisco Book Festival

Marinda Freeman If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed when planning an event, extraordinary event planner Marinda Freeman is here to take you from feeling stressed and unprepared to at ease and confident as she shares the secrets to planning memorable events. This comprehensive guide is enriched with over 130 vibrant photographs and illustrations.