Winners Announced for the American Writing Awards

The 2024 American Writing Awards celebrated an unprecedented year, with a record number of submissions across 82 diverse categories, marking a remarkable testament to the vitality of modern literature. Shared the American Writing Awards team, “The AWAs are quickly becoming one of the nation’s most sought-after literary contests. This growing popularity is a testament to the recognition it offers, the excellent value for participants, and the consistently exceptional quality of submitted works. Each year, the competition becomes fiercer, and 2024 was no exception with another record-breaking number of entries. We’re eagerly anticipating an even larger turnout next year. It’s a privilege to read and celebrate these incredible books. Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to all the Winners, Finalists, and participants who make this competition extraordinary.”

Charlotte McMaster and the Messenger Angel by Terry Overton was named a finalist in the religion, Christian category.

Win the prize…

…for best gift giver with stories that are out of this world.

“There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away.” —Emily Dickinson

When Legends Rise

: Genetically altered. Designed to kill. Trained to eradicate. Then he became more, and now those he hunted will be the ones to save him. What happens when an assassin awakens?

Solitary Man

: Prowling the broken remnants of a devastated America alone in an armored bus, a former Navy SEAL’s solitude is jeopardized after a brutal attack forces him to partner with a pastor on a mission. Battling cannibals, militant atheists and a mysterious super soldier, one man’s unbelief and the other’s faith collide in this action-packed, post-apocalyptic story.

The Withering: The moon will soon collide with the surface of Noloro, and three orphaned teens have nothing left but each other. As the world reaches its end, the fight for their future has only just begun. How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Serpentine

: A rising new order in a broken America enforces directives that jeopardize human rights and beliefs. Orphaned Esther must decide where she stands as she faces disappearing teachers, murdered classmates and a traitorous ex-flame. Haunted by the mistakes of her parent’s past, she now has to make decisions that will affect the lives of everyone around her.

American Book Fest Announces Winners and Finalists of the 21st Annual Best Book Awards

AMERICAN BOOK FEST™ ANNOUNCES
WINNERS AND FINALISTS OF
THE 21st ANNUAL BEST BOOK AWARDS Mainstream & Independent Titles Score Top Honors
in the 2024 Best Book AwardsPenguin Random House, St. Martin’s Press, HarperCollins, Wiley, Rowman & Littlefield, American Bar Association, Princeton University Press, Oxford University Press, The White House Historical Association, Hay House, Inner Traditions/Bear & Co., Llewellyn Worldwide, Tyndale, Thomas Nelson and hundreds of national and international Independent Houses contribute to this year’s Outstanding Competition!

American Book Fest announced the winners and finalists of THE 21st ANNUAL BEST BOOK AWARDS (BBA), one of the world’s largest international book award programs for mainstream, indie, and self-published titles. Over 500 winners and finalists were announced in over 100 categories. Awards were presented for titles published in 2020-2024. American Book Fest Best Book Awards 2024

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of American Book Fest, said this year’s contest yielded thousands of entries from authors and publishers around the world, which were then narrowed down to the final results.

Keen says of the awards, “Over our 21-year history, thousands of self-published and indie authors have leveraged the promotional power of their Best Book Award to increase online recognition, enhance their title’s credibility, and garner more attention in the crowded book buying marketplace.”

Full results for the 21st Annual Best Book Awards.

Winners and finalists of this year’s contest join a prestigious group of past laureates, including Pope Francis, Amy Tan, Anne Lamott, George Sanders, Julie Andrews, Clive Barker, Vanessa Williams, Shark Tank’s Daymon John, Brad Thor, Kitty Kelley, and many others. Visit the Award Laureate page for an expanded list.

American Book Fest covers books from all sections of the publishing industry—mainstream, independent, & self-published. A 21-year timeline and award archives can be found here.

American Book Fest sponsors four separate award programs throughout the year. Each program has its own judging panel and announcement timeline. Many authors and publishers enter one or more contests, depending on their publication and marketing timeline. Visit our 2025 Submission Schedule.

American Book Fest has an active social media presence, with over 132,000 current Facebook fans.

Congratulations to the Following Ambassador International Award-Winning Titles: (Full Results are Available Here)

Fiction: Historical
House of Honor: The Heist of Caravaggio’s Nativity by Margaret Ann Philbrick
Ambassador International

Fiction: Novella
I Have Lived by Douglas Lanzo
Ambassador International

Holiday parties and potlucks are just around the corner!

Step up your game with Margaret Johnson’s tour of the festive, fun-filled season in Ireland. Together, these books offer over 150 recipes, photos, and menu plans. This colorful collection will become an essential addition to your holiday bookshelf.

Christmas Flavors of Ireland

CHRISTMAS FLAVORS OF IRELAND INVITES READERS — cooks and armchair travelers alike — on a holiday tour of one of Europe’s most beloved destinations. From decking the halls to gathering around the family table, you’ll find timeless classics and exciting new ideas in this full color collection of popular Irish dishes. With easy-to-follow recipes — warming soups and crisp potatoes, wonderful puddings and dazzling desserts — Christmas Flavors of Ireland will awaken your senses to the festive, fun-filled season in Ireland. With over 100 recipes and photos, this colorful collection will become an essential addition to your holiday bookshelf and a gift that family and friends will treasure year after year.

Festive Flavors of Ireland

Festive Flavors of Ireland invites readers—cooks and armchair travelers alike—on a holiday visit to one of Europe’s most beloved destinations. From decking the halls to gathering around the family table, you’ll find timeless classics and exciting new recipes in this full color collection of Irish Christmas dishes. With easy-to-follow recipes for tasty nibbles, warming soups, wonderful puddings, and dazzling desserts, Festive Flavors of Ireland will awaken your senses to the festive, delicious Christmas season that runs from Mairgead Mór (Big Fair Day) to Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas). With more than seventy recipes and evocative photos, this colorful collection will become an essential addition to your holiday bookshelf and a gift that family and friends will treasure year after year. Nollaig shona duit . . . Happy Christmas to you!

Preparing Our Hearts and Homes to Celebrate Thanksgiving, Part 3: Five Verses to Ready Your Heart

This is the third in a three-part series on preparing our hearts and homes for Thanksgiving. Dee Travis is the author of Celebrate Life: Living to Serve God and Encourage Others as We Celebrate Life Together.

Psalm 100 is one of my favorite Scripture to meditate on as we approach the Thanksgiving season. When I think about that first Thanksgiving I imagine the Pilgrims and Indians in 1621 gathering to thank God for a bountiful harvest.

But long before that another group of people had set aside a time to celebrate God’s goodness. It was the children of Israel during the Feast of Booths. In the fall after crops were harvested, the people had a time of worshiping and thanking God for all He had done for them. They brought their offerings of Thanksgiving to the Lord. (Leviticus 23: 39-44)

Psalm 100 is a song of thanksgiving and praise to God that we can reflect on during this Thanksgiving.

Day 1

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.” Psalm 100:1

Have you ever felt so thankful you just couldn’t keep quiet? Sometimes I just stand in awe of God’s handiwork in the things I see around me in His creation. Sometimes I just want to proclaim what an awesome God we serve! Everyone on the earth is admonished to praise His name because everyone benefits from God’s goodness! In Psalm 19:1-3 and Psalm 98:7-8 it says that all nature joins in to declare the glory of God and sing praises to His name. It is neat to imagine the rivers clapping and hills singing together for joy in praise to God.

Day 2

“Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing.” Psalm 100:2

There is joy in serving Jesus! We can all serve Him whether we are young or old. Offer to teach a Sunday school class or volunteer to take a meal to someone or go visit someone who is in need of a friend. And sometimes the hardest thing is to do it with a happy heart. Many times we do something because we know we need to…. but our heart isn’t really in it. Having a joyful attitude comes from loving God and reading His word and spending time in prayer. With happy hearts we can use the talents God has given each one of us for serving Him not just during the holiday season but each and every day!

Day 3

“Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who made us and not we ourselves; we are His people the sheep of His pasture.” Psalm 100:3

God is the very one who created us. He knows us better than anyone. He know when we all overwhelmed or discouraged with so many things pulling at us in a hundred different directions during the holidays. That’s when we go to Him as His sheep and lie down in green pastures. (Psalm 23:2) Find that quiet spot and sit beside the still waters talk to God. He loves us and will restore our weary soul! He cares for us like a good shepherd and for that I am truly thankful.

Day 4

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4

We are so blessed in this country to be able to go to church and worship God freely. Being thankful for God’s love will show in our actions as we enter into worship and praise with others who love Him too. I love to gather together with my church family during Thanksgiving and hear testimonies of God’s goodness and faithfulness and mercy. Bless His name for all he has done for us!

Day 5

“For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness is to all generations.” Psalm 100:5

One of my favorite sayings is “God is always good and you are always loved”. What a great truth to know that the God of this universe loves us so much He was willing to send His Son to die and take the punishment for our sins. We simply have to believe and He gives everlasting life! (John 3:16). God’s lovingkindness is everlasting! He will love us forever!! And His faithfulness is to ALL generations! God daily loads us with so many benefits. God knows our needs and watches over us and never leaves us to fend for ourselves. He cares about us and will always do what is best for us. God is so good!

Thanksgiving is a time of celebration and a time to turn our thoughts to God and His Word and realize how very blessed we are of Him. Every day is a gift that we have been given…so every day (not just at Thanksgiving) thank Him and praise His name!

Did you miss part 1 of this series? Find it HERE. Part 2 can be found HERE.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Preparing Our Hearts and Homes to Celebrate Thanksgiving, Part 2: Welcome an Attitude of Gratitude

This is the second in a three-part series on preparing our hearts and homes for Thanksgiving. Dee Travis is the author of Celebrate Life: Living to Serve God and Encourage Others as We Celebrate Life Together.

I really enjoy our church Thanksgiving Eve service. My week has usually been hectic and I have a house that needs cleaned and food that needs to be prepared but nothing helps my “attitude of gratitude” more than this night! Everyone enjoys homemade pie and then we have an informal time of singing and testimonies. It is good for me to hear others thanking God for what He has done in their lives over the last year. For some it has been a difficult year with pain and sorrow but they are still praising God and that is so encouraging. Sometimes it is a child who gives a testimony and it doesn’t get much better than childlike faith! I always go home feeling blessed and thankful for my church family! If you don’t have a Thanksgiving service at your church maybe you can make a list of the ways God has been good to you over the last year. Then have your own testimony time by thanking Him for all He has done!

We can also welcome gratitude to God for all He has done and provided for us by doing something special for others! We have so much to be thankful for as Christians. We have a God who loves us and has provided a way for us to have a home in heaven through Jesus Christ. When we place our trust in Him we receive eternal life. We enjoy the freedom to worship God here in America. We also have warm homes to live in and an abundance of food to eat at our tables. Every day God has richly blessed us and that should make us willing to bless others.

Plan to take a traditional Thanksgiving meal to some elderly or needy people in your church or neighborhood. It would probably be easiest to plan your dinner before Thanksgiving. This is a great service for kids to be involved in. They will love helping and it is good for them to see that we love and care about others. You might also want to print out Psalm 100 and attach it to one of the food containers. Contact families ahead of time so they will know you are coming and be sure to spend a few minutes and visit with them as you deliver their Thanksgiving meal. I know it seems like a lot of work but everyone will receive a blessing!

And then there is Thanksgiving Day that we spend with family and friends. It might be the biggest test for our attitude of gratitude! Most people get together on Thanksgiving Day with those they love and friends they care about. We celebrate together on Thanksgiving Evening. If we know of a family who doesn’t have their family close we will ask them to come join us. Since some have already had turkey and stuffing and are a little “stuffed” themselves we just do appetizers. It seems to be a big hit at our house. I usually put out our Scrabble game and everyone is to make a word about something they are thankful for. Mostly the kids like to do it! Sometimes I have the grandkids draw something they are thankful for and we have to guess what it is! An active game time usually finishes or evening together. I am so blessed and Thanksgiving Day and every day is a good time to celebrate God’s goodness!

Did you miss part 1 of this series? You can find it HERE.

Preparing Our Hearts and Homes to Celebrate Thanksgiving, Part 1

This is the first in a three-part series on preparing our hearts and homes for Thanksgiving. Dee Travis is the author of Celebrate Life: Living to Serve God and Encourage Others as We Celebrate Life Together.

November is here and it makes me start to think about the holidays. I always feel bad because Thanksgiving it such a great holiday and it gets here so fast and then after one day….it’s over and Christmas bells are ringing. Just one day of thankfulness doesn’t do it for me. There is so much to see and do as we think about Thanksgiving approaching. How about taking the whole month of November to celebrate Thanksgiving with me?

Step into November by getting outside and looking for God’s goodness and bounty! His glory in creation can be seen everywhere in the fall! The trees are changing into a beautiful display of God’s canvas of red, orange and yellow! How about visiting a pumpkin patch or a farm during harvest of the crops. Take your kids or grandkids to an apple orchard and pick some crisp juicy apples. We live on a farm in rural Iowa so we get to see harvesting of corn and soybeans first hand. We also grow a ton of pumpkins for the grandkids to pick. God is so good to us! We have a few apple trees so one of our favorite traditions is picking apples and making fresh apple cider! Those times all makes me reflect on how good and faithful God has been to us throughout another year. Harvest time with the bounty He gives us through crops and food and nature’s beauty will help us prepare our hearts to thank and praise an Almighty God!

Try reading a Psalm every day during November! Every day is a gift from God so celebrate His goodness every day. Start with Psalm 100 and go through Psalm 136. Some are short so you will be able to combine a couple of chapters on certain days. I kind of think that the Psalms and Thanksgiving go together like turkey and pumpkin pie! Each day after you are done reading write down three different things you are thankful for so that you can look at them during the month and then read them all on Thanksgiving Day! Always be ready to give thanks to God for what He had done for us! God is always good and you are always loved.

One of the things I love to do every year in November is attend my grandchildren’s Thanksgiving program at school. It really makes me think about our country and how the first Thanksgiving Day was started. The Pilgrims came to America to be able to worship God freely. They set aside this special time at harvest to thank God for all He had done for them. (And it was probably more than just one day!) It is such a good example for us to follow! The pilgrims not only shared their food with the Indians but they also shared their faith in a mighty God. Our forefathers sacrificed a lot for the freedoms we enjoy today and for that I am truly thankful!

Well are you in? I hope you will start to prepare your heart all month long and this Thanksgiving may be the most blessed ever!

Children’s Author Katie Cruice Smith to Release New Christmas Book

For immediate release: Katie Cruice Smith, author of the beloved adoption book for children, Why Did You Choose Me?, has released another illustrated children’s book just in time for Christmas. Before Christmas Began (Ambassador International, $21.99, November 19, 2024) is a rhythmic telling of the Nativity story that parents can enjoy reading to their kids this holiday season.

Tired of seeing so many books for kids telling an inaccurate version of Christ’s birth, Smith decided to write a narrative that focused on what truly happened long before Christmas began. While Smith realizes that Christ’s birth was most likely not in December, she wanted to take the spirit of the season to help parents as they begin to introduce Christ to their children. The beautiful illustrations help to share the story as well.

If you are looking for books to gift children this Christmas, Before Christmas Began is an excellent addition to your library and something that can be made a part of your annual Christmas traditions.

About the Author
Katie Cruice Smith is a freelance editor and writer who resides in the Upstate of South Carolina. She is an adoption and foster care advocate and handles the marketing for an adoption attorney. When Katie isn’t working as the senior editor for Ambassador International or writing her next book, she is busy homeschooling her three kids, spending time with her family outdoors, or enjoying a good book and a cup of coffee on her porch swing. Katie is the author of the children’s adoption book, Why Did You Choose Me? and loves to share with others the joy she has found as a foster and adoptive mom.

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To connect with the author or request a review copy of Before Christmas Began, please contact publicity director Kimberly Davis at [email protected].

Hurricane Helene

With South Carolina being on the coast, hurricanes are not uncommon or unheard of; however, most often, the path of the hurricane remains on the coast, and this means Greenville, South Carolina, where the Ambassador International office is located, usually experiences only tropical storm conditions. Hurricane Helene changed that.

After the hurricane came through on September 27, 2024, our office building and local staff were without power for days, and many personnel had minimal damage to their homes and property. The destruction we witnessed in our own lives and homes and in Greenville is something we have never experienced before.

After being able to make it back to the office, we tried to check in with as many authors as we could to confirm their safety and well-being. Though we have authors located all over the world, many authors that we have published are actually local or located not too far away from the office.

Fortunately, many of these authors shared the same stories as we as staff experienced – power outages and minimal damage, but there were a few who experienced significant property damage and will be dealing with the devastation from this for years to come.

As shocking, mind-boggling, and heart-breaking as this experience was, we are thankful for God’s protection to our staff and our authors, and we continue to pray for those who are still dealing with the devastation Helene left in her wake.

We would be most appreciative if you would continue your support of us by praying for us, both as a publishing house and for our authors personally. Nothing will ever be more important or impactful than prayer! But it’s true, Helene’s destruction has brought on financial burdens for so many involved. If you feel so led, a huge way you can support us is financially, by purchasing our books! Any purchase will help us both as publisher and our authors. But because we want to give back as much as we can, we will be donating a percentage of proceeds on sales directly through our retail store to Samaritan’s Purse to help as they continue to be God’s hands and feet to those in disaster areas. If you’re not familiar with Samaritan’s Purse, you can read about them HERE.

The following list is authors whom we have been able to contact and can confirm are located in the path of Hurricane Helene and dealt with aftermath to varying degrees. They, especially, would be so thankful for your support:

South Carolina’s state motto is “dum spiro spero” which means, “While I Breathe, I Hope.” How true this is for all of us – while we breathe, we hope! But let us never forget the One in Whom we have hope and can turn to not only when times are trying, but always. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

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