Woohoo! The winners of the 2019 Royal Palm Literary Awards (RPLA) competition have been announced, and what a list! It was all a big secret until the ceremony October 19, during the Florida Writer Association’s (FWA) four-day annual conference in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
RPLA is a service of the FWA established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing objective and constructive written assessments for all entrants.
This year’s competition, which received 513 qualified submissions, was RPLA’s eighteenth. The spectacular event covered 28 adult genres and 5 youth genres. Grand Awards completed the program.
- Published Book of the Year: The Devil’s Bookkeepers Book 1: The Noose, Historical Fiction, by Mark H. Newhouse
- Unpublished Book of the Year: Hating Jesse Harmon, Young Adult Fiction, by Robin Mimna
- Best Children’s Book: Bluebirds in the Garden, Children’s Picture Book, by Rita M. Boehm
- The Dahris Clair Memorial Award for Plays: Murder at the Butcher’s, Stage Play, by Al Pessin
- Candice Coghill Memorial Award for the best youth entry: “Fluorescent Freedom,” Short Fiction, Ages 16 – 17, by Jenna Mather
Genre winners are listed below.
The full lists of winners, with loglines, can be downloaded here:
Our 2020 RPLA guidelines will be posted on the website in January. We look forward to seeing your entries in 2020!
BOOK-LENGTH FICTION
Unpublished Blended Genre
Gold. Luther and the Lamppost. R.N. Walters, L.M. Walters
Silver. The Nile Crocodile and the Blackbird. Joan S. Sosin
Published Blended Genre
Gold. Light a Candle: Chase the Devil Away. Chris Holmes
Silver. A Year of Extraordinary Moments. Bette Lee Crosby
Unpublished Fantasy
Gold. Shifting Sands. Chad Parsons
Published Fantasy
Gold. Debriefing the Dead. Kerry Blaisdell
Unpublished Historical Fiction
Gold. Lost Scrolls of Archimedes. Tom Roberts
Silver. A Paris Flapper and the Ragtime Dudes. Richard Gartee
Bronze. The Devil’s Bookkeepers Book 2: The Noose Tightens. Mark H. Newhouse
Published Historical Fiction
Gold. The Devil’s Bookkeepers Book 1: The Noose. Mark H. Newhouse
Silver. The Earl in Black Armor. Nancy Blanton
Bronze. Goat with the Glass Eye. Allen Balogh & Joanne Wetzl
Unpublished Humor OR Satire
Gold. Gator Bait. K.C. Bonner
Published LGBTQ+
Gold. Bloom Where Planted. Wendy Samford & April Carothers
Silver. Building Us. Rick Bettencourt
Unpublished Mainstream OR Literary
Gold. Shadows of the Chimney. Swea Nightingale
Silver. The Great Pine. Paul Iasevoli
Published Mainstream OR Literary
Gold. Two Spoons of Bitter, a story of love, betrayal & redemption. Sonja S. Mongar
Silver. The Yiddish Gangster’s Daughter. Joan Lipinsky Cochran
Bronze. Haven to Heaven. Ninsavang Pravisay
Unpublished Mystery OR Crime
Gold. Touch the Dead. Elle Thornton
Silver. Blood Moon Rising. Richard Conrath
Bronze. Sweet Deal Concealed. Judith A. Barrett
Published Mystery OR Crime
Gold. H_NGM_N. JC Gatlin
Silver. One Black Shoe. Loren Colden
Bronze. Karieth. Michael Lawrence Cohen
Unpublished Novelette
Gold. Goldilocks and the Fourth Bear. Mark McWaters
Published Novelette
Gold. The Orchid Man. Charles A. Cornell
Silver. Her Midnight Ride. Bria Burton
Bronze. Annie Karenina. Veronica H. Hart
Unpublished Novella
Gold. The Vacant Lot and the Locked Room. Daniela Banks
Silver. Scrubbed. Christopher Malinger
Published Novella
Gold. Cold Case. Marie Brack
Silver. Tribulations of Yonah, the Prophet. Walter Joseph Schenck, Jr.
Bronze. Ten-Thirteen. Marie Brack
Published Romance
Gold. Glass Promises. Janet Franks Little
Silver. Worry Stone. Skye Taylor
Bronze. A Season to Dance. Rebecca Heflin
Unpublished Science Fiction
Gold. The Bootlegger Broadcast. David M. Pearce
Published Science Fiction
Gold. A Hero. Stephen Arseneault
Silver. Global Tribal. Dr. A.K. Stanfield
Unpublished Thriller OR Suspense
Gold. River of Gray. Aimee Hill
Silver. D.I.T.T.O. Chet Meisner
Bronze. West of Famous. Joni M. Fisher
Published Thriller OR Suspense
Gold. Dead Odds. David Ryan
Silver. The Company of Demons. Michael Jordan
Unpublished Women’s Fiction
Gold. A Light Too Far Away. John Chaplick
Silver. After Kilimanjaro. Gayle Woodson
Published Women’s Fiction
Gold. Emily Gone. Bette Lee Crosby
Silver. Portrait of the Artist as a Wife and Mother. JW Robitaille
BOOK-LENGTH NONFICTION
Unpublished Autobiography OR Memoir
Gold. Safest Place in Iraq. Paul Linzey
Silver. Surviving: A Kent State Memoir. Paula Tucker
Bronze. A Bittersweet Goodnight. Linda C. Wright
Published Autobiography OR Memoir
Gold. Phylis: Tales of a Jewish Child during the Great Depression. Phylis Goldberg
Silver. Dandelion Child: A Soldier’s Daughter. Margaret Best
Bronze. Are You Ready? The Story of a Runaway Girl and a Persistent God. Felicia Clarke
Unpublished Educational OR Informational
Gold. Reimagining Adoption: What Adoptees Seek from Families and Faith. Gayle H. Swift & Sally Ankerfelt
Published Educational OR Informational
Gold. Writing the Cozy Mystery: Expanded Second Edition. Nancy J. Cohen
Silver. Disney’s Secret Sauce—the little-known factor behind the business world’s most legendary leadership. Mary Flynn
Bronze. Memory Lane. Margaret Wacker
LITERATURE FOR YOUTH
Unpublished Children’s Picture Book
Gold. Gary’s Nest. Annette Masters
Silver. Grand Gertie. Annette Masters
Bronze. The Ladybug Known as Lil. Robert Z. Hicks
Published Children’s Picture Book
Gold. Bluebirds in the Garden. Rita M. Boehm
Silver. My Tio’s Pulse. Keith Newhouse
Bronze. Grumbler. Arielle Haughee
Unpublished Early Reader OR Chapter Book
Gold. When Pigs Fly. Joan Harris
Silver. Gwendolyn: A Sometimes Grumpy Gorilla. Joan Harris
Unpublished Middle-Grade Fiction
Gold. The Boys on Mars. Sharon Ketts
Silver. Buddy and the Big Bad Wolf. Ann Meier
Bronze. Cloud Kingdom. Fred M. Gray, III
Published Middle-Grade Fiction
Gold. Secret Adventures of Foxfire: Busting Walls. John Hope
Silver. One Small Spark. Jackie Minniti
Bronze. Abby’s Attraction. Barbara Cairns
Unpublished Young Adult OR New Adult
Gold. Hating Jesse Harmon. Robin Mimna
Silver. A Self Divided. Melissa Abrehamsen
Bronze. Coriander Jones, On Assignment at Sabal Palm Academy. Kim English
PLAY
Unproduced
Gold. Murder at the Butcher’s. Al Pessin
Produced
Gold. Blemished, The Stage Play. Walter Joseph Schenck, Jr.
GENERAL CATCH-ALL
Unpublished General Catch-All
Gold. Charlie and the Coal-Dust Dragon. Patricia Crumpler
Silver. Whisper of Love. Susan Lindsley
Bronze. The Price of Admission. Lynn Bechdolt
Published General Catch-All
Gold. The Complete Revision Workbook for Writers. Arielle Haughee
Silver. Bloom Where Planted. Wendy Samford and April Carothers
Bronze. My Shorts. Arthur M. Doweyko
POETRY
Unpublished Poetry
Gold. “Coping.” Virginia Nygard
Silver. “Spring Cleaning.” Karen Ann Wilson
Bronze. “The Artist.” Elena Fowler
Published Poetry
Gold. “Taylor Made: Poetry, Prose, and Reflections.” Dr. Ray Noble Taylor
Silver. “Galaktoboureko.” Linda Kraus
SHORT FICTION
Unpublished Flash Fiction
Gold. “Three Strikes.” Kim Hackett
Silver. “Where Buzzards Soar.” Dalton Mire
Bronze. “Smoky Bonds.” Paul Iasevoli
Published Flash Fiction
Gold. “Canon in D with a Side of Tomato Soup.” Rae Printy
Unpublished Short Story
Gold. “The Thespians.” Karen Ann Wilson
Silver. “Till Death Do We Part.” Karen Ann Wilson
Bronze. “Where Shadows Attach.” Mark McWaters
Published Short Story
Gold. “Bread, and/or on Water.” Gayle Woodson
Silver. “When the Hurly Burly’s Done.” Ken Pelham
Bronze. “My Deal with the You Know Who.” Lawrence Martin
SHORT NONFICTION
Unpublished Creative Nonfiction
Gold. “The Blind Date of a Lifetime.” Bethanie Gorny
Silver. “Romance in the U.S.A. A Cuban Girl’s Story.” Amarilys Gacio Rassler
Bronze. “The Lesson of Two Loves—A Peace Corps Story.” David C. Edmonds
Published Blog OR Article
Gold. “Pursuing Pele by Air, Sea, and Land.” Clay Gish
Silver. “Being There: The Writer Takes a Vacation.” Ken Pelham
Bronze. “Through Different Eyes: Ray Bradbury and ‘the Garbage Collector.’” Ken Pelham
2019 Youth Royal Palm Literary Award Winners
THE CANDICE COGHILL MEMORIAL AWARD
“Fluorescent Freedom”
By Jenna Mather
Short Fiction, Ages 16 – 17
POETRY
Unpublished Poetry, Ages 9 – 11
Gold. “The Work of the Sea.” Kali Mae
Unpublished Poetry, Ages 12 – 15
Gold. “Sea change is built with voices of the young.” Samantha Leslie
Silver. “When I was Little.” Jacqueline Cook
SHORT NONFICTION
Unpublished Short Nonfiction, Ages 9 – 11
Gold. “The Downy Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid.” Beatriz Lindemann
SHORT FICTION
Published Short Fiction, Ages 12 – 15
Gold. “True Friend.” Samantha Leslie
Unpublished Short Fiction, Ages 12 – 15
Gold. “Words Matter Collection.” Yasmin Vuong
Silver. “Autism Aside.” Ava Eckstein-Schoemann
Unpublished Short Fiction, Ages 16 – 17
Gold. “Fluorescent Freedom.” Jenna Mather
Silver. “Running to Now.” Peyton Boggs
Mark H. Newhouse
Thank you, Florida Writers Association, for this incredible honor. I’m still stunned that The Devil’s Bookkeepers, was given this recognition and that my son and wife were able to share this with me. When Keith won for his amazing picture book inspired by his desire to help children understand events such as the Pulse massacre, I felt such joy, but to be included with so many great writers, was a dream. It still feels like an “Illusion” and I am so grateful to FWA, Chris, my writing clubs, who are my friends and family. I’m getting mushy, so thank you so much. Congratulations to everyone who entered, became a Finalist and went on to win. A special thank you to last year’s judges whose rubrics made this possible. FWA really is “Writers helping writers.” I’m proud to be one of you.