NEW YORK BOOK FESTIVAL NAMES ‘DIVINE WITNESSES’ AS GRAND PRIZE WINNER


NEW YORK_ A collection of stories told by those who bore witness to Christ and his many miracles is the grand prize winner of the  2025 New York Book Festival,  which honors books worthy of attention in the world’s publishing capital.

Author  Steven Manchester’s Divine Witnesses (Luna Bella Press) imagines scenarios featuring Biblical characters interacting with Jesus, applying lessons and miracles to modern-day challenges. Divine Witnesses bears witness to Jesus Christ's three-year ministry from a myriad of different perspectives.

The relatable story collection and its crisp writing make for a compelling read. The author received a $1,500 grand prize and will be featured at the awards ceremony in New York later this year.

Other winners in the competition:


GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: Goodbye, Sweetberry Park - Josh Green

RUNNERS-UP:


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • The Weif - Dell Brand
  • Jhill - Sean O’Neil
  • Towers of Hiva - Darren Swanson
  • Sarita - Natalie Dossett
  • The Edge of Guilt - David Miraldi
  • Ghost Flight - Eva Asprakis
  • Thirty-Eight Days of Rain - Eva Asprakis
  • Estate: To My Once Darling Child - J. Andrew Shelley
  • Of Light and Lies - Darrell Denny
  • Killstanbul - Matthew Di Paoli
  • Gravity Flow - E.M. Schorb
  • The Teetotaler’s Bar - Carolyn Summer Quinn
  • The Final Comeuppance - Carolyn Summer Quinn
  • Water Thicker Than Blood - Saundra Terrell
  • Descending Thirds - Nicole Conn
  • To Take A Soul - Sara Sultane
  • One-Legged Uncle Jesse - Mike Morris
  • The Flat Tire - Fish Nealman
  • The Next Round - Eva Frances
  • Canonsfield 1 - Michael Hanson
  • Native Brush Strokes - Antoinette Godin
  • A Portable Chaos - E.M. Schorb
  • The Landlady of Maple Avenue - Suzanne Elizabeth Gillis
  • Conversations with My Mother - Ronald-Stephane Gilbert
  • A Life Saving Bullet - Krista Beggan
  • Toxic Pulpit - Don Helin
  • The House of Cavanaugh - Polly Dugan
  • Nuclear Harlot - Ayura Ayira
  • The Immortal Witness - Clifton Wilcox
  • 21 Tattoos - Monica Broussard
  • Goyhood - Reuven Fenton
  • We Walked On - Therese Soukar Chehade
  • Going Dark - George Mehok
  • I Forgave You - Natia Khaduri
  • Jenna Slade - Enemy Within - Rich Blecher
  • Seeds of the Pomegranate - Suzanne Uttaro Samuels
  • The Journal of the Center for Applied Hopelessness - Wilson Whitlow
  • Fate Can Toss a Boomerang - Carolyn Summer Quinn
  • A Soldier’s Burden - Natia Khaduri
  • Cogitatio: Shadows in the Wind - Book Two - McKinley Aspen
  • Two Poppins Lane - Patricia Rohner
  • The Black Widow - Michael Hanson
  • Holston - William Kauffman
  • Sniff - GC Brown
  • Time of Ends - Geoff Roberts
  • Not a Shovel in Sight - Carolyn Summer Quinn
  • The Adventures of Mrs. Hats - Chris Corbett
  • Grave Justice - Angela McClintock
  • The Ghost Walker - Dickson Lane
  • Caramel and Steel - Long Temple
  • The Hike Not Taken - J.R. Miller
  • Bailey’s Road - B.G. Simpson
  • The Colors of Us - Long Temple
  • Unlawful Games - Adam Klein
  • A Dead Man Speaks - Lisa Jones Gentry
  • Divided Freedom - Robert Fraterrigo
  • The Sock Monster - Nathanael Stump
  • Dominion 2025 - Geoff Roberts
  • Little Fortified Stories - Barbara Black
  • Load Them Down - Rose Marie Rocchino
  • Silence the Past - Gary Lee Edward Kreigh
  • Slainte! - Roy Hunt
  • A Baby Eagle Was Told He’s a Beetle - Ashia Foster


POETRY:

WINNER: Sundays with Jenny - Jenny Bienemann

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Drifter - Douglas Cole
  • She Confuses Lovers, Movies, Angels and Poems - Gia Civerolo
  • 365 Sonnets - Paul Bucheit
  • 2 Love, Light & Other Beautiful Lies - Sean P. Russell
  • American Mobile - E.M. Schorb
  • Be - Will Espero
  • …And You Cannot Tell Me Why I Must Not Love… - Natia Khaduri
  • Wakes of Joy - Diana Button
  • This is Not About Poems - Diana Button
  • The Dictionary of No - Leen Youssef
  • Guerre, Exil et - Leen Youssef
  • Limitless - Patrick Bex
  • Confident Conversations: Lessons III - Dr. LaDonna Marie


SELF HELP:

WINNER: The Gut Revolution - Christine Bishara, MD

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Mountains We Climb - Aimee Goodwin
  • Embrace Your Shadows - Christina Prokos
  • The Authenticity Compass - Pamela Bond
  • Own Your Power Within - Laura K. Stoia, M.A.


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Success in 7 Steps - Deirdre Wolownick
  • Authenticity Insurance - Lee Swann
  • Stressed to Splessed - Susan C. Troth
  • The 5 Pitfalls of a Relationship - Dr. LaGrande Mason Jr., Ph.D
  • Mental Toughness for Leaders - Claudio Chiste


SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR

WINNER: Thank God for the Sinners - Eric L.Magun

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Girl with the Silver Hair - Celia Seupel
  • Eldryan Elders - S.G. Blaise
  • Explorer - Roger Floyd
  • Apocrypha - Blaine. C. Readler


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Space Vault - Jeremy Clift
  • Just a Little Further - Joseph W. Pitha
  • Diablo Canyon - C. Flemish
  • Daemones Ex Machina - Russell Anders
  • Taj’s Sabbatical: Book One - Artell Smith, Troy Smith
  • Northfield Saga 4: Storm Break - Calvin B. Fisher
  • The Magic Tiara - JB Rojas


YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: The Wheelman’s Daughter - Pamela Bauer Mueller

RUNNERS-UP:

  • The Four - Alexandra Haden-Douglas
  • Lizard Larson and the Time Keeper - Gary Natoli
  • TWIRL - Jase Peeple
  • Flowers for Papa - Margaret Beaver

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Warning: Short Stories for Middle School Boys- Gene Miller
  • Super Super Charro - Carlos Lozano


GENERAL NONFICTION:

WINNER: American Kings - Seth Wickersham

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Restoring Our Sanity Online - Mark Weinstein
  • Listen to Your Animals - Karen Wickerson
  • Passion Struck - John R. Miles
  • Educational Disobedience - Dr. Anise Mabry
  • It’s Okay Not to Be Fabulous Every Day - Ally Dalsimer
  • Child X - Jamie Mustard

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Stanley Kubrick’s Full Mental Straight Jacket - Dan Valenti
  • The Global Rules of Art - Larissa Buchholz
  • South Node Shaman - Shaman Melodie McBride
  • Own Your Color - Shikha Bajaj
  • Go for Third - Derek Volk
  • Why Not? - Teri L. Rouse
  • Seeds of Leadership - Will Lukang
  • Joseph and Noah - Daniel Gozo
  • Creativity for Soul Healing - Kirstin Labita
  • Leadership Bites - Ian J. McCoog
  • Near the Danube Bridge - Catherine Allen-Walters
  • Hardey’s Heroes, Book 2 - Rick Shockey
  • Success in 7 Steps - Deirdre Wolownick
  • The Power of Shamanism and Energy Medicine - Sheldon Shalley
  • A Pilgrim’s Guide to Walking Wisdom - Renee Baribeau
  • The Tennis Champion Who Escaped the Nazis - Felice Hardy
  • Cleansing Rituals Step by Step - Anita Fonteboa
  • Cherish America - Robert B. Charles
  • The Galore Gang, Mom and Her Magical Robe - Georgina Fagan
  • Seeing Eye Girl - Beverly J. Armento
  • The Four of Us - Ann Zalkind
  • Germs Are Not Our Enemy - Marizelle Arce, ND
  • Being Broken - Geoffrey R. Jonas
  • Confronting the White Shadow - Marcus W. Williams, Esq.


WILD CARD:

WINNER: Bella and Bird Explore Anger - Deana Plaskon, Ph.D, LMHC

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Stories of the Street - David Lazar
  • Spin Cycle - Alfredo Botello
  • Resurgius, a Sex Comedy - E.M. Schorb
  • The Washashore - Marshall Highet and Bird Jones
  • Arthur, Merlyn and the Bat Scientists at the Round Table - D.L. Luke & Bat Scientists
  • Sydney, Bean and the Missing Gloves - Janice E. Collins
  • The Pentacle - Marieke Lexmond
  • Warning: Short Stories for Middle School Boys… - Gene Miller
  • Blonde Haired Girl’s the Scientist - Jayme Katha Tener
  • Seeing Eye Girl - Beverly J. Armento
  • Behind My American Dream - Maggie Zurowska
  • Behind My American Dream - Maggie Zurowska
  • Shadows and Black in the Light - Amy van Rijthoven
  • Cotton Wood Adventures - Jacqueline Graham
  • Headcase: Shock and Denial (Book 1) - Chris K. Jones
  •  Little Fortified Stories - Barbara Black


MEMOIR:

WINNER: Scattershot - Larry Chrysler

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Geri o Shimasu - Alia Luria
  • The Politzer Saga - Linda Ambrus Broenniman
  • Absolution: The Dark Path to Light - Scott Allen Curley
  • Syrup Sandwiches - Anthony Owens

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Not Good Enough Girl - Sondra R. Brooks
  • Abandoned at Birth - Janet Sherlund
  • Warning: Short Stories for Middle School Boys… - Gene Miller
  • Chasing Happiness in an Imperfect Life - Xiomara Alvarez
  • Finding Home: From Cairo to New York: A Memoir - Djenane Nakhle
  • Hiding in Plain Sight - I.M. Enough
  • Seeing Eye Girl - Beverly J. Armento
  • Lighthouse: Surviving Narcissistic Abuse - Kia Lee
  • Living with a Ghost - Eva B. Morris
  • Watching Sarah Rise - Jennifer Celeste Briggs
  • The Art of Survival - Leen Youssef
  • Living with a Ghost - Eva B. Morris
  • Dad’s Journey - Jill A. Gilson


CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: Dogs of Woofstock - Kip Cosson

RUNNERS-UP:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Sydney, Bean and the Missing Gloves - Janice E. Collins
  • Ella’s Journey - David Casentini
  • In Mothers Shoes - Alexis Flowers
  • The Enchanted Kingdom of Cats - Karen Katz
  • Poetry Tales for Kids & Grandkids - Sergiy Smelyansky
  • Junk Food City - Sage V. Hill
  • Knox & The Magic Raindrops - Grace McCaffrey
  • Alphabet Parade - Stephen Barany
  • Big Rig Family Truckster - Jennifer Mazzetta
  • Lost but Found - Lauren Persons
  • The Little Camera Man - Alexis Flowers
  • Catching Memories - Peggy Lotz
  • Five and Ten - E.M. Schor
  • Popcorn the Squirrel - Rusty McQuade
  • Neurobook: Fun Brain Exercises for Toddlers - Ms. Buba
  • Mis Poemas de Animales - Liliana Rienzi
  • Welcome to JOJO’s Closet - Alexis Flowers
  • Jig Goes to the Zoo - Julia S. Kneeland
  • Because God Said So - Kasey White
  • Madison’s First Tooth - Latia Smith, RDH
  • The Incredible Trash Donkey - Jeanette Kamciyan
  • Miri and Jade’s New Clothes - Michal Rezoni with Assaf Rezoni
  • Harriet’s Hungry Worms - Samantha Smith
  • Shades: Cool Kids with Color - Kimberly Taylor
  • The Birthday Party - Marissa Koons


ROMANCE:

WINNER: The Last First Date - Jay Hall

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Living on a Prayer - Katrina Alexander
  • The Game - Eve M. Riley
  • Happy Hour - Elissa Bass
  • Do You Dare? - Tamani Wooley
  • Silver Lake Awakening - D.D. Franklin
  • A Woman in Search Of… - Lynne Brightman Horn
  • Her Heart’s Footprints - Poetically Enigmatic


UNPUBLISHED:

WINNER: Real Life Real Laughs - Cate Burns
BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

WINNER: Circle of Sawdust - Rob Mermin

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Clark Gable, King of Hollywood - Darwin Porter & Danforth Prince
  • Bail! Bail! Bryce Whitmore and the Birth of Whitewater Rafting - Ty Childress

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Seeing Eye Girl - Beverly J. Armento
  • Jekyll Can’t Hyde - Jodi Lynn Pavlock


PHOTOGRAPHY/ART:

WINNER: The Other Worldly Deep - Charles Rawlings


SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS:

WINNER: Divine Witnesses - Steven Manchester

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Dinner at God’s House - Todd Lieman
  • The Cosmic Caretaker - Ang Anderson
  • One Kiss - Michelle Ashton

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • The Authenticity Compass - Pamela Bond
  • Own Your Power Within - Laura K. Stoia, M.A.
  • Agatha’s Angels - Michael C. Vassallo


COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES:

WINNER: The KEAK Anthology - Dr. Katherine E.A. Korkidis

RUNNER-UP: Gravity Flow: The Jimmy Whistler Stories - E.M. Schorb

HONORABLE MENTION:

  • The Wild of Wild Wonderful West Virginia - Jackson Middle School/Don Stansberry


HOW-TO:

WINNER: I Am Delivered Workbook - Dr. Jewel D. Williams

RUNNER-UP:

  • 9 Steps to Build a Life of Meaning - Rick Walker
  • Landlord Management 101 - J.R. Perroni

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • The Objectivist’s Guide to the Galaxy - Zoltan Cendes
  • What’s Eating Our Kids? - Julie A. Wendt
  • Success in 7 Steps - Deirdre Wolownick


BUSINESS:

WINNER: Unlikely to Unstoppable - Jennifer Collins/Elizabeth Clark

RUNNER-UP: Your B.R.A.N.D. Unleashed - Lisa A. Shorr

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Like Clockwork - Sam Goodner
  • The Power of Digital Identity - Rakesh Soni