2024 NEW ENGLAND BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS UNIQUE CHILDREN’S BOOK
NEW ENGLAND_The story of a boy who kidnaps Death in order to give everlasting
life to his people is the top book in the 2024 New England Book Festival,
which honors the best of the holiday season.
Author José Oldenburg and illustrator Robert Nailon’s Horatio in the Wind
- Book 1 in The Leunam Tales (self-published) tells the unique story of
a young prince who struggles to protect his family from death. To achieve that,
he captures Death in a sack, but soon learns that the joy of living is
inextricably bound with dying, and so has to release Death in order to
rediscover the beauty and meaning of life.
An unusual tale for the category and lavishly illustrated, Horatio in the Wind
was written as a way for the author to cope with an early fear of dying. Through
this story, he hopes to help others to grieve, move on, and enjoy life to the
fullest, and is well worthy of top honors.
Other books in the competition:
SCIENCE FICTION:
WINNER: Return of the Star Lords - B.A. Gillies
RUNNERS-UP:
- Pilgrims - M.R. Leonard
- Desert Shadows - Richard Draude
- Meddling Mages - S.G. Blaise
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Eldryan Elders - S.G. Blaise
- The Pilgrim - Part 1 - A. Keith Carreiro
- Gravity of Sol-3 - J.H. Gruger
GENERAL NONFICTION:
WINNER: Rudeness Rehab - John M. O’Brien
RUNNERS-UP:
- 100 Jewish Brides - Barbara Vinick and Shulamit Reinharz
- The Curious History of the Heart - Vince M. Figueredo
- A Vote for You - Marnie Maton
- The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster, MD
- This Is How We Heal from Painful Childhoods - Ernest Ellender, PhD
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- It’s Okay Not To Be Fabulous Every Day - Ally Dalsimer
- Cherish America - Robert B. Charles
- Locker Tales - Lew Freimark
- The International Leader - Currie Gauvreau
- Memoir of a Mangled Mind - Steve Simmons Shelton, MA, JD
- Covered Bridges of New Hampshire - Kim Varney Chandler
- Dancing Between the Raindrops - Lisa Braxton
- The Bard and his Sister-in-Law - Lopamudra Banerjee
- Are You Ready? - Dr. Kimberly Harris
- Untouched: Miraculous Recovery - Joan E. Anderson
- The Powerful Publicity Prescription - Lilian Sue
- Memoir Moments - Mary E. Kuykendall
- Protecting Mama - Léonie Rosenstiel
- First-Person American - John Sheirer
- The Politzer Saga - Linda Ambrus Broenniman
- Got Spiritual Troubles? - Cindy Turck
- The 5 Pitfalls of a Relationship - Dr. La Grande Mason Jr. PhD
ROMANCE:
WINNER: A perfect miracle - Katrina Alexander
RUNNER-UP: Suburban Love - Sherry Jackson
CHILDREN’S BOOKS:
WINNER: Horatio in the Wind - José Oldenburg, Robert Nailon
RUNNERS-UP:
- Brunt and Eggbert - Jeff Dorrill
- The West Wind - Andy Opel
- Truffle: A Dog (and Cat) Story- David McPhail
- Benjamin’s Special Memories - Fernando Jackson
- Upton Charles, Dog Detective - Double Trouble - D.G. Stern
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Blue Lobster Visits The Eye Doctor - Robin Chiarello
- Skelee Boy, Book 1 - Sandra Rathbone
- The Stolen Heart of the Cape Cod Bay - J.B. Auchter
- The Enchanted Journey of Remembering with Grandpa - Fernando Jackson
- Hippo Tales - Lew Freimark
- Tuck, Cluck & Buck - Hope Chambers
- John Adams: The Voice Heard Round the World - Marian Hannah Carlson
- Beary and the Blue Backpack - Angee Costa and Kenya Hinson
- A Legend of Now - E. Merwin
- Real Spies Don’t Use Rowboats - Jeffrey Hope
- Harriet's Hungry Worms - Samantha Smith
GAY:
WINNER: The Hollow - Christopher L. Thomas
RUNNER-UP: The Photograph - Eve M. Riley
BUSINESS:
WINNER: Above Quota Performance - Steven Weinberg
RUNNERS-UP:
- Leading to Thrive - Klaus Kleinfeld
- The Invisible Industry - Bob McGlincy
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Above Quota Sales Management - Steven Weinberg
- Lead From Within: Kim Kleeman
SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS:
WINNER: Legacy: Wisdom of African Traditions and the Bible - Christopher
Morehouse
RUNNERS-UP:
- Esteban: Love’s Irony - Fish Nealman
- When You Were Small - M.D. Nahum, Gerard G.
HONORABLE MENTION:
- The Awakened Christian - Dr. Nicholas J. Circolone
BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
WINNER: Craving Spring - Ann Batchelder
RUNNER-UP: The Way it Was - Amos Horev
HONORABLE MENTION:
- Cherish America - Robert B. Charles
WILD CARD:
WINNER: Everyone’s Trash - Duncan Watson
RUNNERS-UP:
- Bottled Lightning - L.M. Weeks
- Esteban: Love’s Irony - Fish Nealman
- The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster, MD
- AI Today: OI Tomorrow - Edmund JB White
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Land of Shadows and Moss - A.S.R. Gelpi
- Warning: Short Stories for Middle School Boys Only, Because Girls Have
Cooties! - Gene J. Miller
- Loving Leopold - Diane Ramsay
- Ambition to Savor - B.B.E. Gwyn
- Tooth Tales and Enchanted Smiles - Angelina and Cameron Huang
GENERAL FICTION:
WINNERS:
- Rebuild the Moon - Trip Mackintosh
- Jhill - Sean O’Neil
RUNNERS-UP:
- Considering Us - Jenn Bouchard
- Islands of Women - Eileen A. O’Hara
- First Love Last Love - Edward Eaton
- Elephant Safari - Peter Riva
- Esteban: Love’s Irony - Fish Nealman
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Until the Stars Align - Carolyn Summer Quinn
- Spectral Guidance - Laurie A.M. Ludtke
-
The Intruder’s Visions - Gary M. Lang

- Saints, Strangers and Rosehip Tea - Toni Kief
- The Sea Glass Epidemic - Jodi Lyons
- The Path Beneath Her Feet - Janis Daly
- Child of Secrets from Afar - Carolyn Summer Quinn
- Where All Roads Lead - Devon Richards
- Death of a Mayfly - Ellie Leonard
- Careful What You Wish For - Roger C. Douglas
- The Mala Beads - Kathy Aspden
- The Summer Before - Dianne C. Braley
- Tiepolo’s Greyhound - E. Merwin
- Captain Nicholas Remembers - Artemios John Korkidis and Dr. Katherine
E.A. Korkidis
- The Mystery From Way Back When… - Carolyn Summer Quinn
- The Song of Dreams - M.J. Burgess
-
A Soldier’s Burden - Natia Khaduri

- Sniff - G.C. Brown
- The Balkan Air - Aydin Kavara
- A Hush at Midnight - Marlene M. Bell
- Catbird - Julia Marie Davis
- Burning Secret - RJ Lloyd
- Novel Women 3 - Between Friends Book Club, Kim Sullivan Harwanko
- Christmas Actually - Lisa Darcy
- eMortal - Steve Schater
- Lazarus - J. Carter Merwin
- An Improbable Alliance - Diane Coia-Ramsay
- Coldwater Endgame - James A. Ross
- Happy Hour - Elissa Bass
- What's Your Number? - Linda Wong
-
To Jerusalem - Natia Khaduri

HOW-TO:
WINNER: 30 Things: Practical Advice for Living Well - William Schaberg
RUNNER-UP: Healing in Advance - Alexander Watson
POETRY:
WINNER: Flood Plain - Lisa Sewell
RUNNERS-UP:
- An Empty God - Edward Eaton
- Poems of a Life Volume 2 - Brenda Alvarado
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Rise: An Inspired Book of Dreams - Ebenezer O. Makinde
- Fabric of Light - Travis Sharp
- Unheard - Bhavini Bhargava
MEMOIR:
WINNER: The Significance of Curly Hair - Kara Zajac
RUNNERS-UP:
- Me and My Shadow - John Walker Pattison
- Karma and Kismet - Michael Shandler
- Trauma and Ecstasy - Alex Abraham
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- It All Belongs - Judy & Roy Smoot, Melinda Folse
- Where the River Bends - Doug Landgraff
- Hiding in Plain Sight - Justin Perry
- Katie Girl - John S. Bentley
- Abandoned at Birth - Janet Sherlund
- An Unknown Angel’s Gift - Cherie S. Blackwell
YOUNG ADULT:
WINNER: The Course - Dennis Torres
RUNNER-UP:
Warning: Short Stories for Middle School Boys Only, Because Girls
Have Cooties! - Gene J. Miller

HONORABLE MENTION:
- Forgotten Summer - Robert Gilbert
REGIONAL LIT:
WINNER: Silence - Julia Park Tracey
RUNNER-UP: What’s Wild - Eric Orff
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Fruitcake - Mark Daniel Compton
- A Summer of Canoes - J.W. Elliot
UNPUBLISHED STORIES:
WINNER: The Third Estate Secrets of the Manor - D.R. Berlin
RUNNER-UP: The Art of Living in a Family - Embla Rhodes
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Humor When You Need it - Cate Burns
- Property of the Revolution - Ana Hebra Flaster
COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES:
WINNER: First-Person American - John Sheirer
RUNNER-UP: The AJK Anthology - Artemios Korkidis
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