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