2025 Award-Winning Fiction Books – Reader Views Literary Awards
Each year, the Reader Views Literary Awards recognize outstanding independent authors and small presses whose work rises above the competition. These books are selected through a rigorous editorial review process by our team of professional reviewers — not algorithms, not sales numbers. Just careful, thoughtful reading.
Below are the 2025 award winners in our adult fiction and poetry categories. Every book on this list is independently published or from a small press, and every one has earned its place here.
Erotica
GOLD: Sext and the Small City – Aimee Chan, Suitcases & Strollers Pty Ltd
SILVER: Royal Good Time – Victoria E Benoit, Heron & Hummingbird Press
Fantasy
GOLD: Two Crowns, Three Blades – Robert A. Walker, Independently Published
SILVER: Purgatory Academy: Class of 666 – Draco Amethystus, Storm Dragon Publishing
BRONZE: Mercy: Tears of the Fallen – Chance Dillon, Light Seeker Publishing
BRONZE: A Pack of Wolves – P.L. Stuart, FriesenPress
FINALIST: The Fives’ Oath: Legacy of the Bloodborn – Mehdi Mejri, Troubador Publishing
FINALIST: The Scion Conspiracy – Mike Cahoon, Independently Published
FINALIST: Wolf of the Nordic Seas – Jennifer Ivy Walker, Green Mermaid Publications
FINALIST: The Roses of Port Townsend – Ethel Steinmetz Marmont, Palmetto Publishing
General Fiction
GOLD: Wednesday Night Whites – Marci Lin Melvin, Her Island Press
SILVER: Life of Her – Elizabeth Conte, Jane Writes Press
SILVER: Little Amish Girl – Viola Estrella, Independently Published
BRONZE: A Life in Frames – Leonora Ross, Independently Published
BRONZE: Drop Dead Cadillac – Gabriel F. W. Koch, Outskirts Press Inc.
FINALIST: Metanoia Cave – Ken Adams, Outskirts Press Inc.
FINALIST: The Broken Weathervane – Laura DeNooyer, Scrivenings Press
FINALIST: Only Now We Are – Nathan Kato-Wallace, Independently Published
FINALIST: Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief – Sheila Sharpe, Redwood Publishing
Historical Fiction
GOLD: Solitary Walker: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft – N.J. Mastro, Black Rose Writing
SILVER: Wednesday Night Whites – Marci Lin Melvin, Her Island Press
SILVER: The Healer’s Daughter – Myriana Merkovic, Independently Published
BRONZE: However Long the Day – K J Kelly, Artempo Publishing
BRONZE: Contests of Strength – Melissa Slager, Truth & Story
FINALIST: Serenade of Sirens: The Lost Boys of Tosa – KD Allbaugh, Battle Ridge Rising Sun Press
FINALIST: Für Elise: A Novel – Mark Splitstone, Amalgam Books
FINALIST: Wolf of the Nordic Seas – Jennifer Ivy Walker, Green Mermaid Publications
Horror
GOLD: The Silence: Broken Aegis – David Adams, Independently Published
SILVER: Mirrored, Darkly – Martin V. Parece II, Parece Publishing
BRONZE: Ghost Writer – Arjay Lewis, Mindbender Press
FINALIST: Swallowing the Muskellunge – Lawrence P. O’Brien, LoonCE
FINALIST: Do Not Resuscitate – Scott Eveloff, Black Rose Writing
Humor
GOLD: Indifferent Universe – Joseph Blackhurst, Independently Published
SILVER: The Gentleman Thief Steals a Blanket – Mark Nutter, BookBaby
BRONZE: Dog Logic: A Thystopian Satire, Book 1 – Tom Strelich, Black Rose Writing
FINALIST: Water Memory: A Thystopian Satire, Book 2 – Tom Strelich, Black Rose Writing
LGBTQIA+
GOLD: Simpleman – Michael Scott Curnes, Down Wind Press
SILVER: Walking on Nathan’s Grave – R. Luce, Independently Published
BRONZE: Out of the Blue – Marisa Billions, Mirador Publishing
FINALIST: Oath – Kate Butler, Cupido Books
Mystery
GOLD: Savage Malice – Kit Karson, Granite Mountain Press
SILVER: Red Shadow at Saugatuck – Randy Overbeck, Wild Rose Press
BRONZE: Unicorns Can Be Deadly – Charlotte Stuart, Amphorae Publishing Group
FINALIST: Sick as a Dog – Tracy Carter, BookBaby
FINALIST: The Roses of Port Townsend – Ethel Steinmetz Marmont, Palmetto Publishing
Novellas, Graphic Novels & Flash Fiction
GOLD: Gone to Where – Michelle Choi, Lumiere Picturebook LLC
SILVER: Teneō: A Novella – Kojo Gyan, Independently Published
BRONZE: Bad Americans: Part I – Tejas Desai, The New Wei LLC
FINALIST: Upside Down – R. Morello, Independently Published
FINALIST: Prophets of War – Jack Brown, Morgan House Press
Pets & Animals
GOLD: Mommy’s Boy – Jennifer Huston Schaeffer, White Dog Books
SILVER: RATS With Backpacks – J.N. Courtney, J.N. Courtney Productions
BRONZE: The Two Dogs Who Stayed – Matthew Caldwell, Northern Paw Press
FINALIST: Sick as a Dog – Tracy Carter, BookBaby
Religious Fiction
GOLD: I Wash My Hands: The “Autobiography” of Pontius Pilate – P. Drew Warren, Pontius Press
SILVER: Martyrdom’s Passage – David Colin, Independently Published
BRONZE: Boy of Heaven – Morris Hoffman, Resource Publications
FINALIST: Retribution: Chronicles of Reaper Book II – J.R. Lightfoot, Independently Published
Romance
GOLD: Always – Andy M Davidson, Elk Lake Publishing
SILVER: Charcuterie Girl – JA Wright, Saint Johns Creek Publishing, LLC
BRONZE: Banana Espresso – Castille Viora-Marquet, Independently Published
BRONZE: The Valentine Lines – TK Sheffield, Making Hay Press
FINALIST: Cadence of the Storm – Delia Duke, Nimbus Dynamix LLC
FINALIST: My Wingman – Tessa King, Independently Published
FINALIST: Cloud Dragon – S.W. Lawrence, Sidekick Press, LLC
Science Fiction
GOLD: Descartes’ Shadow – Don Stuart, Colvos Publications
SILVER: Erasing Emily – Francis Malka, Independently Published
SILVER: Göd’s Gate – Alan Kurt, Independently Published
BRONZE: Minus One – Mark Kolody, Independently Published
BRONZE: The Matriarch Messiah – Maxime Trencavel, Tail of the Bird Books
FINALIST: Finding the Gift – Charis Jones, Independently Published
FINALIST: Saving Mozart – Charles R Hinckley, Mad Drummer
FINALIST: Obsession with Change – Cecil W. Lee, Early Bird Publishing
Seasonal & Holiday Fiction
GOLD: After the Spirits Come – Beth Ford, Peony Books
SILVER: His Last Christmas Gift – Debra Borchert, Le Vin Press
BRONZE: The Valentine Lines – TK Sheffield, Making Hay Press
FINALIST: Oak Street Treehouse: The Day They Played Christmas – Dick Daniels, Leadership Development Group
Short Story Collections & Anthologies
GOLD: The Book of Lost Innocence – Glenn Taylor, And Then What Happened
SILVER: Next Year in Paterson – Ron Goldberg, Independently Published
BRONZE: The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories – Ekta R. Garg, Atmosphere Press
FINALIST: 19 Doors – Rob Roy O’Keefe, O’Caoimh O’riginals
FINALIST: The Summer of Haight – George Petersen, Cinematic Press
FINALIST: My Side of the World and Other Tales of Death – Beka Wueste, Fox Island Press
Thriller & Suspense
GOLD: Wednesday Night Whites – Marci Lin Melvin, Her Island Press
SILVER: Abbot Lane – Jim Layeux, Ace Of Spades Publishing
SILVER: Visage of Moros – Tamel Wino, Independently Published
BRONZE: Switch – Lisa Towles, Indies United Publishing
BRONZE: Shark Bunny – Melani Redmiles-Quinley, RedQuin
BRONZE: Unstoppable – Michael Maloof, Golden Oak Writer’s Guild, LLC
FINALIST: The Rich Guy’s Wife – Bonnie Traymore, Pathways Publishing
FINALIST: Boardroom Assassin – R L Hare, Independently Published
FINALIST: Gone To Ground – Morgan Hatch, Black Rose Writing
FINALIST: Sanctity of Freedom – Peter Thomas Pontsa, Iconic Scribes Press Inc.
FINALIST: The Catalogue – Ty Mitchell, Red Rope Press
FINALIST: The Forbidden Heiress – Gledé Browne Kabongo, Independently Published
Poetry
GOLD: Tomorrow’s Rain – Andrew Daniels, Independently Published
SILVER: Fainting Girl – Georgia Francis, Quiet Island
SILVER: Fragments: A Collection of Poems – Zana Asanaj, Independently Published
BRONZE: Martyrdom’s Passage – David Colin, Independently Published
BRONZE: The Activist Poet – Volume IV – Stewart F. Brennan, Independently Published
FINALIST: Vietnam As They Knew It – Jerry L. Staub, Independently Published
FINALIST: The Quiet Calendar – Oquirrh Keyes, Epiphany Blaire Press
FINALIST: Variations on Tzara – Jan Škrdlík, Musical Forge
FINALIST: Pathic Bearing – David Colin, Independently Published
About the Reader Views Literary Awards
The Reader Views Literary Awards are an annual program recognizing excellence in independent and small press publishing across fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and poetry categories. Every entered book receives a professional editorial review, and winners are selected by our team of experienced reviewers.
Awards are presented annually. To enter your book in the next cycle, visit our Literary Awards page.
All books link to their full Reader Views editorial review. Click any title to read the complete review.