The 2026 Imadjinn Awards!
See below for a list of this year’s Finalists!
Reminder: Very few dinner tickets remain for our Awards Banquet! Be sure to get yours reserved today if you would like a dinner seating!
Read below for the Rules and Stipulations and full list of Finalists!
Imaginarium 2026 is our 13th year, and we will be hosting our Awards Banquet on Saturday, July 18th, 2026, where the 2026 Imadjinn Award Winners and Film Festival Winners will be announced live!
About the Imadjinn Awards: First awarded at Imaginarium 2015, in our 2nd year, the Imadjinn Awards are a comprehensive series of juried writing awards that recognize outstanding achievement in a broad range of genres and categories.
They have become a highly respected writing award internationally, and encompass many spheres of writing including screenwriting, comics, song lyrics, and game development, in addition to a wide array of literary categories.
The next group of Imadjinn Awards will be announced and presented at Imaginarium 2026 on Saturday, July 18th, 2026 at the Awards Banquet that evening.
Rules and Stipulations for the 2026 Imadjinn Awards
- Books nominated must have been published for the first time between January 1st, 2025 and December 31st, 2025 to be eligible. Reprints published during that time frame are not eligible for these awards, unless the reprint has been out of print for at least 20 years and is part of a collection/anthology released within our required dates of entry.
- Nominations of a title must be made by the publisher, the author, or an official representative of the publisher such as a PA, literary agent, or manager.
- All nominees must be prepared to expedite eBook copies of titles in ePub and PDF formats for the awards jury if selected to be a finalist. You will have one week upon notification to deliver files for our jury.
- Multiple titles by the same author may be submitted in a single category.
- A title may only be entered in a single category. Please choose the category most appropriate for your nomination.
- Nomination period will end at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on Monday, February 2nd, 2026.
- Awards will be announced and presented at the Imaginarium 2026 Awards Banquet on Saturday, July 18th, 2026 at the Holiday Inn Louisville East
- If you are not present at the Awards Ceremony, you will be responsible for the shipping and handling fee if you wish for the award to be sent to you.
2026 Imadjinn Award Finalists
Note: Screenplays are recognized in our Film Festival, as well as the Imadjinn Awards, and submissions for screenplays are done through our Film Festival Platforms at FilmFreeway and the International Screenwriters’ Assosciation. see those platforms for deadlines and other information.
Below is our official list of Finalists for the 2026 Imadjinn Awards! Winners will be announced during our Awards Banquet taking place Saturday, July 18th, during the Imaginarium 2026 weekend!
Best Anthology (multiple authors)
Dancing With Destruction
Editor – Jason Cordova
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Love at Harriet
Editor – Elizabeth Anne Lance
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What Swallows the Light
Editors – Paula Limbaugh, Victoria Kiska, Charlene du Toit, & Theresa Derwin
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It Came From the Trailer Park: Double Wide Volume 1
Editors William Joseph Roberts & Jesse James Fain
Best Audiobook Narration
Ghostship Derelict (Dagdan Federation universe Book 1)
Narrated by Brian Fairbank
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Shadow Card Guardian
Narrated by Anna Delphine
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Bowen Island: A Folly Beach Mystery
Narrated by Rich Frazier
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Harvest of Evil: Book One of the John Fisher Chronicles
Narrated by Perry Wince
Best Children’s Book
What Farm Boots are For
Carol June Franks
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Sunny and the Round Things
Jennia D’Lima
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The Young Dragon And The Curse Of Tempest Isle
Alyssa Davis
Best Cross Genre Novel
We Are Travelers
Kiley Patteson
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The Eagle Flies at Night
Lance Loot
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Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls
Marilyn Barr
Best Faith-Based Novel
Love Makes Way
Hallee Bridgeman
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Four Moments: A Dylan Drake Story
J. Patrick Lemarr
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The Stories We Carry
Robin W. Pearson
Best Fantasy Novel
Rise From Ruin
Melissa Olthoff
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A Count of Courage
Nancy Moser
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The Blacksmith’s Boy
Bruce Buchanan
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The Healer’s Heir
Katie Fitzgerald
Best Game Module / Rule Book
Evolved: Super Heroic Time Travel RPG
Josh Palmer
Best Historical Fiction Novel
In Harm’s Way
Thomas M. Wing
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Whistles of the Wendigo: A Joint Task Force 13 Legacy Novel
Charli Cox
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Thrall of Deception: A Tale from Norvegr
Edale Lane
Best Horror Novel
The Great Dick and the Dysfunctional Demon
Barry Maher
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The Exorcist’s House: Resurrection
Nick Roberts
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Southern Cross
Vaughan A. Jackson
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Darkness Calls
Joe Chianakas
Best Literary Fiction Novel
Again, Only More Like You
Catalina Margulis
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Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike
Benjamin Rue Silliman
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The Ashes of Us
Ashley Baker
Best Middle Grade Book
Dreams of Gold and Fire
Fred Phillips
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Not Lucille
Mike Steele
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Scareville: Food To Die For
John Ward
Best Mystery Novel
Alibi for Murder
Melodie Romeo
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Crossfire: A Folly Beach Mystery
Bill Noel
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Shattered Sanctuary
Nancy Mehl
Best Non-Fiction Book
When the Smoke Cleared
Det. Lt. Bill Powers (Ret.)
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A Monster in Mount Pleasant
CJ Williams
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52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels
Paul Bishop
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Abundantly Brilliant: A Story of Pain, Power and Perseverance
Black Mariah
Best Paranormal Romance Novel
S’more Love
K. Rose
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Resurrection
Karen White
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Dancing with a Demon
L. R. Braden
Best Poetry Collection (single author)
The Book of Hours
Darius Jones
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I Am, You Are, Part of it All
Carla Cilvik
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The Eighth
Rita Spalding
Best Romance Novel
Everybody Knows
Ariella Talix
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No Apologies
Andrea Jenelle
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The Scald Crow
Karen White
Best Science Fiction Novel
Bifrost Down
Jon R. Osborne
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Dead to Rights: A Car Warriors Autoduel Novel
Jay Barnson
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Frozen Echoes
Ed Downes
Best Short Story Collection (single author)
Six O’Clock House & Other Strange Tales
Rebecca Cuthbert
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Midnight Vintage
Joshua Viola and Sean Eads
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The Wind’s Four Quarters
Alma Alexander
Best Short Story
Through the Holler, Into the Dark
Emma E. Murray
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Love’s Fiercest Light
Hallee Bridgeman
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The Leper’s Garden
Jeff Clulow
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This Broken World
Mia Dalia
Best Song Lyrics
The Long Road
Romana Bereneth
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Hush
Jayson William Allen
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Finish line
Jayson William Allen
Best Thriller Novel
The First Wives
S.E. Reed
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Collateral Damage
Mick Williams
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Cash Target
Edale Lane
Best Urban Fantasy Novel
House of Owls
Jon R. Osborne
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The Unlife of Lisa Cooper: Vengeance
JM Celi
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A Conundrum of Wizards
K.R. Bady
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Reaper
John G. Hartness
Best Western Novel
Iron Horse
Will Neely
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Legends of the West
Michael Black
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Blood Lake
C.M. Saunders
Best Young Adult Novel
The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine
Lindsay A. Franklin
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Awakening: Winberie Journals Book One
Lynn Tincher
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Missing Mom
Lynn Slaughter
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Paramour
Robin Alvarez
Best Magazine/Periodical
Kentucky Monthly
Stephen M Vest
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parABnormal Magazine
H David Blalock
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Kraft Paper Muse
Ana Maria Selvaggio
