Previous Finalists

Newsletter

Hi everybody, If you didn't know, The Wishing Shelf Book Awards is a BIG supporter of Blind Children UK. Every year, we send them a donation specifically targeted at helping them to cover the cost of producing 'large print books' for visually impaired children. Here is the Charity's Mission Statement: Support of visually impaired children, their families & helpers by providing the 5 key services of Family support, Educational advocacy, I/T support & equipment, Holidays & activities & Large print books. This year, we are planning to send them a LITTLE EXTRA! So, what we thought we'd do is offer our authors an EDITORIAL REVIEW at a discounted price. If you don't know what an EDITORIAL REVIEW is, go to https://www.thewsa.co.uk/needareview . As it's for charity, the reviewers have (very kindly) offered to do the reviews for FREE! We usually organise editorial reviews for £79 ($99) but, for this weekend only, we will organise them for £50($69). Then, EVERY PENNY/CENT WILL GO TO BLIND CHILDREN UK! THIS OFFER WILL ONLY BE VALID UNTIL MONDAY 23RD AUGUST, so you have THREE DAYS to contact us! So, if you wish us to organise an EDITORIAL REVIEW for one OR LOTS of your books, send us a PDF of the book and we will organise it for you. Not only will you be paying 90% less than asking Kirkus to do it, you will be supporting an excellent charity. We will let you know how much money we will be sending the charity next week! :) IMPORTANT TO NOTE: 1. This is a totally SEPARATE service we offer and has nothing to do with the awards. 2. Everything you need to know regarding EDITORIAL REVIEWS is HERE: https://www.thewsa.co.uk/needareview 3. You can send us any book you wish for an Editorial Review - as long as it yours! :) Cheers, Edward (and The Wishing Shelf Gang)

Hi everybody,

Below is a list of the 2021 FINALISTS in the NEW Category 9 (Children/Young Adult) Best Book Cover and the NEW Category 10 (Adult) Best Book Cover.
Our readers had a lot of fun picking the finalists and the winners too. The winners (picked from the finalists) will be announced in a few days time. There will be gold, silver and bronze medal winners for Category 9 (Children/YA) and Category 10 (Adult).

If your book is listed below, I need you to let me know two things:

1. Who is the name of the illustrator/designer who put together your cover? We can then include them on the finalist certificate and when we list the book on the award website.
2. Do you want to have a finalist medal? The winner medals will be free, but we can’t cover the cost of the finalist medals too. The good news is we sell them at cost: £29 plus postage. If you do want a finalist medal, I will need your FULL POSTAL ADDRESS. And, trust me, they look (and feel) amazing!

After we have all the info regarding illustrators/designers from you, we will list all the books on the website. We will then announce the WINNERS and list them too. Then we can begin organising the certificate and marketing the books for you! By the way, we had 105 book covers entered!
That’s it for now. And congrats to all the finalists!

Edward (and The Wishing Shelf Gang)
 
FINALISTS 2021
Category 9 Best Book Cover (Children/Young Adult)
Cruel Summer, Bernard Jan
Do You See the Giant? Srividhya Lakshmanan, ill. by Akansha Krishnan
Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap, Sean March
Magic of the Mortokai, D G Palmer
Octavia Bloom and the Missing Key. Estelle Grace Tudor
Prickle the Puffer Fish, Gloria Barnett, Pam Clubb
Rory, Quest for the Northern Lights, Sarah Cullen, Carmen Ellis, ill. by Zuzana Svobodova
Space Toads on the Moon, S M J Rigstad, ill. by Luz Ferro
Spell Mason, Alex C. Vick
Spinner, Michael J. Bowler
Taro, Blue Spruell
Tea O’Clock, Atticus Ryder
Tell Me Another Story Dad, Julie Hodgson, Irene Czusz
The Adventurers and the Continental Chase, Jemma Hatt
The Adventures of Bentley Hippo, Inspiring Children to Accept Each Other, Argyro Graphy, ill. by Michael Reyes
The Lovely Haze of Baby Days, Lindsay Kellar-Madsen and Mie Frey Damgaard
The Sigil Masters, Rick Duffy
The World Beyond the Walls, Jean Gill
The Young Adult’s Collection of Short Scary Stories, Michael Ross
Through the Gate, Kay Jordan
Trouble at the Monster Zoo, Kristina Rowlands, ill. by Mia Lloyd
When The Sky Roars, Katie Weaver
 
FINALISTS 2021
Category 10 Best Book Cover (Adult)
Awakening the Gods, Kristin Gleeson
Barefoot Alice, Jan Porter
Deficiency, S C Eston
Ever Rest, Roz Morris
Fall of Two, Dixon Reuel
From Steam to Salt, McKenzie Austin
Glamorous, Denise Bossarte
Haunting in Old Tailem, Janice Tremayne
Hell Holes, Donald Firesmith
Hope in Liverpool, T N Traynor
How Icasia Bloom Touched Happiness, Jessica Bell
Landscape of a Marriage, Gail Ward Olmsted
Love Among the Recipes, Carol M. Cram
Night Goddess, Araya Evermore
Only Sofia-Elisabete, Robin Elizabeth Kobayashi
Playing Soldier, F. Scott Service
Ripley Valor, Thoren Syndergaard
Searching For Gatsby, Niki Danforth
Sentinals Awaken, Helen Garraway
The Lost Valor of Love, E A Carter
The Strange Woman, Stephanie Shields
The Treasure of Lor-Rev, Bryan Asher
Thriving After Sexual Abuse, Denise Bossarte
Throttle Up, How to Accelerate the Impact of 21^st Century Leadership, John P Dentico
Unfettered Journey, Gary F. Bengier
Woman, V P Evans
Your Next Big Idea, Samuel Sanders
 

THE WISHING SHELF BOOK AWARDS 2020

WINNERS

Below is a list of the 2020 WINNERS in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. The adult books were read and judged by 2 Reading Groups, 1 in London and 1 in Stockholm; the children’s books by 8 UK primary and secondary schools. The books were marked according to EDITING, THEME, STYLE, COVER and, in the case of many of the children’s books, ILLUSTRATIONS.

If you happen to be looking for a good read, the readers at The Wishing Shelf Awards thoroughly recommend the following:

www.thewsa.co.uk/winners2020

Category 1 Pre-School Picture Books

GOLD

I Wish You Happiness, Michael Wong, Ill. by Ann Baratashvili

The Snark, Justin Davis, ill. by Stephanie Jayne

SILVER

Compare Bear's Double Dare, Kim Linette, ill. by James Loram

Tom’s Zombie Fright, J C Perry

BRONZE

Coaster, Paula Kluth, ill. by Vinsensiana Aprilia

Be Proud to be Blue, Diane Hull, ill. by Jan Dolby

Sally and her Super Snot, Salma Zaman, ill. by Ursula Hurst

Category 2 Books for 6 – 8 Year Olds

GOLD

Ballistic Kids, Thom Craigen, ill. by Matt Riste

SILVER

The Noisy Classroom, Angela Shanté, ill. by Alison Hawkins

Where Dragons Fly, Hannah Sparks

BRONZE

Sven and the Purse of Silver, Michael E Wills

Shiloh and Dande the Lion, Ciara L Hill, ill. by Christian Krabbe

Sky Up! Patrice Augustus-Brown

Where’s My Joey? Wendy Monica Winter, ill. by Roxana Antochi

Category 3 Books for 9 – 12 Year Olds

GOLD

Gobbledy, Lis Anna-Langston

SILVER

The Mostly Invisible Boy, A.J. Vanderhorst

Operation Sabre: A Paul Fox Spy Adventure, Glenn Carter

BRONZE

Grace From Space, Barbara Glazier-Robinson

Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy, Ruthy Ballard

Tell, or the Adventures in Themiddle, L N Mayer

Category 4 Books for Teenagers

GOLD

The Truth That Lies Between, W D McComb

Everything All At Once (CHORDUROYS AND TOO MANY BOYS), Ivy Cayden

SILVER

Ben Archer and the Alien Skill, Rae Knightly

Through the Gate, Kay Jordan

BRONZE

Ice Queen, Felicia Farber

Ever Alice, H J Ramsay

Thorfinn and the Witch's Curse, Jay Veloso Batista

Category 5 Books for Adults (fiction)

GOLD

Playing Dead, Monique Faison Ross

The Opium Lord's Daughter, Robert Wang

SILVER

Arnold Falls, Charlie Suisman

Hermit Girl, E M Collyer

Farseeker, Joanna Starr

Transference, B T Keaton

BRONZE

Life in the Chastity Zone, Holly Brandon

Haunting in Hartley, Janice Tremayne

Between Witches & Angels, T N Traynor

The Albatross: Contact, Connor Mackay

Love Among the Recipes, Carol M. Cram

Finding My Night, Halo Roberts

Category 6 Books for Adults (non-fiction)

GOLD

How Much Big Is the Sky: A Memoir of a Mother's Love and Unfathomable Loss, Sherry Chapman

SILVER

Young Offender, Michael Maisey

Ghosts of the NHS, Glynis Allen

BRONZE

Compassion Mandala: The Odyssey of an American Charity in Contemporary Tibet, Pamela Logan

Make Fitness A Priority: 30 tips to elevate your life through fitness, Chad Austin, Jesse Kepka

Anchorless, Jolie P. Hoang

Brothers in Arms, Kevin M. Callahan