2022
1st Place: The Under Sky, by Rayna Magee
SYNOPSIS
Lir is going to make the humans pay. Abandoned by her fey parents and enchanted to look human, she scrapes by as a Defiled, the lowest caste of human society, outcast and despised. But when Lir accidentally kills a human with fey magic, she draws the attention of the Guild, a powerful organization of enchanters, and she decides she’s done holding back. If humans intend to hunt and kill her, Lir is going to kill as many of them as she can first.
Elayos is going to stop her. She might only be an apprentice enchanter, but she’s Pure and she comes from a long line of prestigious individuals. She’s got a world to save and respect to earn. If Elayos can capture a changeling, all the people who mocked her will have to accept her.
Then enchantment gone wrong strands them in the wilderness weeks away from the Guild capital at Tridis. Lir doesn’t intend to die before getting her revenge and posthumous accolades aren’t the sort Elayos craves. The two young women form an uneasy alliance as they trek across a hazardous landscape where the water runs toxic, ancient ruins hide in the swamp, and a metal sky hangs above. But as their destination grows closer, the question looms: what will happen to this partnership (dare they call it friendship?) when they reach Tridis?
After all, only one of them wins.
Rayna Magee’s fae fantasy is a complex tale of opposing perspectives that is both a pleasure to read and a beautiful example of dramatizing motivation. Very skillfully done.
2nd Place: A Lawyer in Shining Armor, by Rachel North
SYNOPSIS
Daren Ritter always wanted to be a lawyer, but he never thought it would be like this.
Judge Fairy Godmother continually sentences his defendants to Grimor, an island prison that holds the worst sorcerers of their age. After she rules against him in Shepherds v. The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Daren is one failed case away from falling back into poverty.
The Wolf case throws their legal system into turmoil. Hopeless, defendants forego representation, and citizens protest Fairy Godmother’s cruelty. Cinderella’s stepsister Finley Blake approaches Daren to prosecute the case of the century: Blake v. Fairy Godmother.
The trial could save Daren’s career. But as evidence disappears and his mother’s dementia progresses, he becomes desperate. He must purge the corruption from their courts—but how can he do so without corrupting himself?
Rachel North has penned an impressively developed story world with nuanced characters and a wonderful premise. The story is joyful, humorous, clever, and loads of fun.
3rd Place: Eulogy, by Sophie Monastra
SYNOPSIS
Unlike the rest of her adoptive family and two-thirds of the city of Requiem, Mattea Reis doesn’t have superpowers, and she’s fine with that. She’s better at cleaning than jump-kicking bad guys, and being an unofficial janitor at Heroes Inc. means free admission to the museum. But when Eulogy, her parents’ longtime nemesis, returns and kidnaps Matt’s younger sister as bait, there’s no way Matt will let her get away with it.
Posing as a hardened antihero, Matt contacts Heroes Inc. The council hires her to accomplish what no licensed superhero can—assassinate Eulogy. Along with her vigilante cousin who might be a wizard, a petty thief who thinks he’s a criminal mastermind, an ex-assassin afraid of toasters, a scrappy thirteen-year-old superhero, and an alien spy who’s always yelling, Matt plans to save her sister and bring Eulogy to (hopefully non-lethal) justice.
But plans have a way of changing, and Eulogy knows more about Matt than either of them expected.
And maybe, just maybe, Matt isn’t fine after all.
Sophie Monastra’s superhero space opera is a delightful and entertaining romp. Likable characters with believable flaws are perfectly suited to the sweeping landscape of her story world.
Finalist: Skyshadow, by Jonathan Babcock
SYNOPSIS
Poisonous gases swirl across the Lower World of Envit.
Forced to adapt, the human population lives across the world’s peaks, travelling by airship and vying for limited materials.
As the nation of Brint slips into chaos and civil war, the other nations are left without a reliable supply of salt. In a desperate bid to collect the coveted resource, the Trellian warship Skyshadow is sent into hostile territory. The dangers of the Lower World become apparent as the crew descends to the ocean.
There is more to the land than meets the eye, and more dangers than the gases that threaten human survival.
With engaging character relationships and a rumbling tension between the two groups on board the Skyshadow, this novel is a winner. One of Babcock’s biggest strengths is crafting a story world that feels vast and real.
Finalist: Meet Me at the Edge of Time, by Jordyn Hadden
SYNOPSIS
Peter Simon wants to build a time machine to travel back and prevent his sister’s death. But when his machine is crushed by a meteorite that warns of even greater damage to come, Peter is forced to abandon his mission in favor of a much more dangerous quest—one that will determine the safety of the planet.
Miranda Weissburg wants to find her husband and kids after spending seventeen years exiled from a time-traveling society known as Intelligentsia. But when she learns some startling truths about her family’s whereabouts, Miranda embarks on an interdimensional search for them. Racked by guilt, she vows to find them again—even if it takes her seventeen more years.
Tyme Newton wants to prove herself to her ancestor, Isaac Newton, the leader of Intelligentsia. But then he assigns her to find three keys in order to stop an approaching meteorite. If she fails, Earth will suffer catastrophic damage. Is it better to try and fail, or not try at all?
As Peter, Miranda, and Tyme travel through dimensions, past secrets emerge, strange enemies appear… and the meteorite might not be an accident after all.
Hadden’s opening is a tight and tense heist scene so compelling that it begs the reader to keep turning pages. Time travel is a fun mechanic for any novel, and this is no exception.
2021
1st Place: Adrift – Abby Snyder – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Hollow – Sophie Monastra – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: I Probably Won’t Live to See 1986 – Liberty Cousineau – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
The Witch of Endor – Alva Walsh – Read on the Student Forum »
Monsters Cold and Crooked – Felicity C. Edwards – Read on the Student Forum »
Blood Sins – Leyone Jones – Read on the Student Forum »
2020
1st Place: The Weeping Forest – Grace Willson – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Red Herring for Hire – Abigail Haagen – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: The King’s Brother – Sarabeth Schuck – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Not My Duty – Emily Martin – Read on the Student Forum »
Dragonmantles & Goldfish Crackers – Lauryn Trimmer – Read on the Student Forum »
Isbjørn – Rachel North – Read on the Student Forum »
2019
1st Place: I Am Nightrunner – Victoria Shanks – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Frostlighter – Seraphina West – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Message Carrier – Emily Schaeffer – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Outlaw – Miriam Crews – Read on the Student Forum »
The Traitor’s Sunstone – Felicity Edwards – Not available to read, by author’s request
2018
1st Place: Say Uncle – Rosey Mucklestone – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Hearthfoot – Victoria Shanks – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Forgotten Flame – Michal Garner – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Chasing Phantoms – Abby Anderson – Read on the Student Forum »
The Questers – Nicole DeBenon – Read on the Student Forum »
2017
1st Place: R.E.M. – Ashley Schaller – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: To Kidnap DNA – Lydia DeGisi – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: The Stonecrest Existential Crisis Club – Sam Cooper – Not available to read
Finalists (not ranked)
Agram Awakens – Aidan Bender – Read on the Student Forum »
Evik – Emily Schaeffer – Read on the Student Forum »
Starless Nights – M. R. Shupp – Not available to read
2016
1st Place: Chromeheads – Jake Buller – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Ten of Hearts – Joy Audens – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Hattie – Elisabeth Newton – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Show Me the Way – Meredith Lundell – Not available to read
Silhouettes: The Un-Telling of Peter Pan – Jamie Dougall – Read on the Student Forum »
Small Hands’ Flight – Charlotte Anderson – Read on the Student Forum »
2015
1st Place: Factory Rats – Catsi Eceer – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: The Monster Upstairs – Elisabeth Newton – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: The Reverse Road – Sam Cooper – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Of Lavron – Ellie Gardiner – Read on the Student Forum »
Somnia – Amy Nickelsen – Read on the Student Forum »
Wings of Dust – Charlotte Anderson – Read on the Student Forum »
2014
1st Place: The Witch’s Cat – Miguel Flores – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Under the Weather – Sam Cooper – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Children of Ashes – Justin Ferguson – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Pitch Black Stars – Catsi Eceer – Read on the Student Forum »
When the Stars Are Singing – Meredith West – Read on the Student Forum »
2013
1st Place: Blue Sky Burnt – Erynn Besse – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Redemption – Annika Lee – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Broken Glass King – Abby Walsh – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalist (not ranked)
Dangerous Games – Emily Haan – Read on the Student Forum »
Flightless – Bethany Ingham – Read on the Student Forum »
Indumentum Oris – Verity Rising – Read on the Student Forum »
2012
1st Place: Bitter Magic – Collin Anne Suttle – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Hosanna House – Hannah Mills – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Quintessence – Rachel Garner – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Heirborne – Braden Russell – Read on the Student Forum »
Survivor One – Richard LaRue – Read on the Student Forum »
Shining Stars – Wynter Croix – Read on the Student Forum »
Chatoyant – Sarah Seifert – Not available to read
2011
1st Place: Snapshots – Matthew Lauser – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Project Theta – Kyle de Waal – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Deep Six – Collin Anne Suttle – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Archipelago – Sophia Debusschere – Read on the Student Forum »
Forewarned – Rebekah Swank – Read on the Student Forum »
My Lady – Grace Debusschere – Read on the Student Forum »
Sightless – Miguel Flores – Read on the Student Forum »
Speak Aloud, Scream Alone – Read on the Student Forum »
2010
1st Place: Recollections – Janae Leeke – Read on Student Forum »
2nd Place: Becoming Human – Jared Schmitz – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: My Father’s Dream – Sarah Wacker – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Sacrifice – Collin Anne Suttle – Read on the Student Forum »
The Fly by Night – Kyle de Waal – Read on the Student Forum »
Out of Darkness – Sarah Noé – Read on the Student Forum »
Of Princesses and Dragons – Grace Garner – Read on the Student Forum »
Offset – Matthew Lauser – Read on the Student Forum »
2009
1st Place: Kytt’s Tale – Carlie Gernhart – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Of Self and Sacrifice – Elizabeth Lobach – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Allemande – Lydia DeWolf – Read on the Student Forum »
Finalists (not ranked)
Forest of Lies – Rachel Garner – Read on the Student Forum »
Knights in Red Coats – Jane Johnson – Read on the Student Forum »
Child of Darkness, Child of Light – Rachel Werner – Read on the Student Forum »
Prince of Thertine – Grace Garner – Read on the Student Forum »
2008
1st Place: Averill – Lydia DeWolf – Read on the Student Forum »
2nd Place: Fable Weaver – Carlie Gernhart – Read on the Student Forum »
3rd Place: Betsy Flowain – Rachel Garner – Read on the Student Forum »