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Don’t let the joke be on you!

There’s still time to submit for the Mark Twain Book Awards!

A red alarm clock going off

You can have the last laugh by submitting to the Mark Twain Book Awards.

An image of Mark Twain for the Mark Twain Book Awards

The Mark Twain Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Humor and Satire. The Mark Twain Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring satire, humor, political ideology, parody, fantasy, and allegory or fable. The Deadline for the 2022 Mark Twain Book Awards is the end of November. 

Looking to learn more about the Mark Twain Awards? Click here!

 

A Newer Division of the CIBAs, the Mark Twain is quickly establishing itself as a book award program for humor, satire, lampoons, and allegory.

Let’s take a look at some of the 2021 winners from the 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Author’s Conference!

Binge

By Anne Pfeffer

Binge Book Cover Image

Twenty-seven-year-old Sabrina “Bree” Hunter has the chance to grasp her dream of being a published author, but will her binge eating spell the end of that dream?

After years of working for a demanding B-list talent agent in Los Angeles, Bree earned a publishing deal with Fast Track Books. She should celebrate, thrilled that her life will finally go down the right path since her graduation from Dartmouth. However, Bree has a problem that isn’t easily fixed. Her publisher expects the skinny beauty on her webpage, a picture taken many years previously.

Since the days of the photo, Bree has become a compulsive eater. She spends every moment of her day obsessing over junk food. Bree turns to food to comfort her, console her, and to bring her joy. This addiction has caused her to gain forty pounds since college. Finding dieting on her own harder than she expected, Bree agrees to attend a support group meeting. Her sister, Lena’s, boyfriend has recently found success in breaking his addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Hot Air

By Charlie Suisman

Hot Air: Arnold Falls Book 2 Cover

Arnold Falls bristles with zany events, quirky locals, and colorful newbies. Above all, this memorable enclave buoys its people through heart, soul, wit, and a true sense of collective spirit.

Jeebie Walker returns as the story’s central narrator.

The successful voice-over artist stands as a solid fixture in the town, now in a loving relationship with his partner Will. A volunteer fireman, illustrator, and candidate for an MA in Conservation Biology, Will jokingly claims that Jeebie makes “bossing others around” a superpower.

The Kissing Rabbi: Lust, Betrayal, and a Community Turned Inside Out

By Andy Becker

The Kissing Rabbi Cover

Based on a true story, Andy Becker’s tale The Kissing Rabbi is a smart, witty, and engaging novel that takes readers into the heart of a Jewish community in the Pacific Northwest.

Here a young, self-serving rabbi sets a town on edge when his salacious desires and personal financial agenda are brought to light by the people he was brought there to serve.

Rabbi Mishegas Dreidel, a young orthodox leader, arrives in the quiet town of Destiny, Oregon. His intentions seem noble as he opens up a synagogue in his basement and establishes a flock of dedicated followers.

Babs and Basil, and the Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles

By Elizabeth Crowens

This book is still a manuscript, but we’re excited for it to come out!

A cute premise and a light-hearted beginning. Babs and Basil, and the Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles features humor, mystery, and action throughout that’s easy to read and follow.

An excellent book for older readers and Hollywood movie buffs that can catch the myriad of references. The lightheartedness storyline buoys the reader along naturally. A kindly read to escape into and keep your spirits afloat.

My Only Sunshine: Getting Straight with the Bomb

By Lou Dischler

Lou Dischler delivers an intricately woven story about one well-meaning boy who tries to make sense of the crazy he’s been born into. Get ready for one belly laugh of an adventure in My Only Sunshine.

Welcome to the Louisiana low country, home of 9-year-old Charlie Boone, a kid growing up in 1962. Charlie, a most unreliable narrator, concerns himself with giant wingless wasps and biting red velvet ants. Combine his critter-concerns with the legend of the giant slugs, the story of his mother taken up by a hurricane, and the episode of the puddle he and his brother dug that grew into a pond, then turned into a lake, and we have one wildly imaginative ride well-worth taking.

Dischler delivers an epic tale that shifts from Charlie’s first-person point-of-view with his youthful ignorance coloring his observations to his Uncle Dan’s and “Aunt” Lola’s in third-person point-of-view. While Charlie ages and grows in wisdom as the story progresses, his uncle never seems to gain a lick of sense. Dischler skillfully applies the laws of magic realism to Charlie’s wonderful way of viewing his world. Uncle Dan’s story, on the other hand, derives from an inept conman’s rap-sheet – from failed grifts to bank robbery bungles that succeed only by accident. Dischler guides us, normalizing the ridiculous to the point that the characters jump off the page and set up camp in your living room.

The Grand Prize Winner!

Certified

By Roger Wilson-Crane

Certified Cover

Certified by Roger Wilson-Crane is a multi-award-winning comedy-drama, following one man down three sharp turns in his life trajectory.

Based on real-life events, Certified shows the narrator’s birth, marriage, and death, three of the most significant milestones in human life. The book is divided into three sections.

“One Unexpected Birth” explores his flawed string of relationships until he meets Dawn, the love of his life. However, a woman from the past makes a comeback, threatening to shatter his newly found happiness.

“One Hapless Wedding” careens about his well-planned wedding in Puglia, Italy, which is trampled by Justin Timberlake who wants the same venue. “One Bizarre Death”, on the other hand, follows the loss of the narrator’s loved one and the pain and confusion that surrounds an unexpected death. Certified is full of humor, heart, and unexpected gems that one might find in a trunk of well-lived memories.

Need more Humor in your life? Check out these books that won the 2020 Mark Twain Awards!


The sky is the limit when it comes to Humor

Lt. Cmmdr. Data from Star Trek TNG and Mark Twain

Even Data from Star Trek likes Mark Twain

HOW DO YOU HAVE YOUR BOOKS RECOGNIZED? Submit them to the Chanticleer International Book Awards – Click here for more information about The CIBAs!  

The last day to submit your work is November 30, 2022. We invite you to join us, to tell us your stories, and to find out who will take home the prize ribbons at CAC23 in April. 

 As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your novel deserves!  Enter today! 

 The MARK TWAIN Book Awards for Satirical and Allegorical fiction is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards – the CIBAs. 

ENTER NOW! 

Don’t delay! Enter today!