The SEA Shorts Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Short Stories. The Shorts Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The SEA Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Short Form Fiction, Narrative Non-Fiction and Essays. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward from the 2025 SEA SHORTS LONG LIST to the 2025 SEA Shorts Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 SEA Shorts Award Semi-Finalists. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 SEA Shorts Book Awards novel competition for Short Stories!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!

AJ Skelly – Murder at Mistlethwaite Manor
Amichai Kolberg – A Sweet and Faithful Lullaby
C. V. Lee – Her Noble Groom
Catherine Brown – Purrfect Revenge
Cathryn Devries – Son of Osivirius
Charlie Robinson – Bow Tie Sex a Serious Scientific Study
Chell Linn Araya – Don’t Talk To Strangers
Christopher Macdonald – The Wobbly Man
Dan Baltrusis Jr. – My Wife Was Right the Zombie Apocalypse
David Fitz-Gerald – A Pioneer Christmas Beyond the Oregon Trail
Don Jacobson – The Last Gift: An Austenesque Short Story
Dr. Gregory Steinberg – No More To Lose Till Death Do Us Part
Elizabeth Klein – Kingdom of Longing
Gail Heath – Minuet
Gail Noble-Sanderson – All Is Fair
Grace Haygood – A Love To Call Home
J. L Oakley – Mr. Brown Reads
Jackson Kuhl – The Island of Small Misfortunes
Jalon J Jakab – Inside the Walls
Jamie Kirkpatrick – The Dreamcatcher
Joseph Kovler – At the Corner of Hitler and Goering
Julia Marie Davis – Catbird
K. E. Adamus – Last Episode
K. E. Adamus – Sanity Test
K. E. Adamus – To Outwit the Fate
Katherine Smith Dedrick – Tangled Verdict
Kathleen Kaska – The Diary of Simone Lablanc
Kregg P.J. Jorgenson – An Accidental Muse
Kregg P.J. Jorgenson – Emotional Loss Prevention
Lasse Toft – 70 Things You Can Do While Being Hospitalized
Linda Griffin – Morgan’s Landing
Linda Harris Sittig – B-52 Down the Night the Bombs Fell From the Sky
Maggie Enriquez – The Rebirth of a Phoenix
Marie Sutro – For the First Time
Marie Sutro – Not the North Pole
Marie Sutro – You Oughta Know
Mary Ann Bernal – Anarose and Medusa’s Curse
Morris Hoffman – Boy of Heaven
Murray Eiland – Mount Zephon Gateway To Mot
Murray Eiland – Philosopher of Fire
Natia Khaduri – Leading with Love a Journey of Resilience and Impact
Paisley Summer – The Movie Theatre
PJ Devlin – Original Sins
Richard Leslie Brock – Cephalonia
Richard Leslie Brock – The Atonements
Ruud Richardson – The Spy: A Short Story
Sandra Wagner-Wright – The Life & Times of Sarah Good Accused Witch
Sarena Straus – The Patchwork Man
T.O. Paine – The Abduction
TK Sheffield – Horse Thief: A Nomad Vet with a Score To Settle Takes on Horse Thieves in a Midwest Showdown
TK Sheffield – The Glitching Ghoul: AI Terror at a Writer’s Retreat

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Shorts Grand Prize Winner for Short Prose

Something About Lizzy

By Robin Elizabeth Kobayashi

Click here to see the full list of 2024 SEA Shorts Book Award Winners for Short Stories and Essays.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2026 SEA Shorts Book Awards for Short Stories, Novellas, and Essays!

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17 – 19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!