The Shelley Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Paranormal Fiction. The Shelley Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

The Shelley Awards were formerly known as the Paranormal Awards. We are delighted to be able to honor the mother of science fiction with this award!

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring magic, the supernatural, weird other-worldly stories, super humans (ex. Jessica Jones, Wonder Woman), magical beings & supernatural entities (ex. Dresden Files), vampires & werewolves (ex. Twilight), angels & demons, fairies & mythological beings, magical systems and elements. We will put them to the test and discover the best among them for the 2025 Paranormal Book Awards!

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2025 SHELLEY Paranormal Fiction entries to the 2025 Shelley Book Awards Long List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Shelley Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. 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. 

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Shelley Book Awards novel competition for Paranormal Fiction!

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

• AJ Humphreys – Trip: A Psychological Horror Novel
• Alexandra Pugachevsky – Lilou the Shadyside Chronicles
• Amy S Cutler – A Shadow of Love
• Amy S Cutler – To Have and To Hold To Love and To Kill an Agreement of Souls
• Antoinette Chalmers – Midnight Stone
• Bryan Alaspa – The Given
• C.V. Vobh – Somnus Palace
• Charlie Robinson – Bow Tie Sex
• D.D. Franklin – Silver Lake Awakening
• Dan Morris-Young – The Music Building
• Derek Wachter – While We Wait
• Diane Corso – Broken Things
• E.L. Deards – The Lavender Blade
• Evette Davis – The Campaign
• George Petersen – The Summer of Haight
• Gina Detwiler – Forever
• H.J. Ramsay – Love and Other Cures for the Recently Undead
• Heather Murphy – Bring Out Your Dead
• Isaac Thorne – Tab’s Terrible Third Eye
• Jared Tlc – Destiny Lane
• Jonathan Fossler – Where the Children Play
• Katy Nyquist – A Holy Maiden’s Guide To Getting Kidnapped
• Keith Steinbaum – The Poe Consequence
• Kevin S. Moul – Lander’s Gate
• L. J. Aldon – Riddle of the Jeweled Cipher
• Lloyd Jeffries – Embers of Shadow Ages of Malice Book III
• Logan D. Irons – City of Wolves
• Lou Pugliese – Blame It on the Moon
• M. Flagg – Memories of a Hunter’s Moon
• Mark Mustian – Boy with Wings
• Matt Ozanich – Priestess: The Tears of Promises Book One
• Matthew Minson – The Lupin Gene
• Melanie Forde – Guardian of the Crossroads
• Raquel Y. Levitt – The Seer
• Rebekah L Webb – Burrows of Blood and Shadow
• Sheila English – The Deadly Pieces
• Sherri L Dodd – Moonset on Desert Sands
• T.V. Holiday – Cataclysm Legend of the Iron Warrior Vol. 2
• Tom Dolan – Boba Wars Zero
• Tracy Shew – Book Group

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews on these platforms.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE! We are @ChantiReviews everywhere!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Shelley Grand Prize Winner

Time-Marked Warlock

By Shami Stovall

Click here to see the full list of 2024 SHELLEY Book Award Winners for Paranormal Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

Submissions for the 2026 Shelley Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

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 14th annual conference and discover why!