I am pleased to announce that I am an official influencer for the Small Spec Book Awards! 

What are the Small Spec Book Awards (SSBA)?

The SSBA was co-founded by L. N. Holmes and Millie Abecassis. Their mission is to recognize and promote
independent and small press authors writing exceptional speculative
fiction.They wanted to create a free-to-enter award that was specific to small press and independent authors whose marketing often gets buried by the bigger publishers. This award will help draw attention to more of the awesome indie books out there.

This is the first year of the award and currently, the award focuses on the adult age category, novels/novellas, and works of fiction published in a single year, but they hope to expand on this in future years. There are many things that make this award cool, but a couple of them are that it is free to enter, and they are working to avoid being yet another popularity contest, as so many awards are.
All the nominated books will be read and assessed by their readers
following specific criteria.

The nomination window closed January 31, 2025 and will follow a similar timeline next year. The semi-finalists will be announced September 1 and the winners on December 1.

Who are the Co-Founders?

L. N. Holmes is a dark fiction author. Her micro-chapbook, Space, Collisions, is available from Ghost City Press. She has also published fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction in various literary journals and magazines. She earned an MFA from Creighton University and currently works as a writing center consultant for Metropolitan Community College. Her upcoming release is called The Floating Castle. Holmes was inspired to create the SSBA by Mark Lawrence’s SPFBO.

Millie Abecassis writes speculative fiction and was born and raised in France, though she currently lives in San Jose, California. Along with being co-founder of the SSBA, she is also the founder of #SmallPitch, a small press-centered pitch event, that launched in February 2024. She has several books on the way, including Daughters of the Blue Moon (read my review here).

Want to learn more about the founders and the SSBA? Read these two awesome interviews:

Kriti’s Interview on Armed With a Book

Juané’s Interview at On the (Book) Case

What does it mean to be an Official Influencer?

It means I will be helping to promote and support the SSBA. Along with this announcement post, I will be announcing when the semi-finalists are selected and when the winners are announced. I will also be reviewing every winning book right here. In the meantime, I’ll also be reviewing/reading/discussing some of these books, so keep an eye out here for that.

Along with my own posts, I’ll be liking and sharing those of the other influencers. I’m excited for this new role. I think this award is an excellent idea, and I’m happy to be a part of it.

What Books have been Nominated?

And now for the most important part – the books!

Here is the official list of nominees: 

1. BEAR
   SEASON by Gemma Fairclough (Wild Hunt Books)
2. THE
   ROOT OF HOPE by Ricardo Victoria (Shadow Dragon Press)
3. THE
   JAGUAR MASK by Michael J. DeLuca (Stelliform Press)
4. YOU
   WILL SPEAK FOR THE DEAD by R.A. Busby (Stelliform Press)
5. MOON
   DUST IN MY HAIRNET by JR Creaden (Mythic Roads Press)
6. FROM
   THE BELLY by Emmett Nahil (Tenebrous Press)
7. A
   SPECTRE IS HAUNTING GREENTREE by Carson Winter (Tenebrous Press)
8. TRVE
   CVLT by Michael Bettendorf (Tenebrous Press)
9. TERROR
   AT TIERRA DE COBRE by Michael Merriam (Queen of Swords Press)
10. SUNDOWN
    IN SAN OJUELA by M.M. Olivas (Lanternfish Press)
11. THE
    EATER OF FLIES by Richard Gadz (Deixis Press)
12. MAZI
    by Koji A. Dae (Ghost Orchid Press)
13. GHOST
    APPARENT by Jelena Dunato (Ghost Orchid Press) –  Read my review of
    Ghost Apparent on Horror Tree
14. THE
    EXTRAVAGANZA ETERNIA by Kristin Osani (Ghost Orchid Press)
15. FAILURE
    TO COMPLY by Cavar (Featherproof Books)
16. THE
    YEARS SHALL RUN LIKE RABBITS by Ben Berman Ghan (Wolsak and Wynn
    Publishers)
17. THE
    BOOK LOVERS by Steve Aylett (Snowbooks)
18. CHURCH
    OF SKATAN by Damian Casey (Mad Axe Media)
19. PAGEANT
    by Wendy Dalrymple (Mad Axe Media)
20. CURSED
    UNDER LONDON by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch (Farrago Books)
21. HER
    GILDED VOICE by K.C. Aegis (Elsewhen Press)
22. A
    TRUTH BEYOND FULL by Rosie Oliver (Elsewhen Press)
23. WORLDS
    ALIGNED: WORLDS APART 2 by Terry Jackman (Elsewhen Press)
24. A
    VOICE IN THE DARKNESS by Mark Iles (Elsewhen Press)
25. KING
    STREET RUN by V.R. Ling (Elsewhen Press)
26. THE
    HARLEQUIN: THE DRAPER’S REEL by J.A. Mortimore and Penelope Hill
    (Elsewhen Press)
27. THE
    SCIENTIST, THE SPACEMAN, AND THE STARS BETWEEN THEM by A.L. Davidson
    (Timber Ghost Press)
28. THE
    MYSTERY OF THE PALE KING by Sam Flynn (Timber Ghost Press)
29. THE
    SEA OF CLOUDS by Sheila Jenné (Midnight Meadow Publishing)
30. DESIGN
    OF DARKNESS by R.D. Pires (Midnight Meadow Publishing)
31. THE
    PRINCESS AND THE THIEF by Mary Lynne Gibbs (Midnight Meadow
    Publishing)
32. TREE
    GODS by R. Lee Fryar (Midnight Meadow Publishing)
33. LIMINAL
    SPACE by Vicki-Ann Bush (Creative James Media)
34. NINE
    LEVELS by Elana Gomel (Mirror World Publishing) – Read my review of Nine
    Levels on Horror Tree
35. THE
    PHEEWORKER’S OATH by Adam Gaylord (Mirror World Publishing)
36. MORE
    BUGS by Em Reed (Knight Errant Press)
37. BENOTHINGED
    by Alvar Theo (Haunt Publishing)
38. BETTER
    LIVING THROUGH ALCHEMY by Evan J. Peterson (Broken Eye Books)
39. THE
    MOSQUITO FLEET by Andrew Penn Romine (Broken Eye Books)
40. SPACE STATION X by A.Z. Rozkillis (Space
    Wizard Science Fantasy)
41. EMPRESS
    OF DUST by Alex Kingsley (Space Wizard Science Fantasy)
42. THE
    RIGEL REDEMPTION by Robin C. M. Duncan (Space Wizard Science Fantasy)
43. TALIO’S
    CODEX by J. Alexander Cohen (Space Wizard Science Fantasy)
44. THE
    WITCH AND THE OSTRICH by Jordan A. Werner (Space Wizard Science
    Fantasy)
45. THE
    BRIGGAR STONE by James Parsons (Anuci Press)
46. THROUGH
    THE BLUR by Yolanda Sfetsos (Anuci Press)
47. STATIC
    by Stacey L. Pierson (Anuci Press)
48. RESISTERS
    by Chris Campeau (Anuci Press)

 

 

Thanks for reading! 

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