Please help celebrate the 2019 winners of the
San Diego Book Awards!
Best Unpublished Children/YA Novel
The Rainmaker’s Secret by Judy McSweeney
Best Unpublished Memoir
NONE
Best Unpublished Novels
NONE
Best Unpublished Poetry Chapbook
The Living Come Find Me by Erica Blunt
Best Unpublished Short Story
Fair Game by Judy McSweeney
Best Published Anthology
Magic, Mystery & Murder by Cornelia Feye & Tamara Merrill
Best Published Biography/Autobiography
Brain XP: Living with Mental Illness, a Young Teenager’s Perspective by Christine Marie Frey
Best Published Business
Supportive Accountability: How to Inspire People and Improve Performance by Sylvia Melena
Best Published Children’s Fiction
Oceanside Adventures by Nancy Glen & Julia Glen
Best Published Children’s Nonfiction
Cleopatra and Ancient Egypt for Kids: Her Life and World, with 21 Activities by Simonetta Carr
Best Published Children’s Picture Books
Benji, The Bad Day and Me by Sally J. Pla
Best Published General Nonfiction
War and Sex and Human Destiny by Judith L. Hand, Ph.D
Best Published Historical Fiction
Without Warning by Thomas C. Sanger
Best Published Inspiration/Self-Help/Spiritual
Knowing by Shawna Allard
Best Published Local Interest
San Diego County Mammal Atlas by San Diego Natural History Museum – Scott Tremor, Drew Stokes, Wayne Spencer, Jay Diffendorfer, Howard Thomas, Susan Chivers, Philip Unitt, Editors
Best Published Mainstream Fiction
A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner
Best Published Memoir
A Few Minor Adjustments: A Memoir of Healing by Cherie Kephart
Best Published Mystery/Suspense
Rust & Stardust by Tammy Greenwood
Best Published Poetry
How to Pull Apart the Earth by Karla Cordero
Best Published Romance
Alchemy’s Hunger (Wyrd Love Book 4) by Cynthia Diamond
Best Published Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Holy Crap! The World is Ending! by Anna-Marie Abell
Best Published Travel
In Search of Adventure and Moments of Bliss: The Long Way Back by Lois Joy Hoffmann
Best Published Young Adult
Now I Rise (And I Darken) by Kiersten White
2019 Geisel Winner
Holy Crap! the World Is Ending!: How a Trip to the Bookstore Led to Sex with an Alien and the Destruction of Earth (Anunnaki Chronicles) by Anna-Marie Abell
2019 Chet Recipient
THERE IS NO CHET RECIPIENT FOR THE 2019 SDBA CONTEST
Please note, only categories with multiple finalists or no category winners are listed.
UNPUBLISHED Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Run to Me by Julie Schwartz
The Rainmaker’s Secret by Judy McSweeney
UNPUBLISHED Memoir
NONE
UNPUBLISHED Novel
Fear Caller by Beverly Hamowitz
UNPUBLISHED Short Story
Fair Game by Judy McSweeney
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bar by Bob Guess
Published Anthology
City works Journal Volume 25 by M. P. Lopez & H.A. Martinez
Magic, Mystery & Murder by Cornelia Feye & Tamara Merrill
The Guilded Pen-2018 Anthology of the SDWEG – Edited by Marcia Buompensiero
Published Biography/Autobiography
Brain XP: Living with Mental Illness, a Young Teenager’s Perspective by Christine Marie Frey
The Brontë Family: Passionate Literary Geniuses by Karen Kenyon
Published Business
Get Noticed Be Remembered: Creating a Personal Brand Strategy for Success by Krista Clive-Smith
Supportive Accountability: How to Inspire People and Improve Performance by Sylvia Melena
Published Children’s Nonfiction
Cleopatra and Ancient Egypt for Kids: Her Life and World, with 21 Activities by Simonetta Carr
Sonia Sotomayor: A Biography (Living History) by Sylvia Mendoza
Rabbits and Rats, Birds and Seeds, Cactus and Trees: Plants and animals at work in El Pinacate, Sonoran Desert by Paul Dayton
Published Children’s Picture Books
Benji, the Bad Day and Me by Sally J. Pla
Jorge & The Lost Cookie Jar by Marta Arroyo
With Love, Grandma by Helen Foster James
Published General Nonfiction
Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America by David Clary
War, Sex and Human Destiny by Judith Hand, Ph.D.
You Don’t Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie’s Dark Side by Orly Lobel
Published Historic Fiction
As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner
The Defiance of Reiko Murata by Allen Wittenborn
Without Warning by Thomas C. Sanger
Published Local Interest
Afoot & Afield: San Diego County by Jerry Shad & Scott Turner
Kumeyaay Ethnobotany: Shared Heritage of the Californias by Michael Wilken-Robertson
San Diego County Mammal Atlas by San Diego Natural History Museum – Scott Tremor, Drew Stokes, Wayne Spencer, Jay Diffendorfer, Howard Thomas, Susan Chivers, Philip Unitt, Editors
Published Mainstream Fiction
A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner
The Golden Hour by Tammy Greenwood
Endless Blue Sky by Josh Turner
Published Memoir
A Few Minor Adjustments: A Memoir of Healing by Cherie Kephart
When We Were Ghouls: A Memoir of Ghost Stories by Amy E. Wallen
Why My Cup? How I Overcame Growing Up in a Crack House by Celene Adams & Uhmbaya Laury
Published Mystery/Suspense
The Butcher’s Bill by Martin Roy Hill
Rust & Stardust Tammy Greenwood-Stewart
Wrong Light by Matt Coyle
Published Poetry
After the Tour by Jennifer Minniti-Shippey
How to Pull Apart the Earth by Karla Cordero
What Light I Have by Debbie Hall
Published Romance
Alchemy’s Hunger (Wyrd Love Book 4) by Cynthia Diamond
Rachel’s Secret by Mary Galusha
Twists of Fate: A Folk-Rock Odyssey by Robert Gilberg
Published Self-Help/Spiritual/Inspiration
Just Be: Transform Your Life and Live as Infinity by Suresh Ramaswamy
Knowing by Shawna Allard
The Gift of Recovery: 52 Mindful Ways to Live Joyfully Beyond Addiction by Rebecca Williams & Julie Kraft
Published Travel
In Search of Adventure and Moments of Bliss: The Long Way Back by Lois Hoffmann
Rain Falling on Tamarind Trees: A Travelogue of Vietnam by C.L. Hoang
Published Young Adult
Mini Horses, Mighty Hearts: Rootbeer and Edward by Rene Townsend
Now I Rise (And I Darken) by Kiersten White
Thank you to all the entrants who submitted!
