2026 Eric Hoffer Award Category Finalists

After their rigorous first round of judging, less than 10% of the nominees become category finalists. (Learn more about Eric Hoffer Award category finalists, and the award's sponsors.) Here are current category finalists, with links to those titles we've reviewed:

• A Black Doe in the Anthropocene, Artress Bethany White, University Press of Kentucky
• A Galon of Water, Aiden Woosol Lee, Lumiere Picturebook
• A Gamble on Liberty, Robert W Smith, Meryton Press
• A Man Made of Stories, George Franklin, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions
• A Place for People Like Us, Danila Botha, Guernica Editions
• A Tale of Two Bostons, Barry Arthur Cotton, Scéalta Sinsear Heritage Press
• A Tragedy of Riches, Tony Cointreau, Winsor Publication
• About to Disappear, Robbi Nester, Shanti Arts Books
• Agrippina the Younger, Diana Arterian, Northwestern University Press/Curbstone
• Always, Andy M Davidson, Elk Lake Publishing
• American Gyro, Jim Zervanos, Vine Leaves Press
• An Unlikely Prospect, Shelley Blanton-Stroud, She Writes Press
• Anchors, Cathy Schmidt, Salt Water Media
• Andrew's Awesome Adventures With His ADHD Brain, Kristin M, Wilcox, PhD with Andrew S. Wilcox, MSI PRess
• Art & Love, Lora Arbrador, Sycamore Press
• Be Whoo You Are, Kathleen Welton, Archway Publishing
• Becoming Billie, Carrie E, Pierce and Laurie Allyn, Morgan Pierce Media & Publishing
• Blood Wolf Moon, Elise Paschen, Ren Hen Press
• Body of Work, E.L, Wilk, H&E Wilk Press
• Broken Horses, Kate Beales, Linen Press Books
• Brothers, M, E, Taylor, Author House
• Business Writing: Say More With Less, Nancy Ancowitz, Livestream Universe
• Can I Have a Hug First?, Mary Paula Hunter, Unsolicited Press
• Cancer Courts My Mother, LindaAnn LoSchiavo, Prolific Pulse Press
• Celtic Betrayal, Eric Steven Griesel, Mindstir Media
• Chance of Lightning, Kirstin Robertson, University of North Texas Press
• City of Dis, Randall James Tyrone, TRP: The University Press of SHSU
• Civilians, Jehanne Dubrow, Louisiana State University Press
• Class Dismissed, Anthony Abraham Jack, Princeton University Press
• Consequences of Attraction, John Stewart Wynne, Tree Line Books
• Cooking to the President's Taste, Adrian Miller and Deborah Chang, The White House Historical Association
• Crazy Bitches, Roberta Beary, MacQ Books
• Crevice, Anna Redsand, Choeofpleirn Press
• Cultural Intelligence for Marketers, Anastasia Kārliņa Gabriel, Kogan Page
• Custody Down Under , Elizabeth Woolsey
• Cuttle, Chelsea Britian, Bleau Press
• Dancing on Memories, Freda Lewkowicz, Apples & Honey Press
• Death of a Childhood, Ryan Basen, The Sager Group
• Destiny, Andy Mitchell, Book Marketeers
• Divine Detour, Lori Ann Wood, CrossRiver Media
• Dog Logic, Tom Strelich, Black Rose Writing
• Don't Tell My Mom That I Love Her, Lauren Barnett, Christmas Lake Press
• Drifter, Douglas Cole, Finishing Line Press
• Dry the Rain, Richard Leise, Picket Fire Press
• Dusk, Kimberly Tashner Shyu
• Edmund Spenser's the Faerie Queen, Vol 1, Rebecca K, Reynolds, Sky Turtle Press
• Ellie The Elephant, Dian Cooper, LifeRichPublishing
• Emotional Capital for the Triple Win, Elena V. Amber, Practical Inspiration Publishing
• Erasing Historical Invisibility, Hector G, Balcazar, Gatekeeper Press
• Ever, Sinjin Jones, Foundry of Aether
• Everlasting, Sara Fanfarillo, Austin Macauley Publishers
• Everyone Is Asleep but Me, Diana Yacobi and Lily Safrani, Olympus Story House
• Fine, I'm a Terrible Person, Lisa F. Rosenberg, Sibylline Digital First
• Firelight, Geoffrey Saemann, New Book Authors Publishing
• Foundations of Data Science and Statistics, Woody R Clermont
• Four Keys to the Natural Anabolic State, William G, Alston, William G. Alston
• Fox Creek, M. E. Torrey, Sly Fox Publishing
• Freedom to Love, Hong Curley, Aspire Humanitarian Trust
• From Anxiety to Awakening, Jake Yanitz Rubin, Inner Path Press
• From Deep Within, Susan Lewis, MSI Press
• Gilded Spirits, Amrit Kallar, Brown Books Publishing
• Go Within to Change Your Life, Carl Greer, Chyron Publications
• Gravel Roads & Shallow Graves, D.L.S. Evatt, September Pages
• Greyhound, Cheryl L, Eriksen, Four-in-Hand Press
• Harvesting History While Farming the Flats, Muriel A Murch, Sibylline Digital First Edition
• Hazardous Pay, Shirt Talk and Twenty-Six Other Stories, Ivan Prashker, Arpress
• He Chose Me, Diamante Lavendar
• Hester's Journey, Dale Marie Taylor, Narrativemagic Press
• Hive, Garin K, Hovannisian, Avalanche Press
• Homeschooling without Losing Your Marbles, Jennie McDow, Ed.D., ArchwayPublishing
• Horrible Women, Wonderful Girls, Julie Ann Sipos, Dartmouth Park
• How to Die, Steve Zolno, Regent Press
• In the Covenant of the Ark, Judith Perrine Armour, Olympus Story House
• Indigenous Tattoo Traditions, Lars Krutak, Princeton University Press
• Infidel: Kafir, Bernard MacDonald, Outskirts Press
• International Human Rights Law Enforcement, MacDonald I J Mopho, Trafford
• Intrusion, Lanayre Liggera, Papertown Digital Solutions
• Ireland's Unparalleled Essence Vol. 1, Norbert G, Gomes
• It Started by Noticing, Glenn McLaughlin, Absurdly Normal Books
• It's Not You, It's Always Me., Nancy J, Malzon, MoreHow Books
• James Burnham, David T. Byrne, Northern Illinois University Press
• Jewish Tracks, Alan Milavetz, Wise Ink
• Jonah's Map of the Whale and Other Poems, Anthony Doyle, Old Scratch Press
• Judicial Soup, Shannon Bohrer, Apprentice House Press
• Keep Sweet, Victoria Waddle, Inlandia Books
• Legacy of Lies, Lew Paper, Level Best Books/Historia
• Lexi the Butterfly, Sherri Crandall, Tapestry Tales Publishing
• Lily in a Codebox, Lee Frankel-Goldwater & Eric Raanan Fischman, Spinning Leaf Press
• Little Sermons That I Have Seen, Virgil R. Lee, WestBow Press
• Lost Elawn, Ted Neill, Tenebray Press
• Love's Cauldron, Book 1, Jennifer J. Lehr, Filament Publishing
• Made in Vietnam, Elaine Damschen, Inspired Legacy Publishing
• Mademoiselle Frankenstein, Robin Solit, Midnight River Press
• Mangrove, Bill Hollands, ELJ Editions
• Margaret of Thibodaux, Jo Taylor, Road Clothes Press
• Marriage and Others Monuments, Virgina Pye, Koehler Books
• Middletown, Stephanie Rogers, Saturnalia Books
• Miranda Murfins, Spiros Seretidis (pen name A. L. Nelton)
• Monetized Happiness, Keith Gaboury, American Poetry Systems
• Mr, Robert's Arctic, Robert Bullock
• Nefarious Intent, Kit Karson, Granite Mountain Press
• New Life Psalms, Ronald etz, Olympic Story House
• Night Hunt! Ryukyu, Coco McQ, Sand Dollar Press
• Nineteen, Leslie Johansen Nack, She Writes Press
• Nurse Log, John Fritzell, Kelsay Books
• Open Bar, Dan Schorr, SparkPress
• Out of the Cocoon, Rosemary Esehagu, Manhattan Book Group
• Pescadero, Hollis Brady, Palo Alto Publishing
• Pieces of Mind, A A Winston, Ewings Publishing
• Pineville Trace, Wes Blake, Etchings Press
• Pioneers from Alaska's Past, Laurel Downing Bill, Aunt Phil's Trunk
• Policing Patients, Elizabeth Chiarello, Princeton University Press
• Project Sketchbook, Vol. 1, Alexis Marie Chute, Wild Skies Press
• Promised Lands, Sharon Ann Musher, New York University Press
• Prompted, Anne Archer, Kelsay Books
• Radiant Longevity, Julianna Lindsey, MD, FACP, Brown Books Publishing
• Raising Hel, Cynthia J, Bogard, Atmosphere Press
• Reach Out with Acts of Kindness, Letitia E. Hart, Koehler Books
• Recovering from Emotional Trauma, Todd Bernston, DTI Publishing
• Reflections on Mountaineering, Alan V. Goldman, Bookside Press
• Reigning Fire, Jasmine Kah Yan Loo, House of Ember Publishing
• Resonant Blue and Other Stories, Mary Vensel White, Type Eighteen Books
• Roadside Sisters, Catherine Matthews, Pacific Peaks Publishing
• Rocky the Okapi, Corey Manny, Prince & Princess Publishing
• Rose Dhu, Mark Murphy, GFB
• Salvage List, Chera Hammons, Belle Point Press
• Scattered Light, Martha Engber, Vine Leaves Press
• Seeking Shama, Kee Kee Buckley, Wellness Writers Press
• Shadows from the Sun, John Gargrave, Timespell Publishing
• She Journeys, Sarah May, She Writes Press
• Shipyard Gals, Valerie Stoller, Sibylline Press
• Sing Me a Circle, Samina Najmi, Trio House Press
• Sins of the Father, Jason McDonald, Good Twin Publishing
• Six Functions, One Vision, Dorothy Kudla, Lioncrest Publishing
• Soul Can You, Lisa Gilbert, MD, Archangel Ink
• Space is Not Empty, Alan Briskin and Mary V. Gelinas, Friesen Press
• Stepping Off the Boat, Susan Hollister Wasserman, Leelanau Press
• Streets of Nashville, Michael Amos Cody, Madville Publishing
• Sunrise Undefeated, Jim Mahler, Christian Faith Publishing
• Sunshine on the Crooked Road, Ndirangu Githaiga, Bon Esprit Books
• Sustainable Ambition, Kathy Oneto, Greenleaf Book Group Press
• Tales from America's Golden Age, Malcolm Bell, Fresh Look Press
• The ABC's of California's Native Bees, Krystle Hickman, Heyday Books
• The ACT Workbook for Behavioral Addictions, Dr, Jennifer L. Patterson, PESI
• The Campaign, Evette Davis, Spark Press
• The Case Against Jasper, Clifton Wilcox, Windward Publishing
• The Catalysts, Amanda Wick, Racket
• The Church in Wildwood, William Gamsby, Authors' Tranquility Press
• The Company Misery Loves, Kate Fox, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions
• The Day I Had a Spaceship, Ashley Wall, MamaBear Books
• The Demand Revolution, Andreas von der Gathen, Nicolai Eckert, Caroline Kastbjerg, MIT Press
• The Drama Room, Elizabeth Searle, Pierian Springs Press
• The Endless Abiding, Jennifer Pirecki, Redfern Ink Publishing
• The Idea of Light, John J. Ronan, Main Street Rag Publishing
• The Illusory Bargain, Ralph H, Lehman, Brown Books Publishing
• The Lake Huron Mermaid, Linda Nemec Foster and Anne-Marie Oomen, Wayne State University Press
• The Last Book, Noah Kaplan, Hungry Minds
• The Magic of Imperfection, Jason F. McLennan, Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• The Moth, Scot Archer Jones, Fomite Press
• The New Civic Path, Richard C. Harwood, Studio Books
• The Next Act, Michael Feeley, Summit Press Publishers
• The Night She Said Hatchet, B.P. Kelso, Playing With Plays
• The Patchwork Cloak of Kamal Bey, John Zada, Terra Incognita Press
• The Poison Girl, Suzanne Manizza Roszak, Spuyten Duyvil Press
• The Pronunciation Part, Flavian Mark Lupinetti, The Poetry Box
• The Pyromancer's Scroll, Jeremy P. Madsen, Iron Rock Press
• The Truthful Story, Helen Stine
• The Vatican Deal, Michael Balter, Mission Point Press
• The Wagers of Sin, Emily Hanlon, Chrism Press
• Then Came the Summer Snow, Trisha T. Pritikin, Moonshine Cove Press
• Through the Dark Glass, Aaron Reid, Winima
• Tower of Cortico, Kaylena Radcliff, Elk Lake Publishing
• Towers of the Hungry Ghosts, Lee Kaiser, The Wild Rose Press
• Trust Issues, K.P. Davis, Cornerstone Press
• Undermining the U.S, Constitution, Diane S. Vann, Book Side Press
• Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation, Sarah Yahm, Dzanc Books
• Vinoda's Vengeance, Naveen Sridhar, KDP Publishing
• Vivie's Secret, Terry Lee Caruthers, Black Rose Writing
• Waiting for Something Else, Martin Cloutier, Heliotrope Books
• Wakes of Joy, Diana Button
• Warning, Gene J, Miller, Palmetto Publishing
• We the Men, Jill Elaine Hasday, Oxford University Press
• What Had Happened Was, Therí Alyce Pickens, Duke University Press
• What the Blackbird Saw, Sherry McMillan,  
• What Trammels the Heart, Kelly Fordon, SFAPress
• What? No More Halloween?, K.M. Messina, Lunalore Books
• When Bad Backs Happen to Good People, Jordan S. Fersel, MD, Studio of Books
• Where You Come From is Gone, Christopher Johnston, Calumet Editions
• Why Belize?, Rodney Nelsestuen, Book Baby
• Wild Bill Rides Again, Jim Antonini, Pump Fake Press
• Wired For Magic, Janet Roberts, Porch Swing Publishing
• Witnesses of God's Redemptive Passion, Stephen J, Schafers, WestBow Press
• Women of Glass and Steel, Mary Lash, Grist Mill Press
• Wonderland, Patricia Knight Meyer, Unsolicted Press
• Your Journey to Successful Parenting Ages 2-11, Alexandra J. Rogers, Ph.D., A Rogers Book
• Zig Zag Girl, Ruth Knafo Setton, Black Spring Press

The US Review of Books volunteers its time to support the Eric Hoffer Book Award. View the Eric Hoffer Book Award sponsors. We appreciate the grateful feedback we've received for our efforts. Thank you.