2025 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:

• 2028 Tomorrow I The Day, L.R. O'Brien, Austin Macauley Publishers
• 52 Weeks of Wellbeing, Ryan Hopkins, Kogan Page
• 60 Dates in Six Months (with a Broken Neck), Maureen Anne Meehan, Writers' Branding
• A Spiritual Thread, various, Other Mind Press
• All the Hits All the Time, Larry Coffman, Newman Springs Publishing
• American Literary Nomads, Robert Louis DeMayo, Wayward Publishing
• An Unforeseen Circumstances, Ugochukwu Ikwuakor
• An Unlikely Astronaut, Susan Kilrain, Bookpress Publishing
• Archie Ferguson, Steve Levi, Publication Consultants
• Ash!, Sandy Haney League, ARPress
• Auntie Aisha Answers, Aisha Hussain Rasheed, Daybreak Press
• Below the Line in Beijing, Richard Seldin, IPBooks
• Beyond the Cemetery Gate, Valerie Biel, Lost Lake Press
• Black Light Void, Marsha Pearce (editor), Hansib Publications
• Book of Lamentations, Red Hawk (aka Robert Moore), Bitter Oleander Press
• Bottled Lightnig, L.M. Weeks, South Fork Publishers
• Boy With Wings, Mark Mustian, Koehler Books
• Breaking Through the Clouds, Marlene L. Burling, MainSpring Books
• Breaking Through the Mist, Thomas Burns
• Busted Flat, Michael Loyd Gray, Blue Cedar Press
• Childless Mother, Tracy Mayo, Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers
• Circus and Outer Space, Elaine Davida Sklar
• Deadly Choice, S. Lee Manning, Encircle Publications
• Dear Future, Jennifer Richter, The Word Works
• Don't Pity the Desperate, Anna B. Moore, Unsolicted Press
• Dress Your Essence, Jennifer Butler, World Changers Media
• Each Unkept Secret, Donna Prinzmetal, MoonPath Press
• Earth's Emergency Room, Lowell E. Baier, Rowman & Littlefield
• Edible Grace, Guy Biederman, KYSO Flash Press
• Empress & Soldier, Marian L Thorpe, Arboretum Press
• F*ck Your Happiness, Keith G. Wright, Ain’t No Joke Books
• Fish Wife, Alysse Kathleen McCanna, Black Lawrence Press
• Fog & Fireflies, T.H. Lehnen, Aspen & Thorn Press
• For All We Know, Mike Fiorito, Apprentice House
• For Today, Carolyn Membree, LSU Press
• Fortunes of Death, Liisa Eyerly, Crossriver Media
• From Madness to Mad Pride, T. Kudla, To a T Books
• Gambare Hiroshima, Larry Fumio Miwa with Stephen Hiroshi Miwa, Legacy Isle Publishing
• Gastromythology, Jessica Manack, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions
• Get It Made, Mindy Martell, Azul International Group
• God's Hidden Places, Patricia P. Gallagher, Urlink Print & Media
• Good as Gold, Judy Shelton, Independent Institute
• Goodbye Bobby, JJ Harrigan, Bronzewood Books
• Goodnight Surf City, Toni Haas, Palmetto Publishing
• Guardians of the Twelve, Samuel James, Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Happy Everything, Caitlin Cowan, Cornerstone Press
• Haven, Valerie Biel, Lost Lake Press
• Health Through the Psalms, Maureen Greer, AuthorHouse
• Hide Little Wolf, Annette van Geloof, Butterfly Dragons Publishing
• How I Learned to Love the World, Jerry Waxler, Neuralcoach Press
• How Noah Gets His Superpowers, Caleb Manny & Corey Manny, Prince & Princess Publishing
• I Love You More, Joan Burleson, Atmosphere
• I’m Not Alone, Michelle D Sherman and DeAnne M. Sherman, Seeds of Hope Books
• In Due Time, Clifton McMillan, Jr., Bookleaf Publishing
• In Inheritance of Drowning, Dorsia Smith Silva, Cavankerry Press
• Intimate Conversations, Larry Ruttman, Torchflame Books
• Iron Rose, Abigail O’Bryan, Quill & Flame Publishing House
• Jigsaw Puzzling, Denise Low, Meadowlark Press
• Journey Bread, Ruth Thompson, Broadstone Books
• Journey of Awakening and Higher Consciousness, Jane Kim Yu, Absolute Author Publishing House
• Journeying Home, Emily Saxe Nydam, Hildebrand Books
• Kid Dino, Raphael A. Batista, ArchwayPublishing
• Lady without Land, Krystal Anali Vazquez, Texas Review Press
• Last Place Called Home, Betsy Hartmann, She Writes Press
• Letters from Gilgil 1, Peter Massam
• Life / Insurance, Tara Deal, Regal House
• Lightning Butterflies, Jim H Darnell, Jr & Dawn Renee Darnell, A Desert Dawn
• Lights, Camera, Lionel Trains!, Roger Carp, Project Roar Publishing
• Long Branch, Dan Ramm
• Long Slow Target, Larry Allen Lindsey, Koehler Books
• Love Deficiency Diseases, Lawrence H Taylor M D, Dorrance Publishing
• Maddie's Ghost, Carol Fisher Saller, Duckweed Books
• Memoir of a Mangled Mind, Steven Simmons Shelton, MA, JD,  
• Men Who Walk in Dreams, Marisa Labozzetta, Guernica Editions
• Mit Out Sound, Rick Lenz, Chromodroid Press
• Mr. Robert’s Madagascar, Robert Bullock, Robert Bullock
• Naked Girl, Janna Brooke Wallack,  
• Non-Obvious Thinking, Rohit Bhargava and Ben duPont, Ideapress Publishing
• Nullarbor Pearl, Sarah Rossetti, Interactive Publications
• Oak, Crow, and Star, Sharon Lee Myers, Studio of Books
• Odd Birds & Fat Cats, Peter Wortsman & Aurélie Bernard Wortsman, Turtle Point Press
• On Colonized Ground, Rebecca Dietrich, Alien Buddha Press
• On Healing, Amitha Kalaichandran, Heliotrope Books
• One Ripple at a Time, Janice Jensen, She Writes Press
• Out Here, Bob Hill, Old Stone Press
• Out of the Dark, Marian Elliott, Cirque Press
• Owls Can't Sing, Deborah L. Staunton, Two Sisters Press
• Palmyra, Karen Barrow, Friesen Press
• Peaches and the 19 Cobras!, Paula Bailey, 1derfulife Publishing
• Permission to Settle, Holly Flauto, Anvil Press
• Pinch Hitting, Morris Hoffman, Black Rose Writing
• Pipeliner, Shawn Hartje, Helen Springs Press
• Pirates of the Slave Trades, Angela C. Sutton, Prometheus Books
• Prognosis: Guarded, Alan B. Hollingsworth, Bookbaby
• Quantum Spirituality, Peter Canova, Bear & Company
• Raspberries on Tummies, Kristin M Gillen, Authors' Tranquility Press
• Reagan the Bear, Corey Manny, Prince & Princess Publishing
• Reclaiming Vitality, Samantha Keen, MA, Paper Raven Books
• Reflections Off the Lake, Steven O. Ludd, Distinction Press
• Rest for the Weary Soul, Marina Murray, Yorkshire Publishing
• Roll the Sun Across the Sky, Barbara Linn Probst, She Writes Press
• Running as Fast as I Can, John David Graham, Don Quixote Press
• Sail to Scale, Mona Sabet, Heather Jerrehian, Maria Fernandez Guajardo, How2Conquer
• See Me, Rhoda Berlin
• Seven, M MacKinnon, DartFrog Books
• Shame-Free Parenting, Craig A. Knippenberg, LCSW, M.Divinity, Illumify Media Global
• Something in the Blood, H.H. Mika,
• SOS, Terol McCullar (T-MAC), Quipper Prints
• Soul Force, Joseph Arnold, World Changers Media
• Souls on a Walk, John Geyman M.D., Copernicus Healthcare
• South Korea, 2nd Ed., John Gonzalez and Young Lee, John M. Gonzalez
• Splinter, Betsy O'Neill-Sheehan
• Star-Crossed Planet, Harold Toliver, Inks & Bindings
• Sunbeams Through Blankets, Adira James, Adira James Enterprises
• Sunny Gale, Jamie Lisa Forbes, Pronghorn Press
• Superhero, Stephen K. Moore, LifeRichPublishing
• Take a Shot at Happiness, Maria Baltazzi, Post Hill Press
• Tashlikh, Tikva Hecht, Ben Yehuda Press
• The 7 Habits of Highly Dysfunctional Companies, Joel Dubin, Dysfunctional Company
• The Assays of Ata, K.I.S., K. Schultz
• The Big Aquarium Adventure, Nancy Roop, Developmental Texts
• The Blueprint, Kevin Barnicle, Kev Vie Publishing
• The Complete Small Business Growth Guidebook, Laura Di Franco, Brave Healer Productions
• The Contessa's Legacy, Nora D'Ecclesis, Renaissance Prestentations
• The Curse and the Quest, Ronald R Jones, Ink Orchard Press
• The Deceived Ones, Judith Krummeck, Apprentice House Press
• The Devil in My Friend, Ivor and Sally Ogle Davis, Rowman and Littlefield
• The Duke of Ash Avenue, Garrett Stack, Catamount Press
• The Errors of Mankind, Curt A Canfield
• The Familiar, Sarah Kain Gutowski, Texas Review Press
• The Farewell Light, Nida Hernandez, Arrowsmith Press
• The Fine Art of Grieving, Jane Edberg, Linen Press
• The Generous Leader, Joe Davis, Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• The Goodbye Kit, Daneen Bergland, Airlie Press
• The Grief Committee Minutes, Sarah Carey, Saint Julian Press
• The Indigo Scarf, PJ Piccirillo, Brown Posey Press
• The Innovative Guide to Fashion and Beauty, Murielle Gagné, RedCallas
• The Journal of the Center for Applied Hopelessness, Wilson Whitlow, James Perry
• The Journey of the Snake, Adam Smith, Milford House Press
• The Kannery Kidz: Ballet Dancer Evangeline, George Gonzalez Tucker,  
• The Kanyini Game, Mary Ann Hayes, Urlink Print & Media
• The Kings' Despair, Ed Cannon, Xlibris
• The Last First Tooth, Kat Hyde, Toothless Publishing
• The Man Who Saw Seconds, Alexander Boldizar, Clash Books
• The Martian Diaries, Vol. 1, H.E. Wilburson, Flint House Publishing
• The Mystical Symphony, Judith E. Bowen, Atmosphere Press
• The Night Owl Sings and Other Stories of Old Age, Judy McConnell, Boyle & Dalton
• The Path Beneath Her Feet, Janis Robinson Daly, Black Rose Writing
• The Peppered Sky, Sarah Doran
• The Pianist's Only Daughter, Kathryn Betts Adams,  
• The Playbook for Self-Directed Learning, various, Eye On Education
• The Promise of Christmas: Three Kings and A Prince, Dana Lagmay, Promise of Christmas
• The Quantum Life, Dr. M. Teri Daunter, Bublish
• The Random Factor, Mark Robert Rank, University of California Press
• The Renaissance Mind, Michael Day
• The Sakhalin Collection, Robert W Smith, Wig Wam Publishing Co
• The Suicide Tourist, Myna Wallin, Ekstasis Editions
• The Usefulness of Hippopotamus, Vincent J. Tomeo, Bookside Press
• The Visionary Leader, Bryan Smeltzer, LiquidMind Press
• The Witchfinder’s Sacrifice (Book 2), Rande Goodwin, Greenleaf Book Group
• There Are Smiles That Make Us Blue, Barry T Hawkins, Gotham Books
• They Call You Back, Tim Z. Hernandez, University of Arizona Press
• They Do, Not You!, Amy Leask, Klaudia Maziec (illustrator), Red T Kids Media
• Too Many Stones, Rodney Nelsestuen, BookBaby
• Traces, Patricia L. Hudson, Fireside Industries
• Trust Children, Anne Cummings Jacopetti, Real Learning Press, Santa Rosa
• Twelve Days of Christmas, Todd Lockwood, Brown Books Publishing Group
• Two Lifetimes, Patti Henry, BalboaPress
• unalone, Jessica Jacobs, Four Way Books
• Unboxing God, Alden Swan, ONBrand Books
• Undone, Joe Miller, Xulon Press
• Uninvited Valor, John C. Kiyonaga, DartFrog Books
• Vermillion Harvest, Reenita M Hora, Indignor House
• Walk On, Stephen B. Panus, Koehler Books
• Warning: I Published with a Scam Publishing Company!, Peggy Jo Henry, PJ 10 Publications
• We, the House, Warren Ashworth and Susan Kander, Blue Cedar Press
• What’s Your Story?, Madelaine Claire Weiss, MindOverMatters
• When You Leave I Disappear, David Niall Wilson, Shortwave Publishing
• Whole-Food, Plant-Based Meal Planning, Lois Lynn  
• Wind, Gravel and Ice, Christina Chowaniec
• Wings of Freedom, Bibi LeBlanc, Culture to Color
• Words Left Unspoken, J.A. McGovern, Anamcara Press
• Writing to Heal, Dr. Kendall Johnson, MacQ

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