When the RPLA Awards were announced last October, Susan Dobson was in the hospital, banqueting with her husband on takeout pizza and some fairly serious meds. It was a big night. Boomerang, a coming-of-age novel set in Dobson’s native Australia, first won the Gold Award for Unpublished Mainstream or Literary. “It was surreal,” she said of the experience. “We were both so excited, we almost missed the announcement for Unpublished Book of the Year!” Boomerang won that award, too. In … Read More »

“I’m gonna go off-script here for a minute,” said Royal Palm Literary Awards ceremony co-host Chris Hamilton, just prior to the announcement of this year’s winner of the Candice Coghill Award for best Youth entry. “As we prepped this [RPLA ceremony], I was impressed with what the winners came up with, at such a young age. I think us older people are going to have to really dig deep so that we can stay competitive as these guys age into … Read More »

“Once my son, Gabriel, was born,” says Amy Nicolai, “I was so overcome with emotion and love for my little guy that the only way I could think to express myself was through writing.” For a relative newcomer, Nicolai has not done too badly. Her Unpublished Children’s Picture Book Gabriel Goes Up won the 2020 Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Children’s Book. RPLA Showcase asked Nicolai to talk about being true to her seven-year-old self, finding “the right time” … Read More »