Dana J. Summers is an award-winning editorial cartoonist, author, and a familiar name on the Royal Palm Literary Awards scene. This year, his novel From Hell’s Heart won the Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Unpublished Book of the Year and Gold in the Thriller/Suspense (Unpublished) category. Other RPLA recognitions include his novel Drawn and Buried which was number one in the Thriller/Suspense (Unpublished) category in 2013 and his novel Downhill Fast which was named Best Unpublished Book of the … Read More »

Barbara Rein is no stranger to recognition for her hilarious and delightfully creepy short stories. In2ition Magazine named her “2021 Short Story Writer of the Year.” Now her book, Tales from the Eerie Canal, has earned her the 2021 Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Published Book of the Year. 2021 Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Published Book of the Year According to Barbara, she “writes ‘horror lite’ short stories (more goosebumps than gore) filled with delightfully creepy twists. … Read More »

Drum roll! The scores are in, and the finalists have been named for the 2021 Royal Palm Literary Awards competition. RPLA is a service of the Florida Writers Association established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing objective and constructive written assessments for all entrants. RPLA covers some 26 genre-categories for adults and 5 for youth. The categories cross the broad areas of fiction and nonfiction—short works and book-length, as well as poetry and submissions in … Read More »

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 Boomerang, a coming-of-age novel set in Dobson’s native Australia, first won the Gold Award for Unpublished Mainstream or Literary.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 “We were both so excited, we almost missed the announcement for Unpublished Book of the Year!”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 »