IndieReader Discovery Awards 2026 Entrants
Added as our reviewers read them, find the latest verdicts for the 2026 IndieReader Discovery Award entrants, leading up to the big winner announcement in June!
I HAVE A LOVE STORY by Natalie MacMaster is the combination of two vital elements in MacMaster’s life: fiddling and her family with her husband, world-renowned fiddler Donnell Leahy. This is a love story unlike any other. One that beautifully illustrates how, with the right partner, even the most ambitious dreams can become reality, including building a family-centered Celtic music group together. From opening up about her childhood in Cape Breton, to her rewarding career as a professional fiddler, to finding love and building her dream family turned band, readers will cherish the moments and be inspired to follow their dreams.
DISCONNECTED by Marcelo Marçal creates an intense emotional thriller that combines elements of a techno-thriller to explore how love, ambition, and the promise of transcending reality can entice individuals within a highly realistic virtual world. Marçal crafts an intimate connection with readers through the protagonist’s personal journey while escalating the danger surrounding RealOne, resulting in a thrilling and engaging read for thoughtful science fiction audiences.
SCHOOL IS GREAT AT SILVER GATE by Linda Rönn is a fun, interactive storybook, asking young minds to help locate the missing letters from the school's signage while they go about their school day. The story demonstrates how much fun can be had in school using clever rhyming text and wonderful, engaging illustrations. This book is ideal for kids learning their letters, learning to read on their own, or who love word-play games.
In this cinematic YA sci-fi novel by Hayley Reese Chow, a storm-ridden exoplanet sets the scene for a cutthroat trans-equatorial triathlon whose prize is the resources for successful terraforming. An engrossing plot, heart-pounding action, and an exquisite slow-burn romance between two lovable, well-drawn characters make INTO THE CHURN an absolute must-read.
THE CHARACTER ROUTE TREE By Marc. R. Schneider is more than a football book, it's a memoir of survival of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Using a wide-receiver route tree, Schneider shapes his life in a way unlike nobody else. This is a story that's more than winning the game, it's winning at life. Even though some metaphor transitions were somewhat cloudy, readers will feel brightened and inspired by this memoir.
A fascinating adventure blending mystery, fantasy, and family history, SECRET OF THE FAMILY TREE: Digging Up Old Roots by Torry Rose centers on eleven-year-old Samantha Fairland-Keen, an aspiring detective inspired by Nancy Drew. For middle-grade readers who love mysteries with a touch of magic, a focus on family history, and an enchanting tale driven by puzzles, this book is perfect.
Those raised in homes where the words of the biblical Jesus and the commandments or rules of organized religion are paramount, will either find this unique take on Jesus blasphemous or refreshing. Whatever the case, everyone will find their deepest long-term thoughts challenged and those who have often questioned what they were taught to believe will, like the Jesus of METTA VALLEY GOSPEL, welcome the alternative view that Zachary Helton presents.
Andrew K. Clark's remarkable trailer park chiller sees the metaphorical monsters of the typical Southern Gothic novel become real. Shape-shifting preachers twist the word of the Lord to their own ends as a young girl’s coming-of-age story takes a horrifying turn. Blending folklore and horror movie tropes with the down and dirty lyricism of the best Southern Gothic writing, WHERE DARK THINGS RISE is first rate grit-lit.
Two hundred and fifty years of American history is distilled into key moments in this bilingual picture book aimed at younger children. Raynelda A. Calderón’s elliptical poems comment on incidents including the abolition of slavery, the moon landing, and September 11, and are perfectly pitched to invite further discussion from inquisitive minds. With bright, engaging illustrations, WE ARE AMERICA: Little Eyes, Big Moments is a wonderful tool to teach the history of the nation and point toward the possibilities of a bright future.
WHAT DOES JESUS SEE IN YOU? by Coleen Aquino presents a provocative reexamination of spiritual identity, questioning self-help culture and traditional religious assumptions. Framed as a twenty-day journey into the seven drives shaping human behavior, the book invites readers to reconsider Jesus’s teachings as a call to recognize the wholeness they already possess.
GUARD IN THE GARDEN by Z.S. Diamanti is part cozy fantasy, part exploration of the complexities of mental health struggles. Diamanti blends his personal experience with PTSD seamlessly into the lighthearted world of Garome, allowing for themes of resilience, hope, and healing to shine brightly through his unique characters. Other than a slightly underdeveloped ending to the novel, this is a must read for fans of Delicious in Dungeon and Lord of the Rings alike.
HELLO, REST OF MY LIFE by Rick Lenz presents a compelling, time-bending narrative in which a former actor is granted a second chance at his 1970s Hollywood dreams. As he revisits a life he once left behind, the novel thoughtfully explores love, ambition, and the lasting impact of the choices that shape a life.
Academic Jarvis Lumen is shamed at a conference for falsifying his research. On his journey home strange things begin to happen. As Lumen battles for his sanity and fights for his free will he tracks down an astrological death cult that have ensnared him. THE MERGE by Jesse Neo is an atmospheric, often claustrophobic, psychological horror thriller which is well paced and stylishly written.
Short enough to be read in a few hours, THE WITCH HUNTER'S WIFE: A Short Story by Jessica Lunt offers a different perspective on the Salem witch trials that leaves readers shaking their heads on this dark period in American history. Caroline, a witch hunter's wife, suffers years of infertility. With each failed pregnancy, her husband becomes angrier and grows more resolute in his belief her infertility is the result of witchcraft. The book provides graphic detail on how the intense condemnation and resultant hanging of too many good women affected their children and husbands. A heartbreaking read.
Carraig, a city divided between the prosperous North Hill and the impoverished lower side. At night, it becomes a life-or-death divide when the monstrous Manglers hunt for humans, kept at bay only by precious emerald warding gems. Seventeen-year-old slum dweller Conell needs gems to protect himself and his sister, Rylee. Meanwhile, Riona, an affluent jewelry designer on the Hill, needs someone desperate enough to bring her a dead mangler to incorporate into her grotesque creations.
Imaginative, unearthly, and oozing with menace and despair, Jacob Emrey has created a vivid, nightmarish story set in the eerily quaint city of Carraig, partly populated by a wretched, sinister group of characters. Slightly infused with sardonic humor at times, THE MANGLERS OF CARRAIG is a brisk, compact, and darkly entertaining horror with an underlying social commentary.
THE FEAR OF DROWNING, the third installation of SC Sterling's The Fear Of Series, crafts a world around private investigator, Hannah Jacobs, that feels real and gritty, somewhere readers can see outside their own front doors, as she embarks on a new case that hits a little closer to home than she'd like to admit. While this thriller has strong threads to hook its intended audience, it sometimes stumbles through slightly uneven dialogue, and a main character whose brash personality makes it difficult to be invested in what happens to her, which detracts from the amazing, intriguingly layered mystery that often peeks out between page turns.
Robert Gibson’s SPACE ACE: A Combat Pilot’s Journey from Vietnam to Beyond Earth written in collaboration with Anthony Paustian shares an invigorating recollection of personal experiences from his early days as a fighter pilot in the Navy to his adventures as an astronaut for NASA. This level of detail captures the strength, courage, passion, and determination a boy creates and turns the dream into action and heroism. This memoir remains engaging even for readers unfamiliar with the military, aviation, or NASA, as its broader themes create relatability and make its message easy to grasp. With full transparency into the aviation industry, the story provides a vast array of knowledge. Those who are receptive to learning will find Gibson’s memoir fascinating and intellectually impactful.
THE RISE OF A KING by Lewis McDonald features the tale of five unlikely friends and their incredible journey. This epic fantasy novella has a little of everything: a group of friends setting out on an epic quest, an origin story, surprising twists, and a touch of horror, making for a quick yet thrilling read that really packs a punch.