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!
WHY I BELIEVE IN THE BEAUTY AND TRUTH OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH by John L. Fontana pairs personal testimony with a spirited examination of scripture and the historical figures who shaped the early Church. The result is an engaging reflection that encourages readers to reconsider Catholic tradition as a living inheritance grounded in both study and experience.
HOPE ON WHEELS: A Memoir is a candid and engaging memoir that follows one woman’s journey through a turbulent childhood toward independence and self-understanding. LL O'Brien writes with honesty and a touch of humor as she reflects on family struggles, loss, and the complicated emotions that shaped her early life. The narrative offers vivid glimpses into a chaotic household while highlighting the author’s resilience and determination to move forward. Readers drawn to personal stories of perseverance and self-discovery will find much to appreciate in this reflective and heartfelt memoir.
John D Kingston develops a fast-paced political thriller that channels the historical grievances, bureaucratic friction and civil rights issues in contemporary Canada—all packed in a very Bondesque tale. THE TRUE NORTH TALKS is definitely buoyed by a meticulously constructed plot, neatly interwoven subplots and its characters are as convincingly complex as the national identity they continually grapple with. Fans of political thrillers will race through this gripping tale in no time – left wanting more of Kingston’s insightful and urgent commentary on the convoluted lives and identities of Canadian citizens.
Nellie Gail Moulton's extraordinary life in the early American West was defined by creative discovery, familial love, and pioneering hardship; she reflects on all of this in her memoir, LIVING MEMORIES. Her narration is so personable and casual that it transports readers to the frontier and the daily challenges and successes of community building. Readers interested in personal legacy tales and area history may find this biography particularly appealing.
In SILENT TALKING: My Kundalini Nightmare, Adria Chalfin turns decades of silence into a stark act of testimony, offering readers a haunting glimpse into the hidden psychological and spiritual manipulations that can unfold in the shadows of belief.
MEMORIES OF THINGS TO COME traces the harrowing journey of Ethiopian Jews forced to leave their homeland, capturing both the perilous desert crossings and the emotional toll of secret airlifts to Israel. Claire Frieze combines meticulous historical detail with deeply personal perspectives, illuminating the courage and faith that sustained families through displacement and uncertainty. The result is an informative and moving account that will engage readers of history and human resilience alike.
WHITE SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR by Michael A. Pyle tells the story of Jude and Roosevelt, two boys from opposite sides of 1960s segregated Florida who meet by chance while fishing and forge a deep friendship that survives the one thing they both swore would never touch them: the same addictions that destroyed their mothers. Pyle pulls no punches as he follows both boys through the brutal reality of their descent into drugs and alcohol, capturing the wild euphoria, the desperate excuses, the arrests and overdoses, and the heartbreaking damage they inflict on everyone who loves them before Roosevelt finds sobriety first and helps drag Jude back from the edge. Raw, unflinching, and deeply human, this is a story that proves addiction doesn’t care about the color of your skin or the size of your bank account, demonstrating instead how friendship, stubborn hope, and the refusal to give up on each other can light the way back from the darkest places.
SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME by Helen Winslow Black offers a layered journey through one woman's experience as she finds her footing after the end of an abusive marriage, the complicated reality of shared custody, and the new meaning of who she is versus who she once was. The underlying theme of generational strength is empowering, though sometimes lost in exposition that did not add to the nuance of the lovely (and sometimes heartbreaking) moments she had already laid out so clearly. This novel will delight readers who enjoy consuming all the little details of their stories.
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA gently embraces its readers by presenting an array of profound personal and Biblical reflections about life’s purpose, spiritual growth and the tender human emotions that bind all humans together. More than just a travelogue covering all 50 states of America, it serves as an inspirational guide and the perfect pick-me-up—offering novel ways of looking at and perhaps redefining one’s place in the universe and amongst all of God’s creatures.
ONLY THE WICKED by Isabel Jolie launches The Sinful State series. Rhodes, a powerful tech billionaire, whose all-seeing surveillance system draws the attention of Sydney, a former CIA operative sent to uncover a dangerous leak, fall into a relationship built on secrets neither of them planned. As they circle each other with suspicion, attraction, and competing loyalties, the line between mission and emotion begins to blur, forcing them to question what matters more: the truth, their work, or the undeniable connection pulling them together. Smart, tense, and undeniably steamy, ONLY THE WICKED blends espionage and romance in a way that feels modern and addictive, keeping you guessing at every turn without losing its emotional edge or scorching heat.
J. A. Brooks's SPARK weaves an affecting tale of human innocence and a profound friendship that transcends difference in age, and even death. At times naturally humorous, witty, and quietly transcendental, the story captivates readers from the very first chapter through to the tragic yet uplifting end. Anybody with an affection for tales centered on children's close friendship with elderly people—and the adventures they share and enjoy together—will enjoy this simple and heartening novel which holds a moving secret at its heart.
Susan De Bartoli's CARRYING THE CROSS WITH PADRE PIO: Daily Reflections for Lent is a devotional aid taking as its subject the writings of the Capuchin mystic. Featuring quotations from his works, these Lenten reflections offer thoughtful diversions on subjects such as suffering, comfort, and compassion, the whole delivered in elegant, economical prose.
Anthony Moffett merges gaming culture with scathing societal criticism on addiction and accountability in IT'S A (ENTER DIFFICULTY SETTING HERE) LIFE: Too Complex, a graphically stunning adventure that moves at a breakneck pace. Teens and gamers looking for action with a message will love the story because of its comic book energy, creative monsters, and relatable characters that are young adults.
Bella Martin is a high flyer who fears she is heading for a burn-out. With a group of three other women, she seeks to reground herself by staying in the wilds of Tasmania. Samuel Thawley carefully traces each character’s story arc in this quiet, thoughtful novel. TASMANIA BELLA touches on family, friendship, community, and the spaces we all share whilst skillfully evoking the beauty of the island.
Despite some unresolved conflicts, Bill Bennett’s arctic mystery is an engrossing tale of climate change, human greed and the will of a few conscientious souls trying to adapt to an altering land. Like all climate fiction, BOREALIS: Secrets, Sabotage, and the Arctic Cadence teems with urgent and fundamental questions about our future on earth, and more importantly about the future of earth itself. Bennett's sincerity to the themes, as well as the poetic language of the book, makes this short yet compact tale worth reading in an age where climate disasters have become the worst nightmares in our shared human history.
MOTHERLOVE by Jean Trounstine is a collection of stories from the perspective of mothers whose children are incarcerated for serious crimes. Though fictionalized, the stories vividly portray the pain, loss, and guilt experienced by parents as they confront the earth-shattering reality of their child's life behind bars; and ponder the choices that led them down their destructive paths. Thought-provoking and deeply moving, it exposes the human cost of the American prison system and the life-long repercussions of a single irreversible mistake.
Indeed, anyone can soon become what they never expected due to grief and shame mixed with the anger of losing loved ones to violence and being unable to prevent it, as is the case in Lewis McDonald’s dark fantasy THE FORGOTTEN TALE: The Road to Hell. Junius begins as a loving husband and father, in fact, a pacifist who “couldn’t even wield a sword,” until the grief of losing his family and friends transforms him into something monstrous, raising morally complex questions such as whether refusal to help in order to protect some people makes a person morally culpable for the death of the others. Asking difficult questions about justice and systemic evil, McDonald grounds these profound themes in deeply human characters and a richly immersive world, effectively building suspense for the next installment in the series.
RECOVERING MAURICE is packed with lyric and evocative beauty and narrative sincerity as author Martin Zelder beckons his readers on an emotional journey into his protagonist’s past memories, from his childhood to old age. The ever-curious and strange central character, Maurice, indulges in life-altering questions and observations as we follow his journey from childhood to adulthood and then to his old age. Impactful, witty, and at times disturbing in its simple yet significant discoveries of minute details about the nature of human existence, RECOVERING MAURICE proves a stirring exploration of human life and love appearing before us in many different forms.