Awards
Flint Hills Publishing is proud to recognize the following awards won by our authors.
2025, Penmaster Fiction Awards
Josephine DeFalco, a Flint Hills Publishing author, is the recipient for the 2025 Penmaster Fiction Awards (Finalist) for both The Butterfly Bush and The Butterfly's Secret. This distinguished international competition celebrates excellence in storytelling across all genres of fiction.
The award honors authors whose work demonstrates bold creativity, exceptional craft, and meaningful narrative impact. Open to writers worldwide, the competition highlights literary achievement. Learn more about the award, Josephine, and her books at josephinedefalco.com
2025, Royal Palm Literary Award
Sandra Richmond, a Flint Hills Publishing author, is the recipient of the Florida Writers Association’s 2025, Royal Palm Literary Award (RPLA). Hosted annually by the Florida Writers Association (FWA), RPLA is a highly regarded writing competition that celebrates excellence in writing across more than 20 genre categories
Richmond’s book, Milepost 75: Aging and Exploring Life Trails with Wonder, Resilience, and Love, was an entry in the Published Book-Length Nonfiction, Autobiography or Memoir category; it won the highest award (Gold medallion), in the category and scored the most points from judges amongst several other prestigious and esteemed writers. Learn More about the award, Sandi, and her book at Milepoststories.com.
Spur Award by Western Writers of America
Clyde Toland, author of American Hero, Kansas Heritage: Frederick Funston's Early Years, 1865-1890, has been recognized for the Spur Award by the Western Writers of America for the Best First Nonfiction Book of 2022. Since 1953, the Spur Award is given annually by the WWA to honor "writers for distinguished writing about the American West," and is "considered one of the most prestigious awards in American literature." Read News Release
Will Rogers Medallion Award, Finalist
American Hero, Kansas Heritage: Frederick Funston's Early Years, 1865-1890, by Clyde Toland is a finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award in the Western Biographies / Memoirs category. Named in honor of American humorist, social commentator, and performer Will Rogers (1879–1935), the WRMA gold, silver, bronze, and copper medallions will be presented to the finalists during the awards banquet Saturday, October 21, 2023, in the Fort Worth Stockyards, Fort Worth, Texas. Read News Release
Best Book Awards Finalist, Americanbookfest.com
Courtesy Boy: A True Story of Addiction, by Mike Matson, has been named as a finalist among the top six creative nonfiction books of the year (2022) by AmericanBookFest.com, an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the global online community.
Notable Indie, Shelf Unbound, 2022 Best Indie Book
Courtesy Boy: A True Story of Addiction, by Mike Matson, is a recipient of a “Notable Indie” award for Shelf Media’s annual Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition for best self-published/ independently published/ small press book. In addition to prizes, the winner, finalists, and more than 100 notable books from the competition are featured in the December/January issue (see page 88) of Shelf Unbound.
2023 Discovery Award Winner, IndieReader
When We Lost Touch, by author Susan Kraus, is the recipient of the 2023 Discovery Award Best Cover Design (Fiction), by IndieReader (IRDA). The judges on the IRDA panel included top people in all areas for the publishing industry, in concert with IndiReader’s trusty reviewers. View Winner's List