ATLANTIC CITY, NJ, July 22—The tenth annual Realm Makers conference hosted its annual Realm Awards banquet tonight, awarding the best of Christian-made fantastical fiction in books, short fiction, cover art, and audio stories.

Hundreds of guests at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City donned costumes to showcase their favorite characters, while conference organizers revealed the winners of best Christian-made novels for Realm Awards in seven subgenre categories. Judges used the top five overall scores from all novel categories to choose the final Book of the Year award.

Organizers also announced winners for best novellas and novelettes, best short fiction, and best cover design. This year’s audio categories expanded to reflect the glowing market for listenable fiction, including audiobooks in fantasy as well as sci-fi and other genres, and audio short stories in three categories.

UPDATE: Watch the recorded livestream on the Realm Makers channel on YouTube.

The 2022 Realm Award trophies were created by Leah Nietz Glass.

Novels

Realm Award for Book of the Year, chosen from winners in all categories

• Of Fire and Ash by Gillian Bronte Adams from Enclave Escape

Debut novel

• Coyle and Fang: Curse of Shadows by Robert Adauto, independently published

Epic/high fantasy

• Of Fire and Ash by Gillian Bronte Adams from Enclave Escape

General fantasy

• Silverblood by Jamie Foley from Fayette Press

Science fiction

• Operation Grendel by Daniel Schwabauer from Enclave Publishing

Paranormal, supernatural, horror

• Mina: Warrior in the Shadows by Deborah Cullins Smith from Ye Olde Dragon Books

Young adult

• Secrets in the Mist by Morgan Busse from Enclave Escape

Middle grade

• Sing to Me of Rain by E. B. Dawson, independently published

Readers Choice award

• Shadow by Kara Swanson from Enclave Escape

Novellas and novelettes

Novella (under 30,000 words)

• Reunion by H. L. Burke, independently published

Novelette (between 10–30,000 words)

• Awakened by T.E. Bradford from Elk Lake Publishing

Shadow by Kara Swanson is the winner of the 2022 Realm Award for best cover design by Kirk DouPonce.

Cover design

• Shadow by Kara Swanson from Enclave Escape, designed by Kirk DouPonce at Dog Eared Design

Audiobooks

Fantasy

• Wraithwood by Alyssa Roat from Mountain Brook Fire, narrated by Katie Marchant

Science fiction, paranormal, supernatural, horror

• Operation Grendel by Daniel Schwabauer from Oasis Audio, narrated by Adam Verner

Audio short stories

Audio stories under 15 minutes

• “Dragon’s Spite” by Edward Sand from Havok Story Podcast, narrated by Shogo Miyakita

Audio stories over 15 minutes

• “The Architect” by Ben Kempf from Somewhat Significant Audio Productions, directed by Benjamin Kempf, performed by Peter Fazzari, Jonathan Cooke, Trisha Rose, Brian Kirk, Boyd Barrett, Benjamin Krispin, Marc LaPointe

Audio stories under two hours

• Met By Midnight by Janeen Ippolito from ACX, narrated by Kate Prendergast

Short fiction

Short stories

• “After Happily Ever” by Kristiana Sfirlea from Ye Olde Dragon Books

Flash fiction

• “A Home for Nova” by Hannah Carter from Havok Publishing

For a complete list of award finalists in all categories, visit RealmMakers.com.

About Realm Makers: Realm Makers began in 2013, and from small origins has grown to serve thousands of Christian fiction authors online and at annual conferences. Faculty members have included bestselling novelists such as Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, Tosca Lee, Brent Weeks, and N. D. Wilson. Realm Makers exists to help creative Christians in their journeys, providing education in craft, connections with industry professionals, and strategies for finding readers who love these kinds of stories. Meanwhile, the Realm Makers Bookstore offers a curated collection of speculative fiction from Christian authors, traveling to events such as homeschool conventions and renaissance fairs.