First Horizon Award Winners

The First Horizon Award


Eric Hoffer Book Award Gold Seal © The Eric Hoffer Project

Each year, the Eric Hoffer Award presents the First Horizon Award for superior work by debut authors (i.e the first published book of any type by the author). This is an additional distinction beneath the Eric Hoffer Award umbrella.

"The passionate pursuer has all the earmarks of a fugitive."

-Eric Hoffer

Upon registering for the Eric Hoffer Award, a book by a first time author is automatically considered for the First Horizon Award. In the spring, the First Horizon finalists are announced. The First Horizon Award was introduced in 2012. Recipients can be viewed below. Detailed coverage of current winners can be found in the US Review of Books.

2024

* All the Memories That Remain, E.M. Liddick, Warren Publishing
* Dismantling the 3rd Dimension, Antonia, Real Chimera Books
* Finding Waypoints, Terese Schlachter and Colonel Gregory Gadson, Schaffner Press
* Luz, Debra Thomas, She Writes Press
* Malice Aforethought, Avree Kelly Clark, Novanglian Press
* Richard Nixon: California’s Native Son, Paul Carter, Potomac Books
* The Once Upon a Time of Now, Hope West
* The Palisades, Gail Lynn Hanson, Slippery Fish Press
* The Sound of Undoing, Paige Towers, University of Nebraska Press
* We Bow to No One, Vera Sirota, Bottlecap Press
* Work Jerks, Louise Carnachan, She Writes Press

2023

* Abundant Fruit, Casey Wayne, Amazon
* Brewing Storms, A.M. Ramzy, Daybreak Press
* Flavour with Benefits: France, Cathy Connally & Charley Best, Collesano Publishing
* Hemlock Hollow, Culley Holderfield, Regal House Publishing
* Lost and Found, Spencer Brewer and Esther Siegal
* Myracles in the Void, Wes Dyson, Wonderlove
* Obedient unto Death, Liisa Eyerly, Cross River Media
* Queen Bee's Alphabet Cookbook, Mariah Ecker, RD and Teri Ecker, Archway Publishing
* Seen, Julie G. Delegal
* The French House, Courtney Lochner, Calumet Editions
* The Lives of Diamond Bessie, Jody Hadlock, Spark Press
* The Music Therapy Studio, Rick Soshensky, Rowan and Littlefield
* The Young Terrorist, Nabil Khouri, Armin Lear Press
* When I Was the Wind, Hannah Lee Jones, June Road Press
* Wish Upon a Crawdad, Curtis W. Condon, Heart of Oak Books

2022

* Careful Cartography, Devon Bohm, Cornerstone Press
* From the Caves, Thea Prieto, Red Hen Press
* How Good Food Works from Seed to Plate, Laura S. Moore, Wesley McWhorter, Joseph Novak, Don Sanders
* Mighty Mila, Katie Petruzziello, Mighty Books
* Paper Airplanes, Tabitha Forney, She Writes Press
* Signed, A Paddy, Lisa Boyle
* Sitting on Top of the World, Cheryl King, Purple Marble Press
* The Mask, Clayton Marshall Adams, CJ Sparrow Publication
* Wanted -> A New Career, Marlo Lyons, Future Forward Publishing
* What You Must Know About Your Heart Before It's Too Late, Jay A. Levine, M.D., XlibrisUS
* Your Next Big Idea, Samuel Sanders, Heard Publishing

2021

* Ava, Janet Perroni, iUniverse
* Believe, Julie Mathison, Starr Creek Press
* Fractal Shores, Diane Louie, University of Georgia Press
* Merged, Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl, Month9Books
* Scavenger Hunt, Dani Lamia, Level 4 Press
* Sing Like Never Before, Justin Stoney, Mission Point Press
* Smoke but No Fire, Jessica S. Henry, University of California Press
* The Reckoning, Book One, Jeffrey Pierce, Jai Mitchell (illustrator) , Black Rose Writing
* Tigers Love Bubble Baths & Obsession Perfume, Mary K. Savarese, Köehler Books
* Time to Fly!, Valerie Wiebe, Jim Fox (illustrator), Your Nickel's Worth Publishing
* Unfettered Journey, Gary F. Bengier, Chiliagon Press
* Words Whispered in Water, Sandy Rosenthal, Mango Media

2020

* A Drop of Magic, L.R. Braden, Bell Bridge Books
* A Nation of Unwell, Kristine L. Gedroic, MD and Valerie A. Latona, LCR Publsihing
* A Single Desperate Prayer, Ludmila Ritz, Amazon
* A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest, C.P. Mangel, Eyewear Publishing
* Be Wise Now, Gael McCool, Feel Inc.
* Deliberate Discomfort, Jason B.A. Van Camp, Ballast Books
* Geraldina & the Compass Rose, Geraldine Brown Giomblanco, GBG Books
* Not Dead Yet and Other Stories, Hadley Moore, Autumn House Press
* Sirocco, Danielle A. Dahl, Coffeetown Press
* Six Healing Questions, Madonna Treadway, MCM Publishing
* Three Ways to Disappear, Katy Yocom, Ashland Creek Press
* When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew, Hendrika de Vries, She Writes Press

2019

* A Dreadful Fairy Book, Jon Etter, Amberjack Publishing
* Chicago 1871, James E. Merl, XlibrisUS
* Defying the Verdict, Charita Cole Brown, Curbside Splendor Publishing
* Gather & Make, Genevieve Layman, Azara
* Life in the Neck, Diane Davies, Beaver's Pond Press
* Rosie, A Detroit Herstory, Bailey Sisoy Isgro, Nicole Lapointe (illustrator), Wayne State University Press
* The Sunshine Land, David Wedd, AuthorHouseUK
* The Wonder That Was Ours, Alice Hatcher, Dzanc Books

2018

* A Spiritual Hypothesis, Daniel Punzak, P.E., AuthorHouse
* Cast, Jen Townsend & Renée Zettle-Sterling, Schiffer Publishing
* Calling a Wolf a Wolf, Kaveh Akbar, Alice James Books
* Exploring the Lanscape of the Mind, Stephen S Clark Xlibris
* Given Away, Kate Anne Kang, CreateSpace
* Immaculate Consumption, Deena Solomon, Wheatmark
* Pecking Order, Nicole Homer, Write Bloody
* The Greatest Wish, Amanda Yoshida, Mascot Books

2017

* Baby X, Rebecca Ann Smith, Mother's Milk Books
* Enlightened Negotiation, Mehrad Nazari, Select Books
* Karamba, Olukayode Oyenekan, Trafford
* Moving Beyond the Unspoken Grief, Dr. Sarah Lnyy, Dreamstone Publishing
* The Eldercare Consultant, Becky Feola, AMACOM Books
* The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman, Robin Gregory, Mad Mystical Journey Press

2016

* Adrift in a Vanishing City, Vincent Czyz, Rain Mountain Press
* Featherbone, Erica Mena, Ricochet Editions
* I'll Run Till the Sun Goes Down, David Sandum, Sandra Jonas Publishing House
* Jewels of Allah, Nina Ansary, Revela Press
* Sacred Earth, Planet of Light, Ernest L. King, Silver Bear Press
* Saving Jake, D'Anne Burwell, FocusUp Books
* The Havana Papers, Michael Daly, BookBaby

2015

* At-Risk, Amina Gautier, University of Georgia Press
* Choices 7 Steps: Life Lessons 101, Anne Short Ph.D., Trafford Publishing
* Conscious Millionaire, J V Crum III, Conscious World Press
* Life in a Jar, Jack Mayer, Long Trail Press
* Paleo Girl, Leslie Klenke, Primal Blueprint Publishing
* When Dreams Touch, Rosemary Hanrahan, SDP Publishing
* Widow Walk, Gerard LaSalle, Greenleaf Book Group Press

2014

* A Song of Praise for Shifu, Susan J. Byrd, The Legacy Press
* Beat Your A-Fib, Steve S. Ryan, PhD, A-Fib, Inc.
* Don't Stop Dreaming, Dr. Russell Tomar, MavenMark Books
* Gray Girl, Susan I. Spieth, CreateSpace
* I Am Another You, Priya Kumar, Embassy Books
* Journey Proud, Carolyn Fleming, Trafford Publishing
* Map of the Spirit, Michael F. Cantwell MD, MPH, Hillhaven Press
* Sophia Rising, Monette Chilson, Bright Sky Press
* The Bees Are Waiting, Karina Borowicz, Marick Press
* The Entrepreneur Mind, Kevin D. Johnson, Johnson Media, Inc.
* Young Soldiers Amazing Warriors, Robert H. Sholly, Stonywood Publications

2013

* Buried in the Sky, Peter Zuckerman & Amanda Padoan, WW Norton
* Extraordinary Centenarians in America, Gwen Weiss-Numeroff, Agio Publishing
* Hattie, Anna Bozena Bowen, Small Batch Books
* Leaving Early, D.F. Waitt, Hummingbird Knowledge Press
* Searching For Friday's Child, Marjorie Irish Randell, Trafford Publishing
* The Expedition: Dark Waters, Jason Lewis, BillyFish Books
* The Silent Partner, Terrence King, Trafford Publishing

2012

* 52 People, Jayson Krause, Driven By Passion Press
* A Jewish Calendar of Festive Foods, Jane Portnoy, Janelle International
* Letters in Cardboard Boxes, Abby Slovin, Abby Slovin
* Nonna's Book of Mysteries, Mary Osborne, Lake Street Press
* The Chinese Dream, Helen H. Wang, CreateSpace