2023 Foreword INDIES Finalists

• Belly of the Beast, Charles Armstrong (Sorce)
• The Winter Knight, Jes Battis (ECW)
• West of Jaws, Capes (Capas)
• Savage Wild Hearts, Sean Fletcher (self-published)
• Mantle of the World Ruler, Kate Gateley (self-published)
• Beyond the Gloaming Pass, Rebecca Holmes (self-published)
• Cursebreakers, Madeleine Nakamura (Canis Major)
• Joythief, Brenda J. Pierson (Crimson Fox)
• imPerfect Magic, C.N. Rowan (Main Rock)
• The Merry Dredgers, Jeremy C. Shipp (Meerkat)
• Underjungle, James Sturz (Unnamed)
• Emma’s Dragon, M. Verant (Acerbic)

Science Fiction

• Secondhand Daylight, Eugen Bacon & Andrew Hook (Cosmic Egg)
• Prophet, Sin Blaché & Helen Macdonald (Grove Atlantic)
• Karma of the Sun, Brandon Ying Kit Boey (CamCat)
• The Limits of My World, Gregory Coles (Walking Carnival)
• Boy Meets Ant, Munk Davis (self-published)
• Three Grams of Elsewhere, Andy Giesler (Humble Quill)
• The Oxygen Farmer, Colin Holmes (CamCat)
• A Dream Wants Waking, Lydia Kwa (Wolsak & Wynn)
• L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 39, Jody Lynn Nye & Dean Wesley Smith, eds. (Galaxy)
• Rogue, Alex Schuler & Kevin Weir (Level 4)
• Afterword, Nina Schuyler (Clash)
• The Levitation Game, Sharon Wagner (Ten16)

Thriller & Suspense

• The Truth Against the World, David Corbett (Square Tire)
• The Woodkin, Alexander James (CamCat)
• Godfall, Van Jensen (University of Nebraska Press)

Literary

• Dioramas, Blair Austin (Dzanc)
• Serengotti, Eugen Bacon (Transit Lounge)
• The Scrolls of a Temple Sweeper, Ninso John High (Wet Cement)
• Tennessee Murder Ballad, Heather L. Jones (Storyjourney)
• Fishing for the Little Pike, Juhani Karila, translated by Lola Rogers (Restless)
• Butterfly Dreams, Anne McClard (Aristata)
• Afterword, Nina Schuyler (Clash)
• After the Rapture, Nancy Stohlman (Mason Jar)

Young Adult

• Here Lies Olive, Kate Anderson (Flux)
• Stars, Hide Your Fires, Jessica Mary Best (Quirk)
• Unfurling the Sails, Sarah Branson (Sooner Started)
• Calculated, Nova McBee (self-published)
• The Totally True Story of Gracie Byrne, Shannon Takaoka (Candlewick)
• The Once Upon a Time of Now, Hope West (self-published)

The Foreword INDIES Awards aim to “honor the very best of indie publishing each year.” Winners will be announced in June 2024. For more information, including the complete list of finalists, see the Foreword INDIES webpage.

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