
2025 Claymore Award Finalists
The 2025 Killer Nashville Claymore Award Finalists are a diverse collection of the top Claymore manuscripts of 2025, each offering a unique literary journey. With the authors' permission, Killer Nashville will promote this rich tapestry of manuscripts to agents, aiming to secure representation for these unpublished works. Our goal is to see this diverse range of manuscripts find their way into readers' hearts. Join us in celebrating the winners at the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner on August 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. Finalist Authors are encouraged to attend Killer Nashville to network with agents, editors, and fellow seasoned writers.
2025 CLAYMORE AWARD FINALISTS
Best Action Adventure
LEO AND THE CHESS GAME OF ASHOKA
Jaya Agrawal
TESLA ENIGMA
Christopher Boswell
THE INVISIBLE PREDATOR
Angela Greenman
ANGELIANS
Dennis Meredith
DIE ALONG THE WAY
GA Rivers
Best Children's
MUPPIT BOY AND THE ALLERGIES OF EVIL
Michael Bowler
FRANCIE FAYE AIN’T RIGHT
Kimberly Dana
NIGHT, NIGHT BOOGEYMAN!
Kimberly Dana
MORSE CODE
Sue Dugan
WESLEY FINDS HIS WOLF
Jennifer Page Stickney
Best Comedy (includes comedic P.I. and crime caper)
MURDER IN LAKE PLACID
Katie Barron
GETTING PUBLISHED IS A MURDER
Amy Ivan
VOID
Phil Latham
CONFESSIONS OF AN INNOCENT MAN
Roger Toll
Best Cozy
HIGH TIDES AND HOMICIDES
Elise Burke Brown
LADY BERYL AND THE ELUSIVE BIJOU
Elizabeth Buttimer
THE BODY IN THE SAUNA
SR Chamberlain
THE ALPHABET COOKING CLUB
Janet Cobb
THE PSYCHIC DETECTIVE
Linda Kelley
Best Historical
SEA OF CLOUDS
G.S. Arnold
LILIAS OF THE VALLEY
Janel Nichols
THE SECRET OF THE OLD DOCK HAND
Amy Padden
THE BONE CHILD
Laurel Remington
BY THEIR RULES
J Morgyn White
Best Investigator (includes procedural, serious P.I., detective, and noir)
THE KILLER ARGUMENT
Jack Conlan
THE DARKER THE NIGHT
Kate Flora
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR
Marilyn Kay
BLOOD MOON OVER PHOENIX
Arthur Kerns
INFORMED CONSENT
Matthew Riordan
Best Juvenile / Y.A.
GLORIANA RISING
Corrie Bruce
THE SEVEN SPELLS OF SARAFINA FOXKIT
CR Doyle
THIRSTY
Debbie Freidman
DOPPELGÄNGER JUMPER
Judy Gregg
RUNG THREE
Magda Smith
Best Literary
AFTER CONSTANCE
David Dalessandro
MY GIVEN NAME
FE Davies
IRIS RISING
Masha Hamilton
DETROIT SOUTH
John Jeffire
MUD ANGELS
Kristin Russek
Best Mainstream / Commercial
EARLY ADOPTER
Mark Guerin
JERICHO LOST
CJ Kudlacz
THE DEVIL COMES TO KINDLAND
Phil Kushner
THE LUPIN GENE
Matthew Minson
SPIRIT OF THE GAZELLE
Rodney Walther
Best Mystery
NO FORCIBLE ENTRY
Kate Bergquist and Patricia Thorpe
THE WOLF WE BURY
Rebecca Jarnes
COLD SHORES
Sara Johnson
TWELVE SINNERS
Henry Kaye
HARLOW’S GOLD
EJ Whisler
Best Nonfiction
OUTSIDE BRAVO
Jacob Moon
MADAM CORONER: SURVIVING DEATH AND POLITICS IN SUBURBIA
Christina VandePol
Best Sci-Fi / Fantasy
THE SUBLIME MACHINE
George Angelou
THE WRONG SIDE OF THE RAINBOW
Bill Bibo
EVEN HUMAN
EM Dasche
THE VATRA WITCH
GV Hext
PROXIMA B
JL Yarrow
Best Short Story Collection / Anthology
NIGHT DRIVING AND OTHER STORIES|
Kate Bergquist (Author)
SHADOWS AND DUST
John Bukowski (Author)
THE FORGOTTEN MONDAY
Mark Connely (Author)
BONEDALE
Patrick Kitson (Author)
Best Southern Gothic
MIND GAME
Venita Bonds
WODEHOUSE
Elise Burke Brown
HUSH LITTLE BIRDIE
Minette Lauren
BEAUTY SECRETS
Minette Lauren
BLOOD OF COTTON, BLOOD OF CANE
Irene Smith
Best Supernatural
HERB, HEX, AND HOURGLASS
Michelle Aumiller
THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER
Lydia Gullicksen
BLOOD MOON SHADOWS
Matt Harlow
MISLED
SL Hulen
THE BOOK OF DEMONS
John Ryland
Best Suspense
KILL ME IF YOU CAN
R.G. Belsky
PRESSURE
Caroline O’Donnell
BLINDSIDED
Chas Shutt
WE NEVER SHOULD HAVE COME
LB Blackburne
DIATOMS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND
Ronda Wells
Best Thriller
EVERLASTING TIDES
Richard Hinkemeyer
MISLED
SL Hulen
WHAT SHE KNOWS
Renda Knapp
ALL THE BURIED SECRETS
Kim Nuesse
A WOMAN IN PIECES
Ruth Knafo Setton
Best True Crime
THE COUNTRY WESTERN KILLER ON HOLLYWOOD’S WALK OF FAME
Richard Carrico
MARKED BY THE OUIJI
Scott Wells
Best Western
THE OUTLAW’S DAUGHTER
Patricia Thorpe
Has your book made it to the list of Finalists? Promote it on your website and social media using our Killer Nashville Claymore Finalist emblem!