2013 MWSA Award Winners

ZARBUL MASALHA: 151 Afghan Dari Proverbs by active duty U.S. Navy Captain Edward Zellem which won the Gold Medal for Reference was one of the many highlights in the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) 2013 book awards ceremony held this year in Dayton, Ohio. The MWSA book awards recognize outstanding military-themed books in a wide range of categories from children to adult. The categories include fiction, non-fiction, spiritual/religious, poetry, business/how to, and others. Entries included works published in traditional and e-book formats. Finalists range from first-time authors to New York Times bestselling writers.

 

“The annual awards program is MWSA’s most important and exciting function. We focus on content, style, visual, and technique. Each year more active military, veterans, historians, and bestselling writers submit their works and the rich variety of formats includes novels, poetry, and graphic histories. Each year, the competition is more intense, and 2013 is no exception,” said MWSA president and New York Times bestselling author Dwight Jon Zimmerman. “I am particularly proud of Captain Zellem’s award which received praise from officials in the Afghan government”

Zimmerman added, "I also congratulate Author of the Year Bob Doerr, President's Award winner Maria Edwards, and Founder's Award Winner Cathryn Prince. The Author of the Year award recognizes a writer's body of work, and Bob has created an outstanding collection of books that would be an asset to anyone's library. Maria Edwards has been an integral part of MWSA since the beginning, and the organization would not have achieved the success it has without her tireless effort and support. Cathryn Prince's book DEATH IN THE BALTIC highlights the greatest maritime disaster in the world--greater than the sinking of the Titanic--yet one that was almost instantly forgotten in history. Impeccably researched and compellingly written, her book well deserves the Founder's Award."

The Military Writers Society of America is an association of more than 800 authors, poets, artists, and photographers whose core principle is a love of the men and women who defend this nation, and an understanding and respect of their sacrifice and dedication. Below is the complete list of the 2013 MWSA book award winners.

 

AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

 

Bob Doerr

 

PRESIDENT’S AWARD

 

Maria Edwards

 

FOUNDER’S AWARD

 

DEATH IN THE BALTIC

Cathryn Prince

 

REFERENCE

 

GOLD MEDAL

ZARBUL MASALHA: 151 Afghan Dari Proverbs

Edward Zellem

 

 

HISTORY

 

GOLD MEDAL

GEORGE 3-7th MARINES: A Brief Glimpse Through Time of a Group of Young Marines

James Nicholson

 

SILVER MEDAL

BLACKHORSE RIDERS

Phillip Keith

 

SILVER MEDAL

THE BAD BOY: Bert Hall, Aviator and Mercenary of the Skies

Blaine Pardoe

 

GOLD MEDAL

CHOSIN FILE

Dale Dye

 

GOLD MEDAL

DOG SOLDIER MOON

Mike McKendree Long III

 

GOLD MEDAL

WEDDED TO WAR

Jocelyn Green

 

SILVER MEDAL

SOLO VIETNAM

Jeanette Vaughan

 

SILVER MEDAL

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY

Mark Bowlin

 

SILVER MEDAL

TULLYKILLANE, 1941

David Andrew Westwood

 

SILVER MEDAL

PASS IN REVIEW – Honor

Brian Utermahlen

 

HISTORICAL FICTION

 

BRONZE MEDAL

HAMFIST DOWN

George Nolly

 

BRONZE MEDAL

THE GIRL WHO SWAM TO ATLANTIS

Elle Thornton

 

THRILLER/MYSTERY

 

GOLD MEDAL

THE RENEGADES

Tom Young

 

SILVER MEDAL

TOM CLANCY PRESENTS: ACT OF VALOR

Dick Couch, George Galdorisi 

BRONZE MEDAL

THE RENDITION

Albert Ashforth

 

SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/HORROR

 

GOLD MEDAL

THE DONORS

Jeffrey Wilson

 

ROMANCE

 

SILVER MEDAL

NAVY RULES

Geri Krotow

 

LITERARY FICTION

 

GOLD MEDAL

FLASHES OF WAR

Katey Schultz

 

SILVER MEDAL

CIB: COMBAT INFANTRYMAN BADGE

Wilbur (Bill) Rambow

 

BRONZE MEDAL

A QUEST FOR SKYE

John Rothdiener

 

SHORT STORY COLLECTION

 

GOLD MEDAL

TYING UP WATER AND OTHER STORIES

Ross H. Mackenzie

 

SILVER MEDAL

MY CORPS: Short Stories and Reflections

Zivojin Rackovitch

 

CREATIVE NON-FICTION

 

SILVER MEDAL

LETTERS FOR LOGAN

Debra Bastian

 

BRONZE MEDAL

THE NIGHT SKY: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back

Maria Sutton

 

HUMOR

 

SILVER MEDAL

RAPSCALLION SUMMER

David Michaelson

 

MEMOIR

 

GOLD MEDAL

MY SPECIAL FORCE: The Warriors That Taught Me the Meaning of Live and Love

H. S. Means

 

SILVER MEDAL

THIRTY DAYS WITH MY FATHER: Finding Peace from Wartime PTSD

Christal Presley

 

BRONZE MEDAL

LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT: Adventures, Exploits, Sacrifices, Risks, and Rewards

Captain W. Stewart Orr USN (ret.) and Fran Orr

 

BRONZE MEDAL

BACK TO VIETNAM: Tours of the Heart

R. Bruce Logan & Elaine Head

 

BRONZE MEDAL

SKETCHES OF A BLACK CAT

Ron and Howard Miner

 

GRAPHICAL

 

BRONZE MEDAL

CODE WORD: GERONIMO

Dale Dye and Julia Dye

 

 

HOW TO: BUSINESS

 

BRONZE MEDAL

GET RICH IN A NICHE: The Insider’s Guide to Self-Publishing in a Specialized Market

Jeffrey W. Bennett

 

BRONZE MEDAL

INSIDER’S GUIDE TO SECURITY CLEARANCES

Jeffrey W. Bennett

 

 

AUDIO BOOK

 

SILVER MEDAL

USERNAME

Joyce Faulkner, Performed by M. D. Mullins

 

BIOGRAPHY

 

GOLD MEDAL

STILL HAVING FUN: A Portrait of the Military Marriage of Rex and Bettie George 1941-2007

Candace George Thompson

 

GOLD MEDAL

LIFE ON A $5 BET: Major General Edward J. Mechenbier Linda Swink

 +

 

 

 

 

 

SILVER MEDAL

MY TRUE COURSE: Dutch Van Kirk Northumberland to Hiroshima

Suzanne Simon Dietz

 

BRONZE MEDAL

SILAS SOULE: A Short, Eventful Life of Moral Courage

Thomas Bensing

 

 

SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS

 

GOLD MEDAL

STORIES OF FAITH AND COURAGE FROM THE HOME FRONT

Jocelyn Green

SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS continued

 

 

GOLD MEDAL

STORIES OF FAITH AND COURAGE FROM THE VIETNAM WAR

Larkin Spivey

 

SILVER MEDAL

LISTEN FOR THE WHISPERS: Coping With Grief and Learning to Live Again

Kim Kluxen Meredith

 

 

POETRY

 

GOLD MEDAL

PASS THE SALT, DOC

Mike Mullins and Jim Greenwald

 

GOLD MEDAL

WISHING FOR RAIN

Jim Greenwald

 

SILVER MEDAL

MITAKUYE OYASIN

Jim Greenwald

 

CHILDREN: AGES 12 AND BELOW

 

GOLD MEDAL

HAYSOOS THE HONU

Kristin Barnes

 

SILVER MEDAL

PICKYSAURUS MAC

Sandra Miller Linhart

 

BRONZE MEDAL

SPANKY: A Soldier’s Son

Sue LaNeve

 

BRONZE MEDAL

LION’S PRIDE: A Tail of Deployment

Grace Anne Remey

 

 

YOUNG ADULT

 

GOLD MEDAL

BUTTERFLY DUST

Nubby Grumpins (David Michaelson)

 

GOLD MEDAL

BACKCOUNTRY FURY: A Sixteen-Year-Old Patriot in the Revolutionary War

Tony Zeiss

 

SILVER MEDAL

FAMOUS DOGS: Changing History One Dog (& Cat) at a Time)

Pat McGrath Avery

 

BRONZE MEDAL

GRAND SLAM GROOMING DOGS SPEAK OUT

Pat McGrath Avery