ORLANDO, Fla. - s4story -- The Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) is proud to announce the finalists for its 2026 Awards Season, recognizing outstanding books by MWSA member authors across a broad range of literary genres.

This year's finalists represent works ranging from historical fiction and military history to memoir, thrillers, children's books, science fiction, poetry, romance, and leadership.

Each finalist has earned an MWSA medal. The individual Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal designations will be announced during MWSA's Annual Membership Conference and Awards Banquet, October 22–24, 2026, in Orlando, Florida.

2026 MWSA Awards Season Finalists
Anthology/Collection

• Unbreaking the Circle - Stories of Service — SouthWest Writers, Dan Wetmore (contributor and editor)

Chapter Book

• Stronger Together — A.L. Zeine

Historical Fiction

• A Gamble on Liberty — Robert W Smith
• Both Sides of the Pond, My Family's War: 1933-1946 — Barbara Kent Lawrence
• Codename: Parsifal — Martin Roy Hill
• Hatfield 1677 — Laura C. Rader
• Perilous Shores — Thomas M. Wing
• Sheltering Angel of Belleau Wood — Louella Bryant
• The Mapmaker: A Novel of World War II — Tom Young
• The Tide Waits for No Woman — Richard K Perkins
• When Heroes Flew: Black Thursday — H. W. "Buzz" Bernard

History

• Forged in Fire: Grief, Purpose, and Devotion of a Woman at War — Robert L. Gangwere
• Hill 119, Defending a Reconnaissance Marines' OP, Vietnam 1969-70 — Colonel Michael O Fallon USMC (Ret)
• Images of America Grand County — Penny Rafferty Hamilton, Ph.D.
• On Board the USS Boise in World War II: The Battles and Secret Missions of Light Cruiser CL-47 — Ian S. Bertram
• Sirens in the Loop - A History of the City News Bureau of Chicago — Paul Zimbrakos / James Elsener

Horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi

• Guard in the Garden — Z.S. Diamanti
• Seeker — Glenn S. Robertson

How to/Business/Self Help

• College Finances for Military Families — Kate Horrell
• Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Checklist — Captain Steven J. Craig, USCGR Retired
• Helm & Horizon: Daily Leadership Principles for the Motivated Sailor — Steven-Paul Lapid, USN (Ret.)
• Leadership is Tough: Skills. Decisions. Disciplines. What Great Leaders Do Differently — Mary Kelly and Peter Stark
• Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die — David E. Grogan
• New Mission: Your Career Transition — Walter Nowocin
• The Art of Leadership — David Ocheltree
• The Four Stars of Leadership: Scientifically-Derived Principles from the Experiences of America's Highest-Ranking Leaders — Tom Collins, MD, MS

Literary Fiction

• Always On My Mind — Bob Every
• The Whispers of War — Sarah L. Peachey

Memoir/Biography

• Broken Destiny: The story of Sergeant William M. O'Loughlin, United States Army Air Force — Mark Verwiel & Mario Acevedo
• Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage — Heather Sweeney
• Colored Pebbles — Del Staecker
• Crazyhorse: Flying Apache Attack Helicopters with the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq, 2006–2007 — Daniel M McClinton
• Disgracefully Easy: A B-24 Pilot's Letters Home — William Hanchett with Thomas F. Hanchett
• Fatal Second Helen: A Modern Veteran's Iliad — Josh Cannon
• Fugitive Son — Aramis Calderon
• Grunt 0311 Reflections of a Marine Rifleman — George P Berg
• I'm Alive: A Young Fighter Pilot's Diary of the US Navy Air War in Vietnam, 1964 to 1965 — Errol F. Reilly; Kevin Callahan; Christopher P. Callahan
• Jungle Ghosts: Walking Point in Vietnam — Ed Mann
• Kick the Tires and Light the Fires: My Life as a Naval Aviator, FAA Test Pilot & Aviation Consultant — David Paul West with Ron Martz
• Knowing My Father: The Collision of the OB Jennings and War Knight — Col. Joseph R. Tedeschi, US Army (Ret)
• Pig Fat Soup: How I Survived My USS Pueblo Prisoner of War Journey — Steven Woelk, Robert Lofthouse
• Scattered, Smothered, and Covered: A Memoir of Resilience — Sandra Tow
• The Legacy of the Twins Platoon — Christy Sauro Jr
• The Resurrected Pirate: The Life, Death, and Subsequent Career of the Notorious George Lowther — Craig S. Chapman
• Unlearning What Worked — Matthew West-James
• Waiting at the Red Gate — Weston Roudebush

Mystery/Thriller/Crime

• Arctic Red — James Bultema
• Assassin's Mace, A Jake Palmer Novel — Ron McManus
• Dances with Arrows — Steve Stratton
• Home for the Homicides — Rosalie Spielman
• Invaders of the Heartland — James Bultema
• Jones Point — Sean Hagerty
• Project Darkheart: a Black Spear novel — Benjamin Spada
• Sacred Plunder — Phillip Daigle
• Savage Remorse — Macklin Grey
• Soulless — Joseph Badal
• Stealing Stealth — Brian L. Reece
• Target Kyiv — J. M. Taylor
• Task Force Thunderbolt — Galen D. Peterson
• The Big Bad — Brad Huestis
• The Gotland Deception — James Rosone
• The Organization: Operative Nova — Daniel C. Davis
• The Suwalki Crisis — James Rosone
• The Vatican Deal — Michael Balter

Pictorial/Coffee Table

• Raiding the Rising Sun: The Doolittle Raid-America Strikes Back; An Illustrated Day-By-Day Account — Dan Steelman

Picture Book

• George Eaton's Odd Granny (Rode a Pig Home Yesterday) — Nancy Panko
• Veteran Adventure Stories: Charlie Plumb — Stephanie Hennessy
• Veteran Adventure Stories: Gregory Gadson — Stephanie Hennessy

Poetry Book

• I Remember You: Between memory and silence, a voice remains — Patrick J Hughes

Religious/Spiritual

• Coherent Chaos: The Unity Paradox... — A. Quinn Stanley, Ph.D.

Romance

• Into The Mist — L.K. Aldrich
• Viking — Brilee Scott
• Where There's Smoke: A Texas Love Story — Rees Walther

Young Adult (fiction or non-fiction)

• Along the Trail — Kaci Curtis
• Hilo Dome — Jack Bartley

About the MWSA Awards

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The Military Writers Society of America's awards program recognizes excellence in literature and the arts by MWSA members, including veterans, military family members, and writers whose work reflects military service, history, or the broader military experience.

The 2026 finalists will receive their individual Gold, Silver, or Bronze medal designations during MWSA's Annual Membership Conference and Awards Banquet, October 22–24, 2026, in Orlando, Florida.

For the complete 2026 season information, book summaries, reviews, and awards information, visit the MWSA 2026 Awards Season page.

Watch the 2026 Finalists Announcement

MWSA also announced this year's finalists in a special video presentation. Watch the 2026 MWSA Awards Season Finalists Announcement on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahx93XHkDjA