PENMASTERS GLOBAL AWARD FOR LITERARY EXCELLENCE
Write Boldly. Rise Globally.
The PenMasters Global Award for Literary Excellence is our premier, flagship competition—honoring exceptional writing across 81 diverse categories of fiction and nonfiction. Open to authors worldwide, this award was created to recognize those who push the boundaries of storytelling, offering fresh insight, emotional resonance, and intellectual depth.
To ensure we spotlight the freshest voices and most current works, only unpublished manuscripts and books published within the last five years (2022–2027) are eligible for entry.
At PenMasters, we believe the most enduring reward is visibility, credibility, and long-term recognition.
Winners and Finalists receive:
- A distinguished, high-resolution digital award seal for promotional use
- Ongoing promotion through our platform, email campaigns, and curated features
- A permanent place on our “PenMasters for Life” Wall of Honor-reserved for winners and hosted on our high-traffic site
At PenMasters Global, we believe that real value comes from visibility, credibility, and community. Our mission is to create a space where writers can gain meaningful exposure, build their audience, and earn recognition that helps elevate their career long after the contest ends. Whether you’re sharing your first story or your fiftieth, the crew at PenMasters Global is here to champion your voice—and celebrate your journey.
👑🏆 2026 GRAND PRIZE BOOK OF THE YEAR 🏆👑
BENEATH THE RINGS
Beneath The Rings — Joe Battaglia — Franklin Publishers
JOE BATTAGLIA
JOE BATTAGLIA
Joe Battaglia is a storytelling powerhouse whose three-decade journalism epic pulses with the unyielding fire of Olympic glory. For more than two decades, he's been an unseen force behind the global Olympic movement—crafting Emmy-winning coverage for NBC Olympics, from the electric sprints of Beijing 2008 to the resilient roars of Sochi 2014, unearthing the raw sweat, shattered dreams, and euphoric triumphs of athletes who have chased immortality under the rings ever since.
A virtuoso journalist, producer, and author, Joe plunges into the heart of the human odyssey, transforming gritty underdog battles and icon-defining feats into spellbinding sagas that seize your soul and spur you forward. His trailblazing work has snagged two Sports Emmys, plus glittering nods from the International Sports Press Association, Track & Field Writers of America, and International Impact Book Awards.
Now, in his electrifying debut novel Beneath the Rings—a high-stakes thriller exploding at the 2040 Summer Games where vanishing athletes ignite a web of conspiracy—Joe unleashes his insider's edge. These aren't just stories; they're adrenaline-fueled beacons of the indomitable spirit. Dive in, feel the rush, and let Joe Battaglia light your path to extraordinary.
🌟 2026 Books of the Year by Category 🌟
FICTION
Beneath The Rings — Joe Battaglia — Franklin Publishers
CHILDREN'S
CHILDREN'S
How to Dress a Dinosaur — Robin Currie — Familius
NONFICTION
NONFICTION
CHILDREN'S
The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life — Suzanne B. O'Brien, RN — Little, Brown Spark
POETRY
NONFICTION
SPECIAL
Exits— Stephen C. Pollock — Windtree Press
SPECIAL
NONFICTION
SPECIAL
Running As Fast As I Can — John David Graham — Don Quixote Press, LLC
Joe Battaglia
Suzanne B. O'Brien
Joe Battaglia
Robin Currie spent her library career in the children’s department, where she could baa, moo, and honk without getting shushed. Her writing engages children not only in noisemaking but jumping, waving, and face making. So do her sermons.
Despite her incessant need to wiggle, Robin earned a Master’s Degree in Library Science and worked in public libraries before answering the call to seminary. She holds a Master’s of Divinity and Doctorate of Preaching, and remains active in area churches. She writes stories to read and read again!
She and her husband have 4 mature children and a crop of grown-up grandchildren who keep them from becoming Old Foggies. Because there is no fun noise for that.
Robin has traditionally published more than 45 picture books. She writes stories to read and read again!
Robin Currie
Suzanne B. O'Brien
Joe Battaglia
Robin Currie spent her library career in the children’s department, where she could baa, moo, and honk without getting shushed. Her writing engages children not only in noisemaking but jumping, waving, and face making. So do her sermons.
Despite her incessant need to wiggle, Robin earned a Master’s Degree in Library Science and worked in public libraries before answering the call to seminary. She holds a Master’s of Divinity and Doctorate of Preaching, and remains active in area churches. She writes stories to read and read again!
She and her husband have 4 mature children and a crop of grown-up grandchildren who keep them from becoming Old Foggies. Because there is no fun noise for that.
Robin has traditionally published more than 45 picture books. She writes stories to read and read again!
Suzanne B. O'Brien
Suzanne B. O'Brien
Suzanne B. O'Brien
Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN is the Founder & CEO of Doulagivers Institute. She is the author of the International Bestselling Book THE GOOD DEATH: A Guide For Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life ( Little Brown Spark, March 2025) Her life's mission is to increase access to high quality end of life education and care for patients and families throughout the world. She has developed free resources and trainings for family caregivers and practitioners from her firsthand experience as a hospice and oncology nurse and palliative care professional at the bedsides of more than 1,000 end of life patients.
Suzanne has been awarded “Worldwide Leader in Healthcare” by the International Nurses Association for creating Doulagivers Institute and was named Humanitarian Ambassador for Oprah Magazine in 2019 for her work to bring peace and comfort to those facing the end of life around the world. She has a degree in Transpersonal Counseling and Spiritual Ministry from the Association for the Integration of the Whole Person in Los Alamitos, California. She is also a founding member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s End of Life Doula Council and a founding member and Former VP of the National End of Life Doula Alliance.
Her work has been featured in TIME, Oprah Daily, NYT, Psychology Today, AARP, NBC NEWS DAILY, CNBC, Parade Magazine, and Katie Couric Media and more!
Suzanne has been passionate about bringing back the awareness that "death is not a medical experience- its a human one". She has taught the skill of how to care for someone who is dying ( Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Family Caregiver Training ) to over 369,000 worldwide and now hopes to teach millions this skill with her new book - THE GOOD DEATH.
You can find her on all social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and YouTube) at Suzanne B. O'Brien RN
Stephen C. Pollock
Suzanne B. O'Brien
Stephen C. Pollock is a poet, essayist, scholar, inventor, and author of the poetry collection Exits. The twenty-two poems in Exits were written and edited over a period of twenty-two years. Designing and formatting the book required an additional two years. Steve began scribbling poems on shirt cardboard at age nine. All of those early poems rhymed. (Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss was a huge influence!). Trained as a physician, eye surgeon, and neuro-ophthalmologist, Steve was recruited to Duke University as Chief of Neuro-Ophthalmology in 1987. He ultimately achieved a rank of Associate Professor with tenure and has published 30 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters in the medical literature. As a result of his lifelong penchant for designing novel devices, Steve holds U.S. Patent 4,477,158, Lens System for Variable Refraction. He also designed an instrument used to biopsy inaccessible tumors in the brain and behind the eye. The gratification Steve derives from writing springs from a variety of sources: fascination with language; the whimsy of wordplay; the intimate marriage of sound and sense; the thrill associated with creating something utterly new; and awe at the infinite ways in which words, well chosen, can capture and intensify human experience.
John Graham
John Graham
JOHN DAVID GRAHAM is the founder and executive director of Good Samaritan Home, a non-profit social service agency in Ohio, offering ex-offenders reentry housing and mentoring support. He is the author of an academic book, Citizen Circle: A Mentoring Model for Rehabilitating Ex-offenders in Darke County, Ohio, that documents the positive impact that mentoring ex-offenders has on the community.Prior to that he was a door-to-door salesman, a children's home counselor, substitute school teacher, truck driver, fireman, building contractor, minister and a journalist. Sometimes the road home takes many twists and turns.That long and winding road is the best preparation for writing. John's philosophy is the best writing occurs after a life has actually been lived-when we have had time to develop calloused hands and a tender heart.His current novel, although fiction, is the very real story of too many of us who struggle to overcome generations of poverty, neglect or abuse that have left us totally incapable of the life, and love, we desperately want. It is everyone's story because we all deserve a second chance.
2026 LITERARY EXCELLENCE CATEGORY WINNERS
2027 PENMASTERS GLOBAL AWARD FOR LITERARY EXCELLENCE
ONE CATEGORY ENTRY
$39.00
A single-category book submission qualifies a piece for a category prize as well as "Book of the Year" consideration. A full list of categories can be found on the entry form.
$39 per title/per category
(Example: One book in two categories equals $78.00--requires separate $39 transactions)
*DEADLINE TO ENTER 5/16/2027*
EASY TWO-STEP PROCESS FOR REGISTERING
- Process your entry fee
- Email your completed entry form + digital book files to support@penmastersglobal.com
