PenCraft Book Awards 2025 Honors Three Women Authors in Historic Milestone

The 9th Annual PenCraft Book Awards has announced its top three winning books for 2025, recognizing authors Heather G. Harris, Barbara Pronin, and Katherine Fabrizio. This year's awards represent a historic milestone as all three top positions were filled by women authors, showcasing exceptional talent across fiction and nonfiction genres.

Each winning author receives a monetary award along with a formal certificate and commemorating gold seals. The PenCraft Book Awards reviews over 1,000 entries annually through a rigorous judging process designed to identify literary excellence across genres. The organization's mission emphasizes providing all authors with equitable opportunities for recognition, regardless of publisher or financial resources.

Heather G. Harris, a top-100 Amazon best-selling fantasy author, won for her urban fantasy novel "Glimmer of the Other." Harris has built a full-time writing career fueled by a vivid imagination that creates worlds populated by vampires, dragons, and determined heroines. Her journey began as a student at a Liverpool university where she took up skydiving, an activity that led her to meet her future husband. When not writing, Harris balances her creative work with raising three children.

Katherine Fabrizio received the Best Nonfictional Book of the Year award for "The Good Daughter Syndrome." As a licensed psychotherapist with over three decades of clinical experience, Fabrizio draws from both professional expertise and personal experience to help women break free from patterns of guilt and self-doubt stemming from relationships with emotionally immature mothers. Her work empowers women to rediscover their identities and live authentically.

Barbara Pronin earned the Best Fictional Book of the Year award for "Winter's End." The accomplished author has written eight mysteries, three under the pseudonym Barbara Nickolae, and has received praise from bestselling authors including Mary Higgins Clark and Tony Hillerman. Pronin's diverse background includes work as an actress, probation officer, journalist, and substitute teacher, experiences that have enriched her storytelling. She holds degrees in communications and drama from California State College.

PenCraft Book Awards Editor-In-Chief David Hearne stated that the awards help authors gain recognition and increase book sales while introducing readers to exceptional stories. The organization continues to develop new methods to support authors worldwide in their creative endeavors. More information about the awards program is available at https://pencraftaward.com.

The significance of this year's awards extends beyond individual recognition to highlight broader trends in literature. The all-women winner lineup represents progress in a publishing industry where gender parity in major awards has been historically inconsistent. Additionally, the PenCraft Book Awards' commitment to equitable access addresses systemic barriers that often prevent talented authors from receiving recognition based on publisher connections or financial limitations.

For readers, these awards serve as a curated guide to quality literature across genres, while for the publishing industry, they represent validation of diverse voices and storytelling approaches. The winning books address themes ranging from fantasy adventure to psychological healing and mystery, demonstrating the breadth of contemporary literature being produced by women authors. As the literary community continues to evolve, recognition programs like the PenCraft Book Awards play a crucial role in amplifying voices that might otherwise go unheard.