Is There Life After College? Won First Place at The 2026 PenCraft Book Awards!

Well, it’s déjà vu all over again. (Or should I say “Déjà View”? Rimshot!) Just on the back of my Firebird Book Award win, I recently learned that Is There Life After College? won First Place at The 2026 PenCraft Book Awards in the same category of Young Adult Romance! Last year, The Electric God and Other Shorts also won a PenCraft award for its category of Short Stories/Anthologies, but it wasn’t in First Place. So far, Is There Life After College? is three for three in award wins. I’m still waiting to hear back from one more awards competition where I submitted this book, since their awards are announced in late October, so I should know either way soon.

This is the PenCraft Book Awards’ 10^th anniversary, and according to them, they received more entries this year than any other beforehand. A winning book needed to earn a score of 70 points or higher. It should also be noted that this competition doesn’t give an award for Third Place in any categories—only First, Second, and Runners-Up. From their email notifying me of my win:

In the largest competition in our 10-year history, your book rose above every other entry in its genre. Our judges found something in your pages that set your work apart from a strong field of talented authors. This honor reflects far more than a final score. It reflects the hours you spent shaping each chapter, the drafts you reworked, and the courage it took to share your work with the world. Your dedication, your talent, and your command of the written word earned you this recognition.

Once again, I humbly accept this honor. I’ve already updated the Is There Life After College? homepage with the award seal. I was also invited to attend their awards ceremony in Las Vegas next April, but I still haven’t decided. I didn’t go last time, and I don’t have many books left in me, so I might be persuaded to go this time.

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In other MTP news, Is There Life After College? was reviewed in this week’s issue of Publishers Weekly. It was the very last review of the issue, in fact. You can view it here:

That’s it! This was another short and sweet one. Until next time!

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: Is There Life After College? is going on a blog tour!

P.P.S.: The Danger Peak audiobook is available!

P.P.P.S.: Is There Life After College? is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble: