The 3rd Annual PenCraft Awards Ceremony Will Be Headlined by Linnea Tanner, Marcus A. Nannini and Joe Barrett for Outstanding Literary Achievement

HOUSTON, Nov. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The PenCraft Awards for 2019 will recognize 48 remarkable works in numerous categories at its 3rd Annual Event, which will be held at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Lake Charles, LA. Three of the outstanding Winners will share the spotlight that night as the best of the best.

The Best Book of the Year award was won by Linnea Tanner with her book, Apollo's Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings) (Volume 1), published by Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC. The book is a captivating tale about triangles; love, lust, and espionage; friend, foe, and spies; civilized Rome, barbarians and spiritual-supernatural beings. The author's knowledge of the mythology and the history of 24 AD Celtic tribes is astounding as she weaves a tapestry of intrigue, a Gordian knot of rivalry, and a love story.

Since childhood, Tanner has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology, which held women in higher esteem. Of particular interest to her were the enigmatic Celts who were known as fierce warriors and mystical Druids. Depending on the time of day and season of the year, you will find her exploring and researching ancient and medieval history, mythology and archaeology to support her writing. As the author of the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series, she has extensively researched and traveled to sites described within each book.

Linnea Tanner has received multiple awards for her literary endeavors in 2019. She's been a recipient of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association 2019 CIPA's EVVY Bronze Medal, the 2019 Readers' Favorite GOLD MEDAL for Fiction: Magic/Wizardry genre, and also a Gold Medal in the 2019 Global EBook Awards for the category of fantasy/Historical.

Linnea is a native of Colorado, currently residing in Windsor, Colorado. She holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Colorado. She lives with her husband and is the mother of two children.

Linnea Tanner will be at the PenCraft Awards' ceremony, January 20, 2020, to meet and greet fans and her contemporaries. She will be there to talk about her fascinating Curse of Clansmen and Kings series.

Master storyteller and humorist Joe Barrett won Best Fiction Book of the year with his entry Managed Care a hilarious story that confronts contemporary issues of senility, adult diapers, and suicide with bizarre, laugh-out-loud humor. Managed Care is a witty story set in a typical for-profit nursing home that is the temporary residence of 33-year-old Frank Johnson. Managed Care, published by Black Rose Writing, was Joe Barrett's debut novel.

Joe Barrett has spent his last twenty-five years as a chief executive of various entrepreneurial organizations ranging from private, venture-funded companies to large multinational corporations. He was a frequent speaker at National Retail Federation conferences and has sat on the board of several for-profit and not-for-profit companies. He has written numerous short stories that have appeared in Iconoclast, The Storyteller, and The Palo Alto Review. Joe currently lives in Tampa Florida with his wife and two children.

In an interview with author Daniel Oliver, Barrett said, "I enjoy dark, offbeat satires – especially ones that allow readers to really empathize with main characters that have a twisted perspective on the world." His writing echoes that view. Barrett has already written and had his second book, Daisy in the Doghouse, published and is now waiting for his third book, Unplugged to be released in May of 2020.

Marcus A Nannini, "Left for Dead at Nijmegen," published by Casemate, won the PenCraft Award for Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year. His book is a well researched true story about an American paratrooper during World War II. Author Nannini conducted many in-depth interviews with WWII veteran, Gene Metcalfe to make sure that what he wrote was factual.

Nannini's novel recounts Gene Metcalfe's life when he was a green paratrooper, and was a part of Operation Market Garden. He and his unit were dropped outside Nijmegen, Holland, as part of the forces involved in the operation. Unfortunately for Metcalfe, a German 88 shell exploded nearby leaving him unconscious. A fellow soldier reached him but assuming he was dead, left his body as the unit retreated. Gene quickly became a prisoner of war. For eight harrowing months, he suffered the anguish, pain, and shock of deprivation, starvation, and fear. He witnessed extreme carnage, risked his life to save a wounded paratrooper and eventually escaped. He vividly recalls how he endured as a slave laborer, even recalling conversations and some of the men he became acquainted with during his internment. His interrogation by a German he identified as Himmler is intriguing.

Marcus Nannini's involvement with the written word dates back to his venture of launching his own Newspaper as a sixth-grade student. He charged 25 cents per copy, but like the Saturday Evening Post and Life Magazine, his publishing venture finally folded. He has worked as a paid reporter and as a research assistant for journalism professor Richard Stocks Carlson Ph.D.. A bona fide history buff, Marcus gravitates to researching and writing about the countless historical events of World War II.

Those are our three headliners, but we will also be honoring multiple other great writers who have won not only a PenCraft Award but also honors from other literary competitions.
"It's always interesting to meet great writers and chat with hem about where their ideas originated and how they go about their work. What got them started and what inspired them. For authors, it's a fantastic opportunity to exchange ideas with peers," event coordinator Hearne stated.

The PenCraft Award competition strives to give all authors an equal opportunity in promoting their works to the reading public. Our goal is to make our competition inspiring, fun, and open to all authors. The PenCraft Award receives hundreds of nominations for awards, but only a small percentage win. Our winners are the best. We hope that we can continue being a conduit to the introduction of new authors and great new books to the reading public.

The PenCraft Award ceremony and dinner will be held on January 20, 2020, at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Lake Charles, LA, For more information, please contact the event coordinator, David Hearne 409-656-4625.

SOURCE PenCraft Awards