The Critters Workshop, “for serious writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror,” has announced the outcome of their 26th annual Critters Writers Workshop Readers Poll honoring print and electronic publications published during 2023.

There are 41 categories – see the final tally for all of them at the link. The complete list of winners follows the jump.

Here are the works and creators that finished on top.

Best Anthology: Simultaneous Times Vol.3, Space Cowboy Books

Best Artist: Mike McPhail)

Best Artwork: New Maps of Hell (back cover art, The Flying Saucer Poetry Review, issue #2), Bruce Pennington

Best Author: Zdravka Evtimova  

Best Book Cover Artwork: Storm Coming (cover art for the novel He May Wear My Silence), Bob Eggleton

Best Book Editor: Justin T. O’Conor Sloane

Best Bookstore: Space Cowboy Books (https://spacecowboybooks.com/)

Best Print/Electronic Book Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Best Fiction Magazine / e-zine: The Horror Zine

Best Nonfiction article: “Flying Saucery: Bruce Pennington on UFOs”, Bruce Pennington, Starship Sloane Publishing Company, Inc.

Best Nonfiction book: How to Write a Howling Good Story, Wulf Moon, Stark Publishing Solutions

Best Nonfiction Magazine / e-zine: The Flying Saucer Poetry Review (issue #2)

Best Other Novel: Honey Unleashed, Brian Porter

Best Children’s Book: Jambalaya Comes Home, Carol Smith, Dragonfly-Watch Press

Best Erotica Novel: (No winner, insufficient votes)

Best Horror Novel: Primordial, Peggy Christie, Dragon’s Roost Press

Best Magical Realism Novel: He May Wear My Silence, Zdravka Evtimova, Starship Sloane Publishing Company, Inc.

Best Mystery Novel: Radcliffe, Madeleine D’Este, Deadset Press

Best Positive Future Novel: (No winner, insufficient votes)

Best Romance Novel: The Griffin’s Burn, Rosa Meronek, Ninja Chicken Press

Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novel: He May Wear My Silence, Zdravka Evtimova, Starship Sloane Publishing Company, Inc.

Best Steampunk Novel: Esprit de Corpse, Ef Deal, NeoParadoxa

Best Thriller Novel: Bayou Chase, J. D. Webb, Wild Rose Press

Best Young Adult Book: The Cannibal Caper: A Sparky of Bunker Hill Mystery, Rosalind Barden, Poodle Productions, LLC

Best Poem: Proving Grounds, Jean-Paul Garnier, Space Cowboy Books

Best Poet: Michael Butterworth

Best Poetry Magazine / e-zine: The Flying Saucer Poetry Review (issue #2)

Best Promotional Firm, Site, or Resource: (No winner, insufficient votes)

Best Review Site: Kevin’s Corner

Best All other Short Story: Saltmarsh, The, Wulf Moon, Zombies Need Brains LLC

Best Horror Short Story: [TIE] “Friends Indeed”, Rosalind Barden, Mystery and Horror, LLC; and “Excessive Heat Warning,” Y. Len, Reader Beware

Best Magical Realism Short Story: “The weather app”, Ronan Cahill, Starship Sloane Publishing Company, Inc

Best Positive Future Short Story: “The Photosynthetics”, Justin T. O’Conor Sloane, Starship Sloane Publishing Company, Inc.

Best Romance Short Story: “Love a la Carte”, Carol Henry, The Wild Rose Press

Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Story: “Death and the Taxman”, David Hankins, Galaxy Press

Best Steampunk Short Story: “The Falcon and the Goose”, David Lee Summers, eSpec Books

Best Writers’ Discussion Forum: Writers and Illustrators of the Future Forum

Best Writers’ Resource/Information/News Source: Wulf Moon’s SUPER SECRETS

Best Writers’ Workshop: Wulf Moon’s SUPER SECRETS

Best Magazine / e-zine Cover Artwork: Children of Tomorrow (e-zine cover art for The Flying Saucer Poetry Review, issue #2), Bruce Pennington

Best Magazine / e-zine Editor: Jeani Rector hi

[Thanks to Mike Bondanza for the story.]