PRESS RELEASE: Local Author Wins Book Cover Award

Creative Slingers of Ink crowned Grandfather’s Whispers as the Holiday Book Festival 2024 Book Cover Contest Winner

Port Huron, MI – Local author Stacy N. Elliott received the Holiday Book Festival 2024 Book Cover award for her first adult literary fiction Grandfather’s Whispers on November 30, 2024. The Holiday Book Festival was hosted by Creative Slingers of Ink and held at the Kensington Mill Falls event building in Milford, Michigan. The festival celebrated over 30 authors as they converged to meet readers, share their writing journeys, and compete for the prestigious award.

Creative Slingers of Ink conducted a month long competition prior to the festival for the best book cover design.  Over 1,000 participants voted on their favorite cover among books paired in each bracket.  The best cover of the week moved on to the next round of voting where the most favorite cover stood out among the rest.  In the final round, two covers competed for the coveted award – “I Grew Very Brave” by Carol K. Lomasney and “Grandfather’s Whispers” by Stacy N. Elliott.

“I was thrilled to make it to the Elite 8 round,” Elliott says, “but after the upset in the Final Four round, I never expected to win the entire competition. Carol’s cover is beautifully designed and equally deserving of the award, and I couldn’t be happier than to share the final round with my friend and fellow author.”

Grandfather’s Whispers is a fictional story about a 17 year old girl on the cusp of adulthood and in a medical crisis. She meets her grandfather in an ethereal realm where the soul resides and magic thrives. It takes place in the late 70’s to early 90’s with some settings located in the thumb area of Michigan. Infused with fantastical elements, the main character is whisked away from one memory to the next to discover hope and a reason to survive.

Creative Slingers of Ink was founded by Mandy Jo Squires to create a community of Small Press and Indie authors to form meaningful connections and celebrate literacy excellence.  Their mission is to help writers achieve their goals through networking, conferences, workshops, writing sessions, retreats, and events such as the Holiday Book Festival. Elliott is a member of Creative Slingers of Ink, and she encourages all local writers to experience the community by visiting their website at CreativeSlingersOfInk.com.

The winner received an award and The Writing Game, an exclusive board game for writers designed by local author Diana Kathryn Penn.