Sun City Center author wins Royal Palm Literary Award

By LOIS KINDLE

LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
Sun City Center resident Linda Bleser recently won a Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Award in literary fiction for her book, House of Cry.

After a lifetime of writing poems, books and short stories, Linda Bleser has won a Royal Palm Literary Award, her first award for literary fiction.

“It’s validating after all these years to be recognized,” said Bleser, a resident of Sun City Center. “I’ve won genre awards before for romance, suspense and women’s fiction, but as a writer, this one in literary fiction means the industry is taking my work more seriously. It also means I’ve reached a certain level of success.”  

Sponsored by the Florida Writers Association,  the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Award winners were announced during the association’s annual conference Oct. 17 to 21 in Altamonte Springs. There were 420 qualified submissions for this year’s event.

Bleser won second place in the Published Literary/Mainstream Fiction category for her most recent book, House of Cry.  

“A win at any level can help any writer market their manuscript or published work, and the detailed feedback from the judges is invaluable to all entrants,” said Chris Coward, Royal Palm Literary Awards chairwoman, in a recent press release. This year’s entries were the most competitive ever, she said.

More than 150 international judges, including journalists, librarians, award winning and best-selling authors, literary agents, writing instructors and others, determined winners in 26 adult genre and five youth-genre categories. Submissions included both published and unpublished works, which were judged separately.   

LOIS KINDLE FILE PHOTO
Local author Linda Bleser often appears at local events to promote and sell her books. All are listed at www.amazon.com/author/lindableser.

“The judges provided me with very positive feedback and praise,” Bleser said. “It was very gratifying to hear their comments.

“This was my first Florida Writers Association Conference,” she continued. “The workshops were very useful and informative. At the awards banquet, I felt like I was at the Oscars. The ambiance, the meal and the way the award was presented were incredible. I felt like a star.” 

House of Cry is Bleser’s 15th book. She has also written two novellas and three anthologies under her married name, Linda Bleser, and maiden name, Linda Milano.

Her next book, Not Her Story, has been submitted to her agent and will be published sometime next year.  

The Florida Writers Association, a 1,500-member, 501(c)6 nonprofit organization, helps Florida’s authors and aspiring writers. For information, visit www.floridawriters.net.

LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
House of Cry is author Linda Bleser’s 15th book. She has also written two novellas and three anthologies.

The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is held by the association to “recognize excellence in its members’ published and unpublished works.”   

To learn more about Bleser and her background, visit https://bit.ly/2zNG4II. Her books are listed at www.amazon.com/author/lindableser.

She can be reached through her website at www.lindableser.com or by emailing her at linda@bleser.com.