We’re excited to announce the shortlist for the 2022 Indiana Authors Awards in the genre category! Congratulations to the following Hoosier authors and their books:
![](https://rarebird-ih.s3.amazonaws.com/media/20220729100141/Hollow-Heard-721x1024.png)
Paul Allor, Indianapolis, for Hollow Heart, a graphic novel that uses a queer monster love story to examine the choices we make between giving loved ones what they want and giving them what we think they need.
![](https://rarebird-ih.s3.amazonaws.com/media/20220729100217/Stella-721x1024.png)
Josh Dygert, Indianapolis, for the novel Stella, which follows a girl whose father disappears when he touches a meteor that lands in their cornfields, and her quest to discover the truth as a total eclipse approaches.
![](https://rarebird-ih.s3.amazonaws.com/media/20220729100103/False-Starts-721x1024.png)
Sofi Keren, Indianapolis, for False Starts & Artichoke Hearts. This romance novel set in the world of fine dining finds Daniela and Jules both starting over and hoping that their pasts won’t stop them from building a future together.
![](https://rarebird-ih.s3.amazonaws.com/media/20220729100127/Forgiveness-721x1024.png)
Joseph Lee, Bloomington, for Forgiveness: The Story of Eva Kor, Survivor of The Auschwitz Twin Experiments. This illustrated biography of Eva Kor tells the story of a girl who found herself fighting to survive in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and an adult in Terre Haute who discovered that forgiveness could save her life.
![](https://rarebird-ih.s3.amazonaws.com/media/20220729100202/Seashell-Virgin-1024x1004.png)
Steve Schatz, Bloomington, for Seashell Virgin: A Nacho Mama’s Patio Café Novel, a humorous novel in which a band of middle-aged friends from Nacho Mama’s Patio Café fight a scheme to close the area’s only gay bar and upend their town.
![](https://rarebird-ih.s3.amazonaws.com/media/20220729100233/winter-seeks-out-the-lonely-721x1024.png)
Larry D. Sweazy, Noblesville, for Winter Seeks Out the Lonely: A Sonny Burton Novel, about confronting corruption in a Texas town at the tail end of the Great Depression while also considering a chance at love.
Keep up with the other shortlist announcements here, and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.