Voting Open for Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Amazon and Penguin have announced the three finalists in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Now, it’s up to Amazon.com customers to vote for the Grand Prize winner. The voting period is now open here now through this Thursday, May 21 at 11:59 PM EDT.

The 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Finalists are:

Ian Gibson, Victoria, British Columbia, for Stuff of Legends
The author, who works at a theater in British Columbia, developed the characters in this novel from a comic strip he created in 2003. Stuff of Legends is a comic fantasy about heroism and celebrity, where a 15-year-old boy’s fondest wish is granted and he is teamed with his idol, warrior hero Jordan the Red, to defeat villains, monsters and demonic armies.

James King, Wilton, Conn., for Bill Warrington’s Last Chance
A corporate communications specialist for the past 20 years, the author earned his master's degree in creative writing in 2008 as a way to achieve his lifelong goal of writing fiction. In the novel, Bill Warrington tries to reestablish ties with his estranged children after he is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. After several attempts at a reunion fail, he decides to kidnap his 15-year-old granddaughter, April, so that his children will be forced to talk to each other – and to him – as they attempt to “rescue” April.

Brandi Lynn Ryder, Napa, Calif., for In Malice, Quite Close
A Napa resident who grew up in the gold-mining town of Sonora, the author draws inspiration for her novel from her passions for Impressionist art and French culture. The novel opens in 1979 San Francisco, where an unlikely relationship forms between 15-year-old Karen, who longs to escape her abusive father, and wealthy art collector Tristan Mourault. Tristan gains Karen’s trust and she soon adopts a new identity as his daughter, sending the two on an extraordinary odyssey that spans 15 years and two coasts.

Find out more about the three finalists, read short excerpts of each manuscript, and see reviews from the expert panel (including Sue Monk Kidd and Sue Grafton) here.