Local Writer Joan C. Curtis Wins Prestigious Royal Palm Literary Award Announced

ATHENS, Ga. - Oct. 21, 2015 - PRLog -- The Florida Writers Association, Inc., (FWA) has announced that Joan C. Curtis of Athens, Georgia, won a prestigious Royal Palm Literary Award (RPLA). Joan’s winning entry, a mystery/suspense thriller, The Clock Strikes Midnight won First Place for Mainstream Literary Novel (published).

The award was announced Saturday night at FWA’s recent four-day annual conference in Altamonte Springs, Florida. This annual competition, which received 393 submissions, was RPLA’s fourteenth.

“This is the most comprehensive and competitive RPLA we’ve ever had,” said Chris Coward, RPLA chairperson. “The RPLA administrative team, judges, and entrants all did an amazing job.”

In all, the competition covered 30 adult genres and 15 Youth genres, with published and unpublished entries considered separately.

“I was humbled to have my book recognized in this manner. Being a recipient of the first place of the Royal Palm Award is indeed a great honor,” said Joan Curtis.

The Clock Strikes Midnight is a mystery thriller featuring two sisters on a quest for revenge and atonement. Check out the book trailer....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIeIokOeBw4



Janie Knox has three months to live, and therefore three months left to right the wrongs of the past. At age 17, she vowed never to return to her hometown of Atlanta after a jury convicted her stepfather of killing her mother. Now she'll finish what she couldn't do when she left - kill her mother's murderer.

About the Author:

Joan is an award-winning writer who has published 6 books and numerous stories.  Readers compare her to the great Southern writer, Fanny Flagg. “She writes characters and a story that will stay with you.”

Her debut mystery/suspense novel, The Clock Strikes Midnight, also won the silver medal for fiction/suspense in the Global eBook Awards for 2015 . Her newest novel, released in November by Muse It Up Publishing, e-Murderer, won first place in the Malice Domestic Grants competition for new writers.

Joan has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember.  She reads all kinds of books, including women’s fiction, mysteries, biography, and nonfiction.  Mystery/suspense with a psychological twist is exactly the kind of book Joan loves to read.

“I write about characters who remind me of myself at times and my sister at times, but never fully so. My stories are told from a woman’s point of view with a destiny. Characters drive my writing and my reading.”

Having grown up in the South with a mother from Westchester County New York, Joan has a unique take on blending the Southern traditions with the eye of a Northerner.  She spent most of her childhood in North Carolina and now resides in Athens, Georgia.

Author website: http://www.joancurtis.com | Author’s blog: http://www.joancurtis.com/blog

To interview or to schedule Joan for a book signing, contact Ball of Fire Media.


The Florida Writers Association, 1,500 members strong and growing, is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization that supports the state’s established and emerging writers. Membership is open to the public.

The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is a service of the Florida Writers Association established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing blind, objective, and constructive written assessments for all entrants.

For additional information, visit the FWA website: floridawriters.net (http://www.floridawriters.net), where you’ll also find more about RPLA and the complete list of 2015 winners.