LOS ANGELES BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS 2026 BOOKS

Headline Books Titles Win Nine Awards

LOS ANGELES_Headline Books titles named at the 2026 Los Angeles Book Festival.

The Los Angeles Book Festival honored works in the following categories: general non-fiction, fiction, biography/autobiography, children’s books, young adult, how-to, cookbooks, science fiction, business, wild card (anything goes!), compilations/anthologies, sequels (for books that are part of a series), photography/art, poetry, romance, and regional literature. Judged by a panel of publishing industry experts looking for general excellence and the author’s passion for telling a good story, plus the potential of the work to gain a wider audience in the worldwide market.

Headline Books titles honored are:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

RUNNERS-UP:

It’s Okay to Have Feelings — Patricia Miller
The Heart of a Leader — Dr. Josh McConkey

GENERAL FICTION:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The Return of the Flying Boat — Dale Morton
Attacking the Dragon — A. Marc Ross

GENRE-BASED:

RUNNER-UP:

Breathe Easy — Tammy Donahue

HONORABLE MENTION:

Railroad Man: Legacies Son — Dan E. Hendrickson

REGIONAL LITERATURE:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Saving Marietta: — Joy E. Held
Can Skinwalkers Swim? — Michael Wescott Loder

YOUNG ADULT:

HONORABLE MENTION:

The Greenbrier River Adventures: JoJo the Dragon — Rusty McQuade

Grand Prize Winner — A novel centered on a neurodivergent woman’s struggles is the top book of the 2026 Los Angeles Book Festival, which honors the best of the world publishing community.

Author Meg Richman’s Freya the Deer (Rootstock Publishing) tells of a young neurodivergent woman occupied since childhood by a series of obsessions. She is artistic, vegan, unsocial, and utterly honest.

For a list of all winners, visit https://losangelesbookfestival.com/