Jonathan's Journal: A Novel is available from booksellers now.

Gerald Everett Jones

The mysterious RFW. He joined the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry and became an instructor in musketry.

NYC Big Book Award has recognized the new novel “Jonathan’s Journal” by Gerald Everett Jones in the category of General Fiction as a Distinguished Favorite.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, September 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The 2026 NYC Big Book Award has recognized the new literary novel “Jonathan’s Journal” by Gerald Everett Jones in the category of General Fiction as a Distinguished Favorite. The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, designers, booksellers, librarians and professional copywriters. Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.

Jones comments, “I’ve won several awards from the New York City Big Book competition for my other books – including Gold and Silver for the Preacher Evan Wycliff mysteries – but I’m particularly gratified by this Distinguished Favorite recognition because it’s the first I’ve won in the incredibly competitive General Fiction category – for sure, the biggest pond in terms of the number of submissions. And it may be the biggest of all worldwide for indie-published books because it also includes entries from the big publishing houses.”

Earlier this year, “Jonathan’s Journal” won Gold in The BookFest Spring competition.

Here’s the story: A century after World War I reshaped global power, “Jonathan’s Journal” revisits the conflict from the deserts of Mesopotamia. Through dual narration and archival mystery, this intriguing story explores empire, secrecy, and the enduring relevance of geopolitical strategy. A modern art historian discovers a meticulously handwritten World War I diary among his late mother’s belongings. Signed only with his own initials, the journal recounts a British officer’s journey from the Devon coast to France and onward to the volatile Middle East, where imperial ambition, oil routes, and the strategic importance of the Suez Canal collide. As the professor investigates the soldier’s identity, the diary becomes more than a historical artifact — it evolves into a dialogue across time, challenging assumptions about war, honor, secrecy, and personal legacy.

Blending literary fiction, historical research, geopolitical intrigue - and even second-chance romance - the novel stands apart from traditional WWI narratives by spotlighting the Mesopotamian campaign and the larger imperial forces that shaped the conflict. Through dual narration — the modern scholar and the soldier whose story he reconstructs — the book examines how history is interpreted, misread, and reclaimed.

"Jonathan’s Journal" is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through major distributors.

NYC Big Book Award receives book submissions worldwide. Entries came in from well-established names as well as first-time indie authors – and from large and small presses. Publishers included: LaPuerta Books and Media, Beacon Press, Berrett-Koehler, Casemate, Edinburgh University Press, Forbes Books, Kiplinger Books, NYU Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Rizzoli, Routledge, University of California Press, University of Nebraska Press, Weaving Influence Press, and Wiley.

Winners and Distinguished Favorites included: “Jonathan’s Journal” from indie press LaPuerta, The Lab Press’s "Essentials Vol. 1” by Luke Arnold (Black Sails) & Chris "Doc" Wyatt (TV producer/writer); Berrett-Koehler's "Catch People Doing Things Right” by Martha C. Lawrence; The White House Historical Association’s “White House Memories 1970 – 2007:” by Gary J. Walters (White House Chief Usher); and “Eternal Love” by Xuemo - to name some key titles on the awarded list.

"We have an amazing list of authors from around the globe participating this year,” says awards sponsor Gabby Olczak. “I’m so excited to share these books with a worldwide readership!"

To view the list of 2026 Winners and Distinguished Favorites, please visit The New York City Big Book Awards.

Lu Ann Sodano
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