Kilpack's Dystopian Military Sci-Fi Novel Battle Calm Named Finalist in Utah Book Awards
West Jordan, Uta. — Battle Calm by award-winning Utah author W.D. Kilpack III is one of five finalists in the Utah Book Awards in the Speculative Fiction category.
Program Manager Kase Johnstun, Utah Center for the Book, said, "I want to thank all who submitted their books to the 2025 Utah Book Awards! There were so many amazing submissions in all categories. Your work highlights the depth of Utah’s literary landscape. If your book was not selected as a 2025 Notable Read [Finalist], please know that the competition was very steep and this is no reflection on your writing! Our judges struggled to narrow these lists down to get to our notable reads."
According to the Utah Book Awards Web site, an award is given based on the strength of the publication’s literary merit, lasting importance, and overall quality. The Utah Book Awards is a project of The Utah Center for the Book at Utah Humanities (an affiliate of The Library of Congress Center), the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, the Utah State Library Division, and The League of Utah Writers.
Kilpack said, "I will never get tired of hearing from readers who work. So much goes into writing a novel, let alone a trilogy, and having a little appreciation shown goes a long way in making it feel worthwhile!"
Winners for each category, General Fiction, Speculative Fiction, General Nonfiction, Memoir/Narrative Nonfiction, Illustrated, Young Adult/Middle Grade Readers, and Poetry, will be announced by July 15, 2025, with hopes to have an award ceremony during the Utah Humanities Book Festival in October 2025.
This year's competition was judged by a panel of seven judges, including
• Kathryn MacKay is a Professor Emeritus from the History department of Weber State University. She is the author of numerous published articles, essays, and book reviews. She is on the boards of the Utah Historical Quarterly, the Friends of Stewart Library, and the Utah Humanities.
• J. Gordon Daines III is the Research and Instruction Services Archivist and Yellowstone National Park Collection Curator in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at Brigham Young University. He holds degrees in history, archives and records management, and educational leadership. He has a deep passion for the humanities and books. He is a current board member for Utah Humanities.
• Joella Bagshaw is the Children’s Services Manager at the Provo City Library. She has been a youth services librarian for more than 20 years. She has served on many different ALSC and YALSA Committees—including the Odyssey Award Committee and the Excellence in Early Learning and Digital Media Award Committee. She has served on numerous Cybils Award Committees and chaired the Middle-Grade Fiction Cybils Committee twice. Joella also has served in various positions in the Utah Library Association. One of her favorite things is to help young children get excited about books and coming to the library.
• Kathleen Broeder is the Special Collections Librarian in the Department of Library & Information Science at Southern Utah University, where she works with the Children's and Juvenile book collection. She holds two master’s degrees from the University at Albany, SUNY, in Information Science and History.
• Jay Hart, recently retired after 43 years of teaching English and History at the secondary and college level, lives in Ogden, UT, where he continues to teach wine appreciation classes for the local arts center.
• Alisha Geary is an Adult Reference and Teen Librarian at the Provo City Library. She has Master's Degrees in both Library Science from Emporia State University and Literature and Writing from Utah State University.
• Dianne Aldrich is a dedicated, experienced librarian who is passionate about promoting inclusive library services. Currently serving as the Assistant Director of Library Services at Rocky Vista University, she brings over two decades of experience working in various library settings, including academic, medical, and high school libraries. Dianne’s expertise lies in information literacy instruction, collection development, and leadership in fostering inclusive library environments. She holds a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor's in Literature and Writing Studies. She is also actively involved in professional organizations and community service.
Kilpack has published seven novels to date, five in the epic fantasy New Blood Saga (Crown Prince, Order of Light, Demon Seed, Rilari and Vengeance Borne), and the science-fiction novella, Pale Face. Between them, they have won 27 book awards and honors, including the International Impact Book Award, International Firebird Book Award, The BookFest Award, Honorable Mention in L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future, Editor's Choice and Top Pick from BooksShelf.com, and runner-up finishes in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category of the Online Book Club's Book of the Year Competition. Pale Face is currently in movie development, and book two in the Battle Calm Cycle, Battle Calm: Omega Message, is scheduled for release in June 2025.
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