Stephen Watts > Recent Status Updates

Searching for Harold, coming in 2026!

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LaMoille-Clarion Public Library

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Searching for Charles is a 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award category finalist: https://www.hofferaward.com/Eric-Hoff...

Searching for Charles is a Book Readers Appreciation Group (B.R.A.G.) Medallion Honoree: https://www.bragmedallion.com/award-w...

Searching for Charles has made it to finalist status in Journalistic Non-Fiction in the Nellie Bly Chanticleer International Book awards: https://www.chantireviews.com/2024/02...

Searching for Charles has made it to finalist status in Journalistic Non-Fiction in the Nellie Bly Chanticleer International Book awards.

The latest Goodreads Giveaway has ended, with three lucky winners out of 2,851 entrants getting their signed copies of Searching for Charles dropped at the post office today!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

In the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, Searching for Charles has won 1st Place in both History Nonfiction and Letters, Journals, Diaries; and it received Honorable Mentions in both Biography/Autobiography/Memoir and New Author: Nonfiction. https://www.storymonstersbookawards.c...

Searching for Charles has made it to the Nellie Bly Chanticleer International Book Awards Short List for Journalistic Non-Fiction:

https://www.chantireviews.com/2023/12...

Another Goodreads giveaway!!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Searching for Charles made Finalist in both Nonfiction: History and Nonfiction: True Story in the 2023 Independent Author Network (IAN) Book of the Year Awards: https://www.independentauthornetwork.......

Searching for Charles has won first place in three categories of the Firebird Book Awards: 1) Biography/Historical, 2) History/United States, and 3) New Nonfiction:
https://www.speakuptalkradio.com/book...

The Searching for Charles website has launched:

https://searchingforcharles.com/

Searching for Charles has been selected as a nonfiction semifinalist in the 2023 Kindle Book Awards.

Searching for Charles has earned the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY 2nd Place Book Award (2023).

Searching for Charles has earned the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY 2nd Place Book Award (2023).

Searching for Charles is now available in audiobook format on Google Play, Kobo and Payhip:

https://play.google.com/store/audiobo...

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/...

https://payhip.com/b/eINUB

Searching for Charles has made the "long list" in the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) Journey Book Awards: Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction: https://www.chantireviews.com/2023/07...

Searching for Charles has been selected as a finalist in the UK-based Page Turner Awards: https://pageturnerawards.com/2023-boo...

“An extraordinary man making his way through a new country...Charles Watts embodies the image of a self-made man and restless immigrant, constantly finding new opportunities...doggedly trying to convince his kin to join in the venture…Searching for Charles is...the gold standard of what a genealogist can strive to achieve.” ~ Debra Dudek, The Quarterly Journal of the Illinois State Genealogical Society

Searching for Charles review: “A stunning portrait of the past...delicious dive into history...From sharing painful family drama and stories of monumental risks/rewards to critical analysis of a new nation...an impressive genealogical achievement, an homage to the power of family, and a testament to the importance of our ancestry.” Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★★

“The letters of a 19th-century immigrant and pioneer are transcribed and contextualized by his descendent in this absorbing debut epistolary biography by Watts.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

BlueInk Review of Searching for Charles: “A heartfelt, often-revealing look at one family’s American story. General history buffs will be intrigued by this presentation, while family history buffs, especially, will be delighted.”

Booklife review of S for C:

"A remarkable immersion in history as it was lived, Searching for Charles offers transcriptions of Charles’ letters back home as he and countless other immigrants built new lives—and a nation."

Production grades:
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

https://booklife.com/project/searchin...

"An exceptional biographical read underpinned by extensive research, Searching for Charles: The Untold Legacy of an Immigrant’s American Adventure is unreservedly recommended." ... BookViral Review

https://bookviralreviews.com/book-rev...


Finalist, SPR Book Awards 2022

https://www.selfpublishingreview.com/...