Terrie Wolf Named ACFW 2021 Agent of the Year Finalist

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ACFW is pleased to announce the 2021 Finalist for the Mentor of the Year, Editor of the Year, and Agent of the Year.

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DYING CRY by Margaret Mizushima Takes Gold

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IBPA Book Award Winner Announced
Peyton, Colorado — DYING CRY, book ten in the Timber Creek K‑9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima has been named the Gold winner in Fiction: Mystery & Thriller at the 38th Annual IBPA Book Awards, the highest distinction awarded in the category.

The award was presented on May 15, 2026, during the IBPA Book Awards ceremony held in Portland, Oregon, at the Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center.
Published by Crooked Lane Books and distributed by Penguin Random House, Dying Cry is the tenth installment in Mizushima’s Timber Creek K‑9 Mystery series, a long‑running procedural noted for its consistency, character continuity, and strong sense of place.
Deputy Mattie Walker and her K‑9 partner, Robo, investigate the death of a family friend after a chilling incident disrupts what should have been a routine outing. As the case unfolds, a trail of greed places Walker’s own loved ones at risk, raising the personal stakes alongside the professional.
Celebrating publisher excellence since 1985, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Book Awards are the longest‑running program honoring independent publishers whose books demonstrate exceptional editorial and design achievement.
Margaret Mizushima is represented by AKA Literary Management.
For additional information, visit https://www.akalm.net.

Media Contact
Neil Erickson
Business Manager
AKA Literary Management
aka@akaliterary.com
646‑846‑2478

ON AN INLAND SEA: A New Great Lakes Anthology from Belt Publishing – Featuring Joan Donaldson

Joan Donaldson holds her copy of On An Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes at Pier Cove Park on the Lake Michigan shore.

Joan Donaldson’s essay “SAND” appears in On An Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes, the new anthology edited by Michael Welch and published by Belt Publishing on March 10, 2026. The collection gathers more than thirty writers who have spent their lives in conversation with the lakes, and Joan’s contribution sits among work by Kenzie Allen, Gabriel Bump, Kathleen Rooney, and others who know that water this large is a country of its own.

Joan writes from Pleasant Hill Farm in Fennville, Michigan, the organic blueberry farm she has worked with her husband John for more than four decades. The lake is part of her daily geography, and her essay carries the same quiet attention to land and labor that readers have come to expect from her Cumberland Mountain novels and her farming memoir Wedded to the Land.

On An Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes is available now from Belt Publishing and from booksellers everywhere.

BLACKOUT by J. Luke Bennecke – Available for Pre-Order

BLACKOUT, A Jake Bendel Thriller by J. Luke Bennecke. Jaytech Publishing, October 6, 2026.

AKALM client and author of Echo from a Bayou, J. Luke Bennecke, has just launched the preorder landing page for his new thriller, BLACKOUT.

Preorder here: https://blackout.jlukebennecke.com/preorder/

Luke brings the same blend of technical authenticity and high-stakes pacing that made Echo from a Bayou a standout. If you love thrillers grounded in real-world infrastructure and engineered to keep you up too late, this one’s for you.

Congratulations, Luke!

SYSTEM OF JUSTICE by Dan Buzzetta – Available for Pre-Order

The third book in Dan Buzzetta’s Tom Berte legal thriller series arrives this summer, and preorders are open now. System of Justice is scheduled for publication on July 21, 2026, from Severn River Publishing.

Tom Berte has settled comfortably back into a civil law practice in Albany, leaving the conspiracies of his past behind. When a Supreme Court justice is murdered and a young clerk stands accused of the killing, Tom receives an urgent plea he cannot ignore. The accused is Madison Redding, a former clerk to the victim, and she is adamant that she has been set up. Reluctantly stepping into criminal defense for the first time, Tom finds himself navigating Washington’s corridors of political power, facing influential lobbyists, jealous spouses, and ruthless operatives determined to bury the truth.

Critics have compared Dan Buzzetta to John Grisham and Michael Connelly. Three books in, that comparison has never been more warranted. System of Justice delivers the same authentic legal knowledge, high-stakes plotting, and moral complexity that have made the Tom Berte series essential reading.

Preorders are open now. Reserve your copy and mark July 21 on your calendar. AKA Literary Management is proud to represent Dan Buzzetta.

FIGHTING EDGE by Margaret Mizushima – Available for Pre-Order

The eleventh book in the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series is coming this fall, and preorders are open now. Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima is scheduled for publication on September 8, 2026, from Crooked Lane Books.

In Fighting Edge, a routine welfare check becomes a nightmare when Deputy Mattie Walker arrives to find a young mother dead and a hysterical toddler, possibly the only witness to a terrible crime. Before the investigative team can begin piecing together what happened, a traffic stop brings a second threat to Timber Creek. A sweep of the car with K-9 partner Robo reveals drugs and the signs of suspected human trafficking, and a teenage passenger frozen with fear. What begins as a speeding citation opens into an investigation that reaches far beyond the borders of this mountain community.

Ten books in, Margaret Mizushima only gets better. The Denver Post has called her “one of the West’s finest contemporary mystery writers,” and the early praise for Fighting Edge confirms that distinction.

Scott Graham, National Outdoor Book Award-winning author, writes: “A haunting tale of tribulation turned to triumph that only Margaret Mizushima could create. Mizushima masterfully mines Mattie Walker’s own troubled past when Mattie and her crack K-9 Robo confront the worst the world has to offer — the brutalization of throwaway children — making for a poignant and compelling tale with a fiery finish.”

Preorders for Fighting Edge are open now. Reserve your copy today and mark September 8 on your calendar. AKA Literary Management is proud to represent Margaret Mizushima.

Back from Atlanta and Full of Gratitude

Returning to the Atlanta Writers Conference as faculty for a second year was a genuine honor. On May 1 and 2, 2026, Terrie had the pleasure of meeting with writers who had traveled from across the country to Atlanta for two days of pitch sessions, manuscript critiques, and the kind of unhurried conversation that reminds you why this profession is worth every ounce of effort it demands.

The writers who came to AWC this year were prepared, passionate, and deeply serious about their work. To meet with someone who has given that much of themselves to a story is always a privilege. It is the part of this work that never grows old.

To George Weinstein and the full team at the Atlanta Writers Club: thank you. The welcome you extend to writers and industry guests alike reflects something rare in this business, a genuine belief that the community matters as much as the craft. You have built something worth protecting, and we are grateful to be part of it.

Photos from the weekend, courtesy of AWC’s Patrick Scullin and Phil Fasone, are available in the conference gallery.

Thank you, Atlanta.

THE WINTER VERDICT by Dan Buzzetta – Praise

Tom Berte is back — and the reviews are in. We’re thrilled to share the early reception for Dan Buzzetta’s latest legal thriller, The Winter Verdict (Tom Berte Book 2).

“An entertaining and confident thriller… It delivers danger, mystery, legal tension, and family stakes.” — Literary Titan

“This series is building momentum with every page. One to watch closely.” — The Bookish Elf

“The tension is tighter, the pacing smoother… surprises are gold, and this one delivers.” — Jennie Reads

“Gripping and thoroughly enjoyable.” — Jera’s Jamboree

Read the National Law Review press release here: https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/winter-verdict-dan-buzzetta-released

Congratulations, Dan!

MEDICINE WHEELS by Byron Graves – Booklist Starred Review

Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves book cover

We are thrilled to share that AKALM client Byron Graves has received a starred review from Booklist (May 1, 2026 issue) for his upcoming novel, Medicine Wheels.

“Readers will feel their passion and resilience on every page.” — Julian Axelrod, Booklist

A Booklist starred review is a significant pre-publication distinction for a young adult novel. It signals to librarians, educators, and booksellers across the country that this is a book that demands attention. In Byron’s case, we could not agree more.

Medicine Wheels follows an Ojibwe skateboarder navigating identity, community, and the weight of legacy. From the author of the acclaimed Rez Ball, this novel brings the same fierce authenticity and emotional depth that made Byron’s debut a standout in contemporary Native YA fiction.

Byron Graves is Ojibwe and Lakota, born and raised on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. His debut novel Rez Ball (HarperCollins/Heartdrum, 2023) received wide critical acclaim, winning the William C. Morris Award and the American Indian Youth Literature Award. Medicine Wheels continues that momentum, and this Booklist star is a beautiful affirmation of the work Byron is doing.

Medicine Wheels publishes June 2026 from HarperCollins/Heartdrum. Congratulations, Byron — this one is well-deserved.

Publishers Weekly Starred Review: Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves

Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves book cover

We are proud to share that Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly — one of the highest honors in pre-publication reviewing, awarded to a small percentage of the thousands of titles PW covers each year.

“Natural-feeling dialogue and measured emotional pacing keep the story grounded in Bryce’s resilient first-person POV. Skateboarding sequences carry electric energy, and the adroitly wrought activism plotline underscores challenges faced by Indigenous communities. A concluding author’s note and glossary of Ojibwe language and skate terminology add depth to this sincere portrait of grief, growth, and finding balance on and off the board.”

— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Medicine Wheels follows 15-year-old Bryce, an Indigenous teenager who moves in with his grandparents on the Wolf Creek reservation after his mother’s arrest. There, he reconnects with childhood friends who teach him to skateboard, helps organize against a pipeline threatening ancestral land, navigates first love, and prepares for a high-stakes skateboarding contest — all while facing his grandfather’s illness and his mother’s eventual return.

Medicine Wheels
Byron Graves | Heartdrum/HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 978-0-06-316042-2 | $19.99 | 352 pages | Ages 13 & up
Publication date: June 2, 2026
Agent: Terrie Wolf, AKA Literary Management

Bestsellers World Review: The Winter Verdict by Dan Buzzetta

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The Winter Verdict by Dan Buzzetta — Book Cover

Reviewer Lily Andrews at Bestsellers World has delivered a standout review of The Winter Verdict, calling it “a gripping, pulse-pounding thriller” that cements Dan Buzzetta’s place among the finest writers of legal suspense today.

The Winter Verdict by Dan Buzzetta — Book Cover

Andrews praises the novel’s relentless pacing, its deeply authentic legal detail — Buzzetta is himself a litigation partner in a national law firm — and a protagonist drawn not as an invincible hero but as a man who doubts himself and whose love for his family is both his greatest vulnerability and his only weapon. The review also highlights the well-drawn supporting cast, the chilling antagonist compound, and a conclusion Andrews calls “deeply satisfying.”

“The Winter Verdict” is Book 2 in the Tom Berte legal thriller series, published by Severn River Publishing. Read the full review at Bestsellers World.

Order The Winter Verdict on Amazon