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

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

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

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.

J.D. Barker’s A Caller’s Game Heading to the Big Screen

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Big news for J.D. Barker fans! Screenwriter Jenna Mattison has been tapped to adapt Barker’s bestselling thriller A Caller’s Game as a feature film, as reported by Deadline.

Billed as Die Hard meets Talk Radio, the film centers on Jordan Briggs — a controversial satellite radio talk show host whose live broadcast is hijacked by a mysterious caller with a deadly game in mind. What begins as a ratings stunt quickly turns dangerous as secrets long buried come to the surface.

Barker will produce alongside Joel Gotler of Intellectual Property Group and Greg Pedicin of Untitled. Mattison and Barker previously collaborated on The Gimble Files, a TV series in development at UCP.

Congratulations, J.D.!

The Winter Verdict by Dan Buzzetta — Book Cover

The Winter Verdict by Dan Buzzetta: Now Available

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Dan Buzzetta’s thrilling legal series continues with The Winter Verdict, the second book in the Tom Berte series — available now from Severn River Publishing.

The Winter Verdict by Dan Buzzetta — Book Cover

Tom Berte’s bucolic new life is about to be shattered by a threat he can’t ignore. A former Department of Justice lawyer, Tom thought he’d left his past behind when he moved to Castle Ridge with his family. But when a brutal attack leaves him fighting for his life, Tom and his family find themselves at the epicenter of an unfolding conspiracy that stretches from a local ski resort to a desert compound on the other side of the world.

At the heart of the mystery is Phoenix Holdings Group, a shadowy international conglomerate with its sights set on Castle Ridge Ski Resort. When a catastrophic accident at the resort claims dozens of lives, Tom uncovers a chilling connection to his own assault and a ruthless plot that could endanger millions. With his wife and daughter’s lives hanging in the balance, Tom must navigate a treacherous path of legal intrigue, corporate espionage, and looming revenge.

Perfect for fans of John Grisham and Michael Connelly, The Winter Verdict delivers a breakneck pace, high stakes, and a protagonist you won’t soon forget.

Series: Tom Berte, Book 2
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
ISBN-13: 978-1648757570

Order The Winter Verdict on Amazon

Order The Winter Verdict on Barnes & Noble

Order The Winter Verdict from Severn River Publishing

Something I Keep Upstairs – Released!

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SomethingIKeepUpstairs

New Release Spotlight: Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker

Bestselling thriller maestro J.D. Barker is back with a standalone novel that’s already sending shivers through early readers. Something I Keep Upstairs (Hampton Creek Press, May 13, 2025) drops us on a windswept New Hampshire island, where two friends discover that the past never stays locked away—especially when it’s waiting in the attic.

Blending the fearless nostalgia of It with the creeping dread of Mexican Gothic, Barker delivers 448 pages of pulse-pounding suspense: ancient secrets, razor-sharp twists, and a choice that could cost everything. Within the first week, the book hit Amazon’s #1 Ghost-Thriller slot and cracked Audible’s Top 25 Hot New Releases (Horror)—proof that readers were ready to open that attic door.

Rights momentum is strong: US/UK print and audio are sold, along with Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sri Lanka. Translation, film/TV, and ancillary rights remain available.

Whether you’re a long-time Barker fan or new to his brand of mind-bending terror, this is one summer trip you won’t forget.

Ready to brave the upstairs? Grab your copy today—or, if you’re a foreign publisher seeking a can’t-miss thriller, drop us a line for rights details.

— Terrie Wolf
Literary Agent & Rights Manager, AKA Literary Management