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CHICAGO - "Iwo, 26 Charlie" by P.T. Deutermann, published by St. Martin’s Press is the winner of the 2024 W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction.

The W.Y. Boyd Literary Award honors the best American Military Fiction set in a period when the United States was at war. The $5,000 award and citation, donated by author W.Y. Boyd II recognizes the service of veterans, and encourages the writing and publishing of outstanding works related fiction.

P.T. Deutermann’s novel, "Iwo, 26 Charlie" follows a young Navy gunnery officer stationed on the battleship Nevada from the beginning of the battle for the tiny Pacific Island of Iwo Jima to its decisive end. Lieutenant Lee Bishop serves in the main plotting room aboard USS Nevada, targeting fourteen-inch shells using the ship’s guns against enemy positions on share. After the Marines suffer devastating losses of spotting personnel to the Japanese, Bishop volunteers to service onshore as a replacement.

Bishop is completely unprepared to what he witnesses and experiences. He goes from the safe, air-conditioned gunnery control spaces of a battleship to the mud, blood, and sheer terror of night fighting against suicidal Japanese. Iwo, 26 Charlie is a frighteningly dramatic, utterly authentic novel by an award-winning writer and Navy veteran who is a contemporary master of World War II military fiction.

The W.Y. Boyd Award Jury is very pleased to have selected "Iwo, 26 Charlie" as this year’s winner. The annual award will be presented on Sunday, June 30, 2024 at the Annual Conference.

Members of the W. Y. Boyd Literary Jury are the chair Robert E. Schnare, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island (retired), Ron Steensland, Lexington Public Library (retired), Maxine Reneker, Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, California (retired); Andrew Mangels, director, West Lake Library, West Lake, Ohio, Elizabeth Nelson, Cataloging & Collection Development Librarian, McHenry County College.

The deadline for submission of books for next year’s W.Y. Boyd Literary Award is Dec 1, 2024. Guidelines and applications are available on the website.