"A New Author Spotlight" featuring Anthony Award Winner Laurie L. Dove in the Best First Novel Category.
Laurie L. Dove is an American novelist, award‑winning journalist, and former mayor of Valley Center, Kansas. She writes suspense, mystery, and crime fiction often rooted in Indigenous identity, justice, and resilience. Her debut novel Mask of the Deer Woman (2025) became an instant USA Today bestseller and was published by Berkley / Penguin Random House. Her second novel, Cry of the Rain Crow, is coming out later this year.