Gibbons wins £20k Kindle Storyteller Award for King of War

Historical fiction writer Peter Gibbons has won this year’s £20,000 Kindle Storyteller Award for his novel King of War. 

The “action-packed” adventure is set in 874AD Norway and is the fourth book in Gibbons’ Viking Blood and Blade Saga. The book follows Hundr, a Northman, as he navigates King Harald Fairhair’s war, hunts for a godly sword, survives brutal attacks and fights a vicious and deadly enemy, Black Gorm the Berserker. 

Gibbons was given his award by celebrity judge and bestselling author Adam Kay at a ceremony held at the Houses of Parliament. 

In addition to the £20,000 prize money, Gibbons will receive a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon alongside a bespoke gold Kindle cover. 

Gibbons is originally from Warrington but now lives in Kildare, Ireland, with his family. Despite always having ambitions of becoming an author, he only began writing books when the pandemic forced him to spend more time at home and discovered Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) as a way to self-publish his novels. He still balances writing with his career as a financial services worker and has found a routine of getting up early in the morning before his three children to write every day before work. In just over a year he has published four books.  

He said: “I am absolutely delighted and honoured to have won this year’s award. I have always dreamed of becoming an author and I would like to thank Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing for opening the door and making that ambition a possibility.” 

The 2022 judging panel included Kay alongside last year’s Kindle Storyteller winner Rachel McLean, bestselling author Mel Sherratt and organisation member manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) Melissa Addey, Amazon UK’s author and editorial programmes manager Darren Hardy and Jen Barrett from Amazon Books editorial.  

They commended King of War for its “gripping” plot and narrative, noting that they were “instantly taken

by the action-packed plot and sensitively drawn characters”, even without the context of the previous books in the series. Ultimately, King of War “stood out as the book that captured the judges’ attention and stayed with them long after finishing it, with many commenting that they are eager to read the next instalment”. 

Hardy said: “Submissions were incredibly strong again this year, and it was a delight to delve into the shortlisted books — from sapphic romance novels to tight suspenseful thrillers and of course, Peter’s Viking adventure. King of War had me hooked from the beginning, and I’m looking forward to following the Viking Blood and Blade Saga as it continues."