The Fanfiaddict team is so pleased to announce that we’ll be judging SPFBO XI. We have 7 judges this year and we’ve split the 30 books up between us. Every book will have at two judges assigned to it. We can’t wait to start reading!
With that, we’d like to introduce the judges and reveal what books each of us will be reading in Round 1!
Arun Bender: Bender loves over the top action, overpowered MCs, epic battles and happily ever after endings! The Michael Bay fan of book world. Reads various subgenres including GameLit, LitRPG, Progression, Superhero, Cultivation and whatnot’s….with a soft spot for Western & Steampunk. Extra points for snarky/dark humour. Doesn’t favor romance and grimdark that much. Lives in Garden State. You can follow him at https://x.com/jackclaver
Arun’s Books:
Graham: (The Wulvers Library): My name is Graham, reading as The Wulvers Library. I’m from Scotland and have been reading from a young age but this fell off through my teenage years. In my adult life, I fell back in love with reading when I picked up Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time and Ursula K Le Guin’s Earthsea and was fascinated by these worlds, characters, and stories. From there I’ve read mostly fantasy, some sci-fi and horror and try to dabble in other genres. My favourite authors include Robert Jordan, JRR Tolkien, Ryan Cahill, Ursula K Le Guin and Brandon Sanderson. I’m a massive fan of indie books, and some of my favourite series are from indie authors so I’m always on the lookout for some hidden gems.
When I’m not reading, I love being a film addict with my girlfriend or visiting small towns and scouting some rare finds in their charity shops.
I’m happy to be part of the book community and blame them all for the lack of shelf space and inability to pass by a bookstore without stepping inside. You can follow him at https://www.instagram.com/thewulverslibrary
Graham’s Books:
Dave Lawson: Dave is an Oklahoma-based fantasy novelist. He enjoys witty characters, banter, conniving rakes, and creative liars who do whatever they must to get what they desire. However, Dave’s not a liar or a rake. Pinky swear. When he’s not reading or writing, he teaches high school English and Drama. He lives with his wife and their dog, Rowena, who is a ball of energy. In a past life, Dave was surely a pirate. You can follow him at https://www.instagram.com/dlawsonauthor/ and https://x.com/DlawsonAuthor
Dave’s Books:
Matt Pittman: Matt lives in Mississippi with his wife and three kids. He enjoys reading multiple genres including fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and Christian nonfiction. Matt is a pastor and also makes time to read and review the books that he reads on his BookTube channel Geaux Read Books. You can follow him at https://x.com/geauxreadbooks and https://www.instagram.com/mattdpittman/
Matt’s Books:
Izzy: Isabelle, better known as Shaggy from The Shaggy Shepherd on social media, is a reviewer, copyeditor, proofreader, and SFINCS founder. She enjoys fantasy, scifi, romance, horror, and nonfiction the most but is up for trying just about anything. She also tries her hand at writing sometimes. Some of her favorite authors are Ryan Cahill, Stephanie Archer, and Megan E. O’Keefe. Originally from Germany, she’s now spent half her life in the US. Outside of books, she loves animals, sewing, tea, and nature. You can follow her at https://www.instagram.com/the_shaggy_shepherd/
Izzy’s Books:
Will Swardstrom: Will Swardstrom is an author, book reviewer, former journalist, and history teacher. He loves books of nearly all genres, but his comfort foods are fantasy and sci-fi. He wrote a few novels and has had well over a baker’s dozen short stories published in various collections and anthologies before taking a writing hiatus around 2018. He spends his days teaching middle school history learning Internet memes and trends from 7th graders. Will spends time with his wife and kids in Southern Illinois, watching British detective shows between book reviews. He has been a reviewer for FanFiAddict since the beginning of 2025. You can follow him at https://x.com/wswardstrom
Will’s Books:
Michael Vadney: Michael is the host of Author Adjacent, a show about the journey from hobbyist writer to professional author. When he isn’t interviewing authors or reviewing books he is writing his own stories about characters facing impossible choices, intricate world-building that serves the narrative, and themes that resonate with real human experiences, even in fantastical settings. You can follow him at https://www.instagram.com/michael_vadney/ and https://x.com/Michael_Vadney
Michael’s Books:
Good luck to all the authors and thanks to Mark Lawrence for organizing this competition!
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