"The Book of Squidly Light" Wins International Firebird Book Award in Their Weird Book Category

Book Two of The Sage Chronicles Receives Second Recognition for Excellence

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Author Karima Vargas Bushnell's second novel, The Book of Squidly Light, just won the International Firebird Book Award in their Weird Book category. The novel was previously selected as a notable independent book by the America Library Association's Booklist Magazine.

Brilliant but confused protagonist Halycon Sage – yes, that's his name – is back! As the eccentric citizens of Dry Creek Gulch happily organize a peaceful, post-technological society, the big, sparkly-blue Squidren are rapidly approaching Earth. These telepathic, time-traveling, dimension-hopping Squids have plans for us – as do suddenly-sentient Nanobots and a Shadowy Man who preys on human weakness. Shifting dimensions, eccentric aliens and batty earthlings. Love, hope, courage and acceptance – but there is danger!

"I am intensely grateful for awards that make my books more widely known. Because, while getting people to read books these days is like trying to get cats to clean house, those who do read them are often amazed and delighted," said Bushnell.

Karima's primary interest is in borders: not physical, but spiritual, mental and emotional ones, the liminal spaces between worldviews where reality is negotiable. Her books occupy the borders of radically different cultures and worldviews. Her protagonist, Halycon Sage, a mysterious author whose prototype she met many years after inventing him, is a border crosser par excellence.

About The Sage Chronicles
The Sage Chronicles follow enigmatic author Halycon Sage, creator of the Post-Modernist Minimalist Neo-Symbolist Pseudo-Realist School of Literature, where up is down, down is sideways and time flows in multiple directions. Sage's Multiverse Mini-Series, a collection of short stories, mini-novels, cat law and space diplomacy, is a companion to the Chronicles. The Mini-Series is downloadable free from https://dl.bookfunnel.com/vxmqnkkbtm. For more information visit https://karimavargasbushnell.com/.

About Karima Vargas Bushnell
Multicultural by birth, association, and choice, Karima Vargas Bushnell (M.A. Intercultural Relations) has described herself as "a short, part-Hispanic, Irish-fiddle-playing, East Coast-wisecracking, partly-Black-acculturated Sufi Muslim". Family lore and some research indicate that her father's grandfather was Paiute Native American. Though life has taken her north and east, much of her heart remains in the deserts and mountains of the Southwest. A multiple award-winning author, her play "Voices on the Waves" was a runner-up in Mixed Blood Theater's "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Dramas" comedy contest.

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SOURCE Karima Vargas Bushnell