AWARDS          

John Carroll Koutze began reading classic science fiction (Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Samuel Delany, etc.) as a young teenager.  These authors and their works inspired John to begin writing science fiction & fantasy at an early age. Over the decades that followed he has written over a dozen novels.  In 2010 he independently published one science fiction work, with Lulu.com, called "Empire Breakers," and more recently in 2025, a contemporary novel - "OBX Men et al."

John is a native of the Washington D.C. area, where he has lived all his life.  His favorite Sci-Fi movies are "Aliens", "Star Wars: A New Hope", and the "Foundation" streaming series.  The youngest child of five, his family resided in France during World War Two, and then emigrated to America in the early 1950's.  He learned much of that conflict from his parents and older siblings, from which he developed an appreciation for military history, fortified further by his four years in a Junior ROTC High School.  John remembers fondly many a family vacation, trips with friends, and then subsequently with his wife and son to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where all of them fished practically every time. These excursions inspired John to write "OBX Men et al".  Fishing, fond memories, and the Outer Banks aside, "OBX Men et al" focuses more on relationships, misunderstandings, and ultimately resolutions, spiced throughout with offbeat humor.  "Life is too short," a message oft depicted in literature, echoes often in the tale.