Diane Helentjaris’ Ivy O’Neill novel wins second literary award

Diane Helentjaris’ historical novel The Indenture of Ivy O’Neill won PenCraft’s 2026 Summer Seasonal Competition in Historical Fiction, adding a second major prize to its shelf. The recognition comes as Alkira Publishing prepares to release the sequel, Ivy in America, on Aug. 28.

Why it matters: - The PenCraft honor extends the novel’s momentum and can widen reader interest ahead of the next book in the Ivy O’Neill series. - The award also reinforces the market for historical fiction centered on women’s lives, immigration, labor and survival.

What happened: - Diane Helentjaris’ The Indenture of Ivy O’Neill won the PenCraft 2026 Summer Seasonal Competition in Historical Fiction. - The win is the book’s second major literary award after a 2024 victory in the Maryland Writers’ Association Novel Competition. - Alkira Publishing will release the sequel, Ivy in America, on Aug. 28. - Helentjaris said the recognition gives her confidence that the novel is reaching readers.

The details: - The Indenture of Ivy O’Neill is set in the late 17th century. - The story follows an Irish girl whose life is disrupted by war and upheaval before she is taken across the Atlantic to the British Colony of Maryland. - Ivy faces indenture, family conflict, faith struggles, survival and the challenge of building a new life. - Helentjaris described the series as centered on a timeless question: how to build a life out of terrible circumstances. - Helentjaris said the novel reflects experiences that still exist today, including religious persecution, war and kidnapping. - A reader review highlighted the novel’s research and its portrayal of involuntary labor in early America. - The book’s sequel, Ivy in America, follows Ivy in colonial Maryland as a married mother facing pirate raids, religious tensions, crop failures and other hardships.

Between the lines: - Helentjaris is positioning Ivy’s story as both a historical narrative and a moral argument about shared human suffering. - The sequel suggests the series will broaden from survival and displacement into family life, community pressure and colonial instability. - Helentjaris said Honora O’Flynn, the real woman who inspired the novel, had descendants who later contributed in notable ways, including to the Methodist Church. - The author said she wanted to tell the origin story of that family and show the struggles behind it.

What’s next: - Ivy in America arrives Aug. 28 from Alkira Publishing. - Helentjaris is available for interviews. - Readers can learn more at Diane Helentjaris’ website.

The bottom line: - The PenCraft win gives The Indenture of Ivy O’Neill another credibility boost just as the series expands with a new release.