As promised, here is\u00a0some information for several book awards contests around the country. This list is far from comprehensive, so be sure to check with your local library, major booksellers, and your own Internet searches.<\/p>\n
If it hadn’t been for our local library, I may not have learned of the San Diego Book Awards Association<\/a>\u00a0 before the deadline passed.\u00a0 This competition is limited to San Diego residents, but you may have something similar in your area.\u00a0 For this contest, the book had to be published in the 2010 calendar year.\u00a0 That is not true of all competitions.\u00a0 Check the submission guidelines for each!<\/p>\n Another\u00a0contest in which The Blizzard<\/em> is entered is sponsored by the Southern California Independent Booksellers Assn.<\/a> .\u00a0\u00a0It is only one of nine regional organizations (see list below), which, I assume, hold their own contests.\u00a0 Check out the one in your area.\u00a0\u00a0An interesting note about the current SCIBA competition is that is hasn’t even closed yet.\u00a0 The deadline is July 15th for books published between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.<\/p>\n \u2022Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association The IPPYs<\/strong><\/p>\n A major competition is for the IPPY, the prize presented by the Independent Publishers Book Awards<\/a>.\u00a0 Its contest is\u00a0divided into 69 categories and drew over 4,000 entries last\u00a0year.\u00a0 They also give awards for the Best Regional Fiction and Best Regional Non-Fiction books in eight U.S. and two Canadian regions, plus Australia\/New Zealand.\u00a0<\/p>\n As with any competition, watch your submission deadlines!\u00a0 The IPPYs give you a break on the entry fee for getting your entry(ies) in early.\u00a0 The Blizzard<\/em> is entered in the national Young Adult Fiction category and also in the Great Lakes Region contest, because the story\u00a0 – in case you didn’t know – takes place in northern Illinois.<\/p>\n ForeWord, a <\/cite>trade journal devoted exclusively to reviewing books from independent houses, sponsors its annual Book of the Year Awards<\/a> to bring increased attention to the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors.<\/p>\n Specialty Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n The are numerous awards to recognize excellence within a given genre and even for\u00a0sub-categories\u00a0within a genre.\u00a0 For example, if you’re a mystery writer, you can compete for the\u00a0Edgar\u00a0Allen Poe Award (the “Edgar”) but if your hero is a private eye, then you also qualify for consideration in the Shamus Awards.\u00a0 There are a total of 44 awards<\/a>\u00a0for mystery writing.<\/p>\n The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards<\/a> are a specialty competition to recognize excellence in\u00a0children’s and young adult\u00a0literature.\u00a0 As in many of the book awards competitions, each\u00a0entry is read by each member of a three judge panel.<\/p>\n Yes, there is a monetary investement in entering these contests, but as I mentioned last time, winning an award can provide big promotion and publicy advantages.\u00a0 If you don’t believe in your book, why should anyone else?\u00a0\u00a0But whether you win or not, I think there is a certain “street cred” you get when talking with publishers, agents, or other authors\u00a0when you mention\u00a0your book is entered in such-and-such contest.\u00a0 It projects\u00a0confidence in your ability\u00a0as well as knowledge of and participation in this industry you’ve chosen to join.\u00a0\u00a0 Lastly, I admit there is a bit of excitement as you await the announcement of the winners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As promised, here is\u00a0some information for several book awards contests around the country. This list is far from comprehensive, so be sure to check with your local library, major booksellers, and your own Internet searches. If it hadn’t been for … Continue reading
\n\u2022Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association
\n\u2022New England Independent Booksellers Association
\n\u2022Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
\n\u2022Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association
\n\u2022Midwest Booksellers Association
\n\u2022New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association
\n\u2022Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance<\/p>\n