Scott Lorenz's Blog, page 2
January 3, 2025
Jewish Book Fairs and Festivals for 2025
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
Book festivals and fairs are held year-round all over the world. As a book marketing specialist, I am the first to impress on authors the new and powerful marketing avenues open to all authors on the Internet – from websites and book trailers to social networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. While these are excellent tools when used properly, authors should never overlook opportunities to meet the reading public face-to-face.
Consider visiting some of these Jewish book fairs and festivalsIf you are a Jewish author or specialize in writing about Jewish issues, you should consider visiting some of these Jewish book fairs and festivals.
October 2024 – May 2025: 44th Berrin Family Jewish Book Festival of Alper JCC Miami (Miami, FL). Featuring 40+ renowned authors beginning in September each year. Whether you’re a book lover or simply interested in hearing from names synonymous with pop culture and bestsellers, there’s an event for everyone. https://www.alperjcc.org/pages/bookfestival/
November 17, 2024 – March 19, 2025: 25th Cleveland Jewish Book Festival (Beachwood, OH). In its 25th year, opening night kicks off a calendar of 13 events in November 2024 and March 2025. From fiction and non-fiction, books highlight Jewish life, Israel, Amercian diplomacy, spirituality, art, mystery and more. Most events are free and open to the public. All in-person and virtual author presentations are accompanied by lively Q&A sessions. Books will be available for purchase at our partner Mac’s Backs-Books of Coventry in Cleveland Heights. https://mandeljcc.org/Book-Festival
December 9, 2024 – April 2, 2025: Greater Naples Jewish Book Festival (Naples, FL). Celebrating Ten Years of Bringing Authors and Books to Our Community. The Greater Naples Jewish Book Festival brings a showcase of Jewish authors and books of Jewish content to our community. We strive to enrich, entertain and engage the members of our community while providing opportunities to come together for experiences that are both educational and social. https://www.jewishnaples.org/jewish-book-festival
January 16, 2025, St. Louis JCC’s 46th Annual Jewish Book Festival (St. Louis, MO): The St. Louis Jewish Book Festival is an annual celebration of authors, books, and ideas during early November, with additional author events year-round. The range of author topics is vast: business, cooking, economics, family, fiction, history, music, religion, sports, and more. https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-book-festival/
February 1, 2025, Marcus JCC Atlanta’s 34th Edition of the Book Festival of the MJCCA (Dunwoody, GA). Mark your calendars for the annual Book Festival of the MJCCA—featuring more than 40 renowned authors in November each year. Whether you’re a book lover or simply interested in hearing from names synonymous with pop culture and bestsellers, there’s an event for everyone. The Book Festival of the MJCCA is one of the most highly regarded cultural events in the Southeast. https://www.atlantajcc.org/our-programs/arts-authors/book-festival/upcoming-events/
February 10–16, 2025: Books That Changed My Life festival. The Books That Changed My Life festival is thrilled to announce its first-ever Author in Residence. For an entire week in February, Maya will be in the lobby of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, ready to meet with community members and listen to their life stories. This is your chance to share your unique experiences with a celebrated author—who knows, you might even inspire a character in her next book! https://mmjccm.org/arts-film/conversations/book-festival
February 16–23, 2025: Jewish Book Festival 2025 (Durham, NC). This year they’ve got a mix of in-person and virtual events planned for you to hear authors read excerpts from their books, answer your questions, and share their inspiration and challenges in writing these words. This series spotlights diverse stories from across the Jewish world. https://www.jewishforgood.org/book-festival
February 22–27, 2025, Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival (Vancouver, BC): There will be author talks and Q&As. This event usually attracts over 5,000 people of all ages. For more details, call 604-257-5156 or email jbf@jccgv.bc.ca. https://jccgv.com/jewish-book-festival/
March 1–9, 2025, London International Literacy Festival’s Jewish Book Week (London, UK): It will feature Jewish writers and themes and a number of interesting discussions. https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/jewish-book-week
March 12, 2025, 74th National Jewish Book Award Celebration (New York, NY): The celebration will feature remarks from a selection of the 73rd winners in addition to special guests of Jewish Book Council. Each ticket supports Jewish Book Council’s efforts to enrich, educate, and strengthen the community through literature. https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards
April 28, 2025: South African Jewish Literary Festival. The South African Jewish Literary Festival (JLF) is a one-day smorgasbord for lovers of literature, current affairs, and thought-provoking dialogue. Our fifth festival since its 2016 inception will be in held in Cape Town on Freedom Day, 28 April, 2025. The JLF is a bi-annual event for readers and writers of books with a Jewish connection across all genres. https://jewishliteraryfestival.co.za/
June 23-29, 2025: Yetzirah 2025 Jewish Poetry Conference. For participants, Yetzirah’s third Jewish Poetry Conference will be held June 23-29, 2025, in the mountains of Western North Carolina, in partnership with the University of North Carolina—Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies. Our time together will consist of a mix of generative workshops focused on Jewish questions and themes, discussion panels, craft talks, readings with Faculty and our Fellows, Scholars, and Contributors, as well as many shared meals and celebrations. https://yetzirahpoets.org/programs/conference/
Throughout 2025, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival (Virginia Beach, VA): For over 40 years, the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival has celebrated Jewish authors, illustrators, and books, providing opportunities to engage with bestselling and up-and-coming writers. For further details, contact Jill Grossman at 757-965-6137 or JGrossman@ujft.org. https://federation.jewishva.org/arts-ideas/book-festival
Book fairs typically seek out guest speakers. By volunteering to speak at a Jewish book fair, you will pique the interest of new readers, promote your book, and potentially gain a few new fans. Additionally, you can add the speaking appearance to your resume. Be sure to plan ahead because book fairs, speaking engagements and readings are all planned months in advance. For a complete list of book fairs and festivals visit https://westwindbookmarketing.com/
The Bottom Line: Reach out to the Jewish community and attend a book fair! You will be happy you did.
If you are a #Jewish #author or specialize in #writing about Jewish issues, you should consider visiting some of these Jewish #bookfairs and festivals.
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post Jewish Book Fairs and Festivals for 2025 appeared first on The Book Publicist.
January 2, 2025
Top 27 Author Websites in 2025 Compiled by Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
Your author website is a critical element for the promotion of your books. It’s where people turn to learn more about who you are and what you have to offer. Therefore, it’s important your website provides visitors what they are looking for… information about YOU, YOUR book and how to buy it. Don’t make people click on ten links to get to the buy button!
Key elements of an effective author website include:Book CoverAuthor HeadshotBlurbs from ReviewersBook TrailerBuy Buttons to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.Excerpts or Quotes from the bookMedia Clips & LogosBook AwardsYour Backlist of BooksOption to sign up for your mailing listIf you’d like to create an attractive website that builds your brand and promotes your books, it’s a good idea to explore current author sites and ‘benchmark’ against them. Why reinvent the wheel right? They can give you some inspiration and help you take the right steps toward the ideal online presence. Here’s a list I’ve compiled of the ‘Top 25’ author sites for your review. Let me know what you think. If you know of an author website to add to the list tell me in the comments section below.
1. James Patterson
James Patterson can afford to pay just about anything for his web design so what exactly is he doing? Take a look and find out for yourself. Fortunately, he has a mailing list you’re welcome to join. You can also tweet out all his books and check out his latest trailers.
2. Anthony Horowitz
When it comes to color, Anthony Horowitz nailed it. He was strategic about the colors he used. As you can see, the rustic orange highlights his top-selling books. Horowitz also displayed his Twitter handle prominently so you can follow him easily.
3. Colleen Coble
You can’t go wrong with a website layout like the one on Colleen Coble’s site. It boasts a clean look with features like a newsletter signup as well as designated pages for her current lineup of books, latest releases, and media coverage.
4. Mitch Albom
New York Times bestselling author Mitch Albom is one of the most famous authors of our day. He was a sportswriter with the Detroit Free Press and was perennially named best writer of the year by his peers. That’s saying something since many writers’ think they are the best!
His books, ‘Tuesday’s With Morrie’ and ‘Five People You Meet in Heaven’ catapulted him into bestseller stardom and into American culture. His website depicts his work, upcoming book tours, media clips, his work with charities, his radio show, favorites music, and advice to authors about writing. Study this website and Mitch Album.
5. Patrick Asare
Patrick Asare is the author of The Boy From Bodua and is one of my clients. His website exemplifies just about everything an author site needs.
You can see he’s got the cover on the top half of the page, buttons to buy the book, awards he’s won, a terrific author photo, a book trailer we created and media interviews. The website was created by Marketing Success.
6. Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins’ website is catchy and compelling thanks to the emphasis on his tagline. From the moment you visit it, you want to “Ignite. Achieve. Excel.” His website makes it clear that his coaching services have the potential to change your life.
7. Jay Shetty
Jay Shetty’s website promotes his offerings which include his podcast and courses. It also highlights his impressive media coverage. Once you visit his website, you’ll know right away that he was featured on The Today Show, Red Table Talk, World Mental Health Day, and many others.
8. Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell has a clean website that draws attention to one of his top books, “The Bomber Mafia.” The “Learn More” tab directs site visitors to take the next step and buy the book on places like Amazon and Apple Books.
9. Stephen King
In addition to the attractive design, Stephen King’s website features an informative frequently asked questions page (FAQ). Visitors can go there to find out why he became a writer, where he gets his ideas, and more.
10. Emma Davies
When you go to Emma Davies’ website, you’re sure to notice the turquoise color scheme as it really stands out. There’s also a great picture of her as well as a welcome message that directs visitors to her social media outlets and contact page.
11. Daniel Gibbs
Daniel Gibbs knew what he was doing when he requested an interactive website. Visitors can enjoy a variety of unique pages like the map page, ship schematics page, timeline page, and robust universe encyclopedia.
12. Jonathan Fields
There’s no denying that the close up of Jonathan Fields’ face catches your attention. His website also features a one-of-a-kind email signup that you’ll be directed to join if you state that you “totally agree” and love discovering stories and ideas that inspire you.
13. Henry Neff
Henry Neff’s social media profiles stand out and draw visitors to become a follower or fan. Additionally, his website boasts a robust “About Henry” section with his biography, events, press and interviews, and school visits.
14. Kelly Minter
Kelly Minter’s website has a lovely picture of her and clearly conveys who she is: an author, speaker, and musician. We love the easy access to her bible study and email signup that lures visitors in with a free download.
15. Karen Kingsbury
Karen Kingsbury’s website is designed to get visitors to buy her New York Times bestselling book, A Distant Shore. Once you visit it, it becomes quite clear that she wants you to order it as soon as possible.
16. Julie Orringer
Julie Orringer’s website has dedicated pages on each of her books, which revolve around the experience of Jewish characters during World War II and current times. Each page includes a description of the book, reviews, and links that direct visitors to make a purchase.
17. Nicole Krauss
Nicole Krauss’ website is unique in that the navigation is on the left rather than top of the home page. It also features pages that focus on each of her books about Jewish history, themes of identity, and family connections.
18. Janet Evanovich
My wife loves Janet Evanovich and has read all of her books. On Janet’s website, her book “Game On” steals the show. The dark background really allows it to stand out. We also love the social media icons on the top left and subscribe button on the top right.
19. Michael Connelly
Michael Connelly’s website features a compelling about section that does a great job highlighting his key accomplishments. There’s also a space that gets visitors excited for his upcoming releases and dedicated pages for events he’ll be attending and podcasts he’s participated in.
20. Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts’ website has a rotating banner that draws attention to the various books she’s written. The books section is quite robust as it includes a release schedule, details on every book she’s written, and a printable full book list.
21. Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult’s website is simple yet compelling. The white background makes the teal social media icons and lovely picture of her stand out. Her site also includes unique pages for all her books, each featuring a synopsis and video.
22. Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Sanderson’s website focuses on his latest book and gives visitors a status update on his projects. In addition, there’s a regularly updated blog and online library with sample chapters, free fiction, and annotations.
23. James Clear
James Clear’s website is all about his top book, Atomic Habits. It allows visitors to download the first chapter for free in the hopes of luring them in to purchase a copy and keep reading. Visitors can also subscribe to his weekly newsletter.
24. JK Rowling
JK Rowling’s website revolves around her new children’s book, The Christmas Pig, visitors will find her signature at the very top as well as a great picture of her. There’s also an ‘Answers’ page where JK Rowling answers common questions about herself.
25. Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk’s website is a simple black and white color scheme. The large text about his book, Crushing It really stands out. His website also includes a link to learn more about VeeFriends, his collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
26. Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss’ website was definitely created with a lot of thought and strategy. He owns the phrase ‘FOUR HOUR’ as he is the author of The Four Hour Workweek, The Four Hour Chef and others with Four Hour in the title. There’s a great picture of him outside and an embedded recording of the latest episode of his show. The search box and teal callouts that showcase his greatness are other great additions. But, content is king and there’s plenty of it on his website/blog.
27. Michael Grumley
Michael Grumley’s website has a “Next Book Meter” to show visitors how far he is into his next book. It also treats them with a free ebook and shares information about how they can support St. Jude’s Research Hospital by buying his books.
The Bottom Line: When you design your author website, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Take a look at other author websites to get an idea of what you like and what type of layout and features would work best for your particular goals.
Top 27 #Author #Websites in 2025 Compiled by #BookPublicist Scott Lorenz #iartg #writingcommunity #bookmarketing
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post Top 27 Author Websites in 2025 Compiled by Book Publicist Scott Lorenz appeared first on The Book Publicist.
80 Top Book Awards for Authors in 2025
ENTER BOOK AWARD CONTESTS AND BECOME AN AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR in 2025!
I followed Scott’s advice. It worked! To my complete surprise, Beautiful Evil Winter earned a bouquet of book awards, including a highly coveted Eric Hoffer Award and a Readers’ Favorite award.
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
YES!!
As a book publicist, I can assure you they absolutely do matter! One client won several awards and was contacted by two movie producers about her Young Adult Sci-Fi Fantasy Fiction novel. Another one of my clients won the prestigious Los Angeles Book Festival award. That then led to a flurry of media interest, which subsequently led to a major New York agent deciding to represent the book and pitch it to all the major publishing houses. This author, needless to say, was happy he decided to enter.
Recently a business book client won a major award which caused CNN to reach out to request the book. I could go on and on with examples of how pursuing and winning book awards will give you opportunities to reach out to the media, booksellers, and agents. As a book publicist, I see the media perk up when an author client has received an award. It’s the added credibility that gives them the assurance that the book is worthwhile. It takes the risk out of the equation for the producer or reporter if it’s an ‘award-winning’ book.
Awards also helped take my book Book Title Generator: A Proven System in Naming Your Book to the next level. It’s earned nine awards including the Independent Author Network, Pencraft Book Awards, Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards, and Literary Titan Book Award, just to name a few. My book also landed a spot in the Must-Read category for authors of all experiences and publishers of all sizes. I used a new service called Book Award Pro to take the drudgery out of keeping tabs of all the award entries. Check them out at: https://bookawardpro.com/
There’s no denying that awards create interest in your book, which can lead to more sales and other opportunities. A book award may cause someone to stop in their tracks and consider picking up your book in a bookstore. A book award can give you an edge and sometimes that’s all the difference you need to propel your book into bestseller territory. If you win you can say you are an “award-winning author.” Doesn’t that sound better? Of course, it does, and you get a little magic that comes from a third-party endorsement because an authority says your work is worthy, and that’s priceless.
Most awards charge a fee to enter. Not all awards have a category for your genre and not all of these will work for every book.
Here’s a list of my top book awards worthy of your consideration.Keep in mind that links change all the time and contests come and go. Some links are for the previous year because that’s all that was available at the time of this writing.
1. Entering IndieFab Awards should definitely be on your literary to-do list. https://publishers.forewordreviews.com/awards/
2. Find out how your book can earn a Seattle Worldcon 2025 and check out science fiction’s most prestigious award details. https://seattlein2025.org/
3. Enter Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards. Don’t miss this important e-book only award. https://globalebookawards.com/
4. The Deadline for the Autumn House Press award for poetry, fiction and non-fiction is late June. Check it out here https://www.autumnhouse.org/submissions/
5. Poets & Writers has a nice list of writing contests, grants and awards. Check it out at: https://www.pw.org/grants
6. Find out how to make it on the Indie Next List to win an Indies Choice Book Award – https://www.bookweb.org/indiebound/nextlist/view
7. The Nautilus Book Award seeks books that make a difference and inspire. https://www.nautilusbookawards.com/
8. The National Indie Excellence Book Awards competition selects award winners and finalists based on overall excellence of presentation in dozens of categories. Created especially for indie and self-published authors. https://www.indieexcellence.com/
9. Have you written a business book? The Axiom Business Book Awards celebrate excellence in business book writing and publishing by presenting gold, silver and bronze medals in 20 business categories. https://axiomawards.com/enter
10. USA Best Book Awards has a ten-year plus track record of honoring and promoting books to the national and international community. The contest is sponsored by American Book Fest, which focuses on mainstream, independent, and self-published books. https://www.americanbookfest.com/2025bestbookawards.html
11. Reader Views Annual Literary Awards were established to honor writers who self-publish or who were published by small presses or independent publishers. https://www.readerviews.com/awards-and-prizes/
12. Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Whether you’re a professional writer, a part-time freelancer or a self-starting student, here’s your chance to enter the only self-published competition exclusively for self-published books. One winning entry will receive $8,000 with nine first-place winners who’ll receive $1,000 each. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/self-published-book-awards
13. Readers’ Favorite Awards receives submissions from independent authors, small publishers, and publishing giants like HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, with contestants that range from the first-time, self-published author to New York Times best-selling authors. https://readersfavorite.com/book-reviews.htm
14. Romance Writer of America promotes the interests of career-focused romance writers by sponsoring awards that acknowledge excellence in the romance genre. RWA sponsors: “The RITA” for published romance fiction novels and “The Golden Heart” for unpublished romance fiction manuscripts.
15. Rubery Book Award is the longest established book award based in the UK for independent and self-published books. “The key to our success is having a keen eye for quality from distinguished and reputable judges.” First prize is $1,500 and the winning book will be read by a top literary agent. https://www.ruberybookaward.com/
16. The Eric Hoffer Award for independent books recognizes excellence in publishing with a $2,500 grand prize and various category honors and press type distinctions. To enter, a book must be from an academic press, small press or self-published author. https://www.hofferaward.com/
17. The International Book Awards (IBA) are specifically designed to be a promotional vehicle for authors and publishers to launch their careers, open global markets and compete with talented authors and publishers throughout the world. Winners get an extensive public relations campaign, social media promotion and more. https://www.internationalbookawards.com/
18. The Literary Classics Book Awards and Reviews were created to help authors gain recognition for their work and to help parents find the best in literature for children and young adults. http://www.clcawards.org
19. The Scotiabank Giller Prize. A $100,000 grand prize and $10K (CDN) to each of the finalists. To be eligible, a book must be a first-edition, full-length novel or short story collection, written by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. The publisher must enter. Sorry, no self-published books. https://gillerprize.ca/
20. The Feathered Quill Book Awards accept submissions from all size publishers and work very hard to honor and publicize the winners (there’s a link to a testimonial page on the awards page – read what past winners have to say). https://featheredquill.com/feathered-quill-book-awards/
21. Shelf Unbound Magazine’s Best Indie/Self-Published Book Competition honors more than 100 indie/self-published books. In addition to $1,500 in cash prizes, they’ll feature the winner, five finalists, and more than 100 “notable” books in the December/January issue of Shelf Unbound. Any independently published book in any genre in any publication year is eligible for entry. Entry fee is $100 per book. The competition also includes the Pete Delohery Award for Best Sports Book, open to fiction and non-fiction sports-related books. https://shelfmediagroup.com/competitions/
22. Chanticleer International Book Awards — Grand prize winner receives $1,000 cash plus other awards. More than $30,000 cash and prizes awarded each year. 15 genres including the CYGNUS for Sci-Fiction, M&M for Mystery & Mayhem, Somerset for Literary, etc. Several of their winners have received major publishing deals (6 figures) and two have had their works optioned for film. https://www.chantireviews.com/
23. The Royal Dragonfly (all genres) and Purple Dragonfly (children’s books) Book Awards are prestigious national book contests recognizing exceptional authors for excellence in writing and a Story Monsters Approved! (children’s books) must inspire, inform, teach or entertain, and adhere to rigorous standards of excellence. https://www.storymonstersbookawards.com/
24. The Independent Author Network IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest opens to all authors with 35 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes exceeding $6,000 USD. An Outstanding Book (category winner) will be awarded in each category with recognition of Finalists. Six outstanding titles will be named the Books of the Year. Winning books will be shared at the IAN Facebook page with over 120,000 fans and 575,000 followers at twitter. https://www.independentauthornetwork.com/book-of-the-year.html
25. The Chautauqua Prize for authors is $7,500 plus travel and expense for a short summer residency. Full-length books of fiction and narrative/literary nonfiction are eligible. Self-published books are not eligible. In general, cookbooks, self-help books (including inspirational literature), reference books, picture books, graphic novels, or children’s books are not eligible. https://www.chq.org/things-to-do/education/literary-arts/chautauqua-prize/
26. Mom’s Choice Awards® is recognized in over 55 countries around the world for setting the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. If you have a children’s book or family friendly book, then this is a terrific award to pursue. https://www.momschoiceawards.com/
27. Book Excellence Awards – With over $30,000 in grand prizes in media and marketing services, the Book Excellence Awards has helped honorees increase their book sales, garner attention from film producers, receive distribution in bookstores and increase their visibility and media attention. https://bookexcellenceawards.com/
28. The Page Turner Awards – Their prizes promise the winning authors career-changing opportunities. Fiction authors could win a publishing deal or win an audiobook production, non-fiction authors could win a writing mentorship with a business mentoring expert or get their non-fiction manuscript seen by publishers who are actively looking for work to publish. https://pageturnerawards.com/
29. The Douglas Dillon Book Award is an award presented by the American Academy of Diplomacy designed to celebrate distinguished writing about US diplomatic efforts and achievements. The award comes with a $5,000 cash prize and an invitation to the awards ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the US Department of State. https://www.academyofdiplomacy.org/douglas-dillon-book-award
30. The 2025 International Book Awards – Over their 14-year history, thousands of self-published and indie authors have leveraged the promotional power of their International Book Award to increase online recognition, enhance their title’s credibility, and garner more attention in the crowded book buying marketplace. https://www.internationalbookawards.com/2025callforentries.html
31. NAIWE’s 1st Annual Book Awards 2025 – If you have written a book that was published in the last five years, you are eligible to enter it in the NAIWE 1st Annual Book Awards 2025. https://naiwe.com/book-awards/
32. Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction – The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year. The shortlisted authors and eventual winners reflect the expert judgment and insight of the seven-member selection committee of library professionals who work closely with adult readers. These are the ALA’s first single-book awards for adult trade fiction and nonfiction. https://www.carnegie.org/news/articles/andrew-carnegie-medals-for-excellence-in-fiction-and-nonfiction-a-dream-come-true-says-booklist-editor/
33. BRASS Best of the Best Business Web Resources Award – The BRASS Best of the Best Business Web Resources Award was established in 2009. The Award recognizes 3-5 websites highly relevant to information professionals involved in providing business reference services. The websites are nominated and selected by the BRASS Education Committee members, typically in October-November. https://www.ala.org/news/2023/09/business-reference-experts-select-annual-list-brass-best-best-business-web-recources
34. Sophie Brody Medal – The Sophie Brody Medal was first awarded in 2006 and includes a medal for the winner. It is funded by Sophie and Arthur Brody Foundation, and is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. Works for adults published in the United States in the preceding year will be eligible for the award. https://www.ala.org/rusa/contact/rosters/codes/rus-codawbrody
35. Dartmouth Medal – Established in 1974, this medal honors the creation of a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, including, but not limited to: writing, compiling, editing, or publishing books or electronic information. The award is given to works that have been published or made available for the first time during the calendar year preceding the presentation of the award. https://www.ala.org/awards/books-media/dartmouth-medal
36. National Book Awards – Established in 1950, the National Book Awards are American literary prizes administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization. A pantheon of writers such as William Faulkner, Marianne Moore, Ralph Ellison, John Cheever, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth, Robert Lowell, Walker Percy, John Updike, Katherine Anne Porter, Norman Mailer, Lillian Hellman, Elizabeth Bishop, Saul Bellow, Toni Morrison, Flannery O’Connor, Adrienne Rich, Thomas Pynchon, Alice Walker, E. Annie Proulx, Jesmyn Ward, and Ta-Nehisi Coates have all won National Book Awards. Although other categories have been recognized in the past, the Awards currently honor the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature, published each year. – https://www.nationalbook.org/national-book-awards/
37. The Booker Prize 2025 – Novelist Esi Edugyan, twice-shortlisted for the Booker Prize, will chair the panel and will be joined by Adjoa Andoh, actor, writer and director; Mary Jean Chan, poet, lecturer, editor and critic; James Shapiro, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and author specializing in Shakespeare; and Robert Webb, actor and writer. https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/2025
38. PEN America Literary Awards – Since 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards have honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of our partners, PEN America confers over 20 distinct awards, fellowships, grants and prizes each year, awarding nearly $350,000 to writers and translators. https://pen.org/literary-awards/
39. The Neustadt Prize – The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and World Literature Today since 1970. It is the first international literary award of this scope to originate in the United States and one of few international prizes for which poets, novelists, and playwrights are equally eligible. https://www.neustadtprize.org/
40. The National Book Critics Circle Awards – Each year, the National Book Critics Circle presents awards for the finest books published in English in six categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Poetry, and Criticism. https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/
41. John Leonard Prize – Named for the longtime critic and NBCC co-founder John Leonard, the Leonard Prize is awarded for the best first book in any genre and was launched in 2013. Recent winners include Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So (2021) and Luster by Raven Leilani (2020). https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/leonard-prize/
42. The Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award – The Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award was established in 1981 to honor Ivan Sandrof (1911-1979), the first president of the National Book Critics Circle. The Sandrof Award is given to a person who has, over time, made significant contributions to book culture. https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/sandrof/
43. The Toni Morrison Achievement Award – The Toni Morrison Achievement Award was established in 2021 to honor novelist Toni Morrison (1911-1979), a former National Book Critics Circle Winner who championed literature throughout her celebrated career. The Morrison Award is given annually to an institution that has, over time, made significant contributions to book culture. The decision to name the award for Toni Morrison was the result of a year-long process in which the general membership of the NBCC was asked to nominate deserving candidates. https://www.bookcritics.org/the-toni-morrison-achievement-award/
44. Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize – The NBCC’s Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize seeks to highlight the artistic merit of literature in translation and recognize translators’ valuable work, which expands and enriches American literary culture by bringing world literature to English-language readers. https://www.bookcritics.org/gregg-barrios-book-in-translation-prize/
45. Mystery Writers of America Edgar® Awards – The 78th Annual Edgar® Awards will be celebrated on May 1, 2025, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City. The 2025 Edgar Award Symposium events will be online via Zoom. https://edgarawards.com/
46. The British Book Awards 2025 – The moment for the British book industry to celebrate its own has arrived with the 2025 British Book Awards Books of the Year shortlists. Now in its 34th year, the ‘Nibbies’ showcases the very finest fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature, from compelling page-turners to insightful memoir and beyond. The winners will be announced on Monday 13 May. https://www.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-british-book-awards
47. The Writers’ Prize (formerly Rathbones Folio Prize) – The Writers’ Prize is awarded to the book which represents the truest example of literary excellence in any one year. It is open to all works of literature written in English of any genre or form (except for books written explicitly for children) and published in the UK. https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/thewritersprize
48. 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards – Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 16, 2024, and November 14, 2025, will be eligible for the 2025 awards. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/203888.2025_Goodreads_Choice_Awards_Predictions
49. The Orwell Prizes 2025 – Every year we award prizes to the writing and reporting which best meets the spirit of George Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-prizes/
50. Nebula Awards – Date: TBA — Location: Kansas City, Missouri – Join them to engage in professional development, foster community among aspiring and established industry professionals, and of course, celebrate our Nebula Award finalists and honorees throughout the weekend and at the Nebula Award ceremony. That includes recognizing the inspiring work of their newest Grand Master, Susan Cooper. https://events.sfwa.org/
51. The 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction – Bringing people together through a shared passion for books written by women. The Women’s Prize Trust enriches society by creating equitable opportunities for women in the world of books and beyond. https://womensprize.com/
52. The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction – The Baillie Gifford Prize rewards excellence in non-fiction writing, bringing the best in intelligent reflection on the world to new readers. It covers all non-fiction in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. We celebrate the best in contemporary non-fiction writing as we believe all the best stories are true. https://www.thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/
53. The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature – The Michael L. Printz Award annually honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit, each year. In addition, the Printz Committee names up to four honor books, which also represent the best writing in young adult literature. The awards announcement is made at the ALA Midwinter Meeting as part of the Youth Media Awards and is celebrated with a program and reception each year at the ALA Annual Conference. https://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz-award
54. John Newbery Medal – The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newbery
55. Randolph Caldecott Medal – The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecott
56. The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards – First presented in 1967 and customarily announced in June, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the field of children’s and young adult literature. Winners are selected in three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction. Two Honor Books may be named in each category. https://www.hbook.com/page/boston-globe-horn-book-awards-landing-page
57. Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table – The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood. – https://www.ala.org/cskbart
58. Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards – The Tufts poetry awards—based at Claremont Graduate University and given for poetry volumes published in the preceding year—are not only two of the most prestigious prizes a contemporary poet can receive, but they also come with hefty purses: $100,000 for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and $10,000 for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. This makes the Kingsley Tufts award the world’s largest monetary prize for a single collection of poetry. And for most poets who have just published their first collection of verse, $10,000 should keep the pen scribbling. https://arts.cgu.edu/tufts-poetry-awards/
59. Griffin Poetry Prize – The Griffin Poetry Prize is one of the world’s most generous poetry awards. As of 2023, the prize is worth C$130,000, making it the world’s largest international prize for a single book of poetry written in, or translated into English. The other shortlisted poets each receive $10,000. https://griffinpoetryprize.com/
60. Page Turner Awards – Page Turner Awards gives unpublished writers the chance to enter unpublished fiction and non-fiction books, to be read by a carefully curated judging panel made up of influential players in the publishing industry. And published authors, whether mainstream published or independently published, the chance to get their fiction story or non-fiction book recognized by successful authors, high-caliber industry professionals and film producers. https://pageturnerawards.com/2025-book-award
61. Nero Book Awards – Celebrating outstanding writing by great authors living in the UK and Ireland, these awards list the best books of the year. Each year, their expert panel of judges will choose which books from the past 12 months they would most want to recommend to others for their quality writing and readability. From a shortlist of 16 unputdownable books, a winner will be named in each of the following four categories: Children’s Fiction, Debut Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction. An overall winner, given the Nero Gold Prize for the “Book of the Year”, will also be named. https://nerobookawards.com/
62. The IndieReader Discovery Awards – The IR Discovery Awards seek to find the best of the best. Every book is read by an IR Pro reviewer and judged on its own merit. Only if it receives a 4+ rating does it go on to be read by one of our judges. https://indiereader.com/the-discovery-awards/
63. The Independent Publisher Book Awards – Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s best independently published titles from around the world. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published books released each year. https://ippyawards.com/
64. Next Generation Indie Book Awards – The largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. The most exciting and rewarding book awards program open to independent publishers and authors worldwide is now accepting entries written in English and released in 2023, 2024 or 2025 or with a 2023, 2024 or 2025 copyright date. https://www.indiebookawards.com/
65. The International Best Indie Book Award® – Celebrating 12 Years of Recognizing Indie Authors! The annual Best Indie Book Award® (or BIBA®) is an international literary awards contest recognizing self-published and independently published authors from all over the world. Entries are limited to independently (indie) published books, including those from small presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors. https://bestindiebookaward.com/submit/
66. The National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) – The National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) are open to all English language printed books available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors. NIEA is proud to be a champion of self-publishing and small independent presses going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect. https://www.indieexcellence.com/
67. Poetry Awards – Writer’s Digest’s only competition exclusively for poetry, the Annual Poetry Awards, is not currently accepting entries. Winners are awarded cash and prizes. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/poetry-awards
68. Personal Essay Awards – Writer’s Digest’s newest competition, the Personal Essay Awards, is not currently accepting entries. Winners of the competition are announced annually in our May/June issue of Writer’s Digest. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/personal-essay-awards
69. The Autumn House Press Fiction Prize – For the 2025 contest, the Autumn House staff as well as select outsider readers serve as the preliminary readers, and the final judge is Kristen Arnett. The winner receives publication of their full-length manuscript and $2,500. https://www.autumnhouse.org/submissions/fiction/
70. The Encore Award – The Encore Award was first presented in 1990 to celebrate the achievement of outstanding second novels. The Award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes. The RSL has administrated the award since 2016. https://rsliterature.org/the-encore-award/
71. The PEN Open Book Award – The PEN Open Book Award, formerly the Beyond Margins Awards, invites book submissions by authors of color, published in the United States during the applicable calendar year. The Open Book Award was created by PEN America’s Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities. Works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography/memoir, poetry, and other works of literary character are strongly preferred. https://pen.org/literary-awards/
72. The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction – The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction honors the best published works of fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year. Three writers are chosen annually by the Board of Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to serve as judges, ensuring that our awards selection process is free of commercial influence. https://www.penfaulkner.org/our-awards/pen-faulkner-award/
73. The Pulitzer Prize – Each spring, Columbia University awards Pulitzer Prizes in eight Books, Drama and Music categories. The winners are chosen by the Pulitzer Prize Board, which seeks to recognize excellence by eligible American writers, playwrights and composers. https://bdmentrysite.pulitzer.org/
74. Shirley Jackson Awards – In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, The Shirley Jackson Awards, Inc. has been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. https://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/
75. National Jewish Book Awards – Inaugurated in 1950, the National Jewish Book Awards is the longest-running North American awards program of its kind and is recognized as the most prestigious. The Awards are intended to recognize authors, and encourage reading, of outstanding English-language books of Jewish interest. https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards
76. The Christy Award® – The Christy Award® was established in 1999 to acknowledge the value and impact of the novel of faith in contemporary culture. Since that time, the Christys have been a focal point for the writers and publishers in our community, symbolizing the best aspirations and accomplishments of writers who write from a perspective of faith and who create stories with matters of belief at their core. https://www.christyawards.com/
77. Carol Awards – The Carol Awards are ACFW’s recognition for the best Christian fiction published in the previous calendar year. The first round of the contest will be judged by three published authors or by experienced unpublished authors. The final round will be judged by agents, editors and multi-published authors, and other industry professionals. In the event of a tie, the previous round scores of the tied entries will be used to break the tie. https://acfw.com/acfw-contests/carol-awards/
78. The CWA Daggers – They award thirteen Daggers in total. Nine of these are for books and short stories and are judged independently by industry professionals. https://thecwa.co.uk/awards-and-competitions/the-daggers/
79. Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize – The NBCC’s Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize, launched in 2022, seeks to highlight the artistic merit of literature in translation and recognize translators’ valuable work, which expands and enriches American literary culture by bringing world literature to English-language readers. https://www.bookcritics.org/gregg-barrios-book-in-translation-prize/
80. Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing – The NBCC awards the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing each year to recognize outstanding work by a member of the NBCC. The citation is awarded in honor of Nona Balakian, a founding member of the National Book Critics Circle, where she served as the board’s first secretary. The eminent critic and longtime editor at the New York Times Book Review also served on the Pulitzer Prize committee, the Board of Directors of PEN, and the Authors Guild board. She was the author of Critical Encounters: Essays (1978), and co-author (with Charles Simmons) of The Creative Present (1969). The NBCC will continue the tradition established by board member Gregg Barrios, who passed away in 2021, by awarding $1,000 to the recipient of the Balakian. https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/balakian/
If You Don’t Have Time to Do All This... A great option for authors to maximize their success in the world of book awards is an automation service called Book Award Pro https://bookawardpro.com/ Their smart matching technology pinpoints the best award opportunities for your book and delivers actionable results. This service automates it all for you: researching thousands of awards, continuously targeting your perfect matches, and professionally submitting your book for awards. Book Award Pro creates a windfall of fresh promotional opportunities for your book – every single month. Check them out at https://bookawardpro.com/
Author Kelly K. Lavender read this very article about the value of book awards and said this. “I followed Scott’s advice. It worked! To my complete surprise, Beautiful Evil Winter earned a bouquet of book awards, including a highly coveted Eric Hoffer Award and a Readers’ Favorite award. For those that don’t know, the high-profile Readers’ Favorite competition attracts celebrities and New York Times Best-Selling authors. Thanks, Scott for penning that piece! What a game-changer!”
The Bottom Line: Book awards do matter. Enter a few and become an “award-winning author.” As Hockey great Wayne Gretzky said, “You Can’t Score Unless You Shoot!” Get to it and let me know how it goes. If you know of another book award I should check out, please send me the details.
Here’s a list of Top Book Awards for #Authors created by Book Publicist Scott Lorenz #ian1 #publishing #amwriting
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://westwindbookmarketing.com/ or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post 80 Top Book Awards for Authors in 2025 appeared first on The Book Publicist.
82 Top Book Awards for Authors in 2025
ENTER BOOK AWARD CONTESTS AND BECOME AN AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR in 2025!
I followed Scott’s advice. It worked! To my complete surprise, Beautiful Evil Winter earned a bouquet of book awards, including a highly coveted Eric Hoffer Award and a Readers’ Favorite award.
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
YES!!
As a book publicist, I can assure you they absolutely do matter! One client won several awards and was contacted by two movie producers about her Young Adult Sci-Fi Fantasy Fiction novel. Another one of my clients won the prestigious Los Angeles Book Festival award. That then led to a flurry of media interest, which subsequently led to a major New York agent deciding to represent the book and pitch it to all the major publishing houses. This author, needless to say, was happy he decided to enter.
Recently a business book client won a major award which caused CNN to reach out to request the book. I could go on and on with examples of how pursuing and winning book awards will give you opportunities to reach out to the media, booksellers, and agents. As a book publicist, I see the media perk up when an author client has received an award. It’s the added credibility that gives them the assurance that the book is worthwhile. It takes the risk out of the equation for the producer or reporter if it’s an ‘award-winning’ book.
Awards also helped take my book Book Title Generator: A Proven System in Naming Your Book to the next level. It’s earned nine awards including the Independent Author Network, Pencraft Book Awards, Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards, and Literary Titan Book Award, just to name a few. My book also landed a spot in the Must-Read category for authors of all experiences and publishers of all sizes. I used a new service called Book Award Pro to take the drudgery out of keeping tabs of all the award entries. Check them out at: https://bookawardpro.com/
There’s no denying that awards create interest in your book, which can lead to more sales and other opportunities. A book award may cause someone to stop in their tracks and consider picking up your book in a bookstore. A book award can give you an edge and sometimes that’s all the difference you need to propel your book into bestseller territory. If you win you can say you are an “award-winning author.” Doesn’t that sound better? Of course, it does, and you get a little magic that comes from a third-party endorsement because an authority says your work is worthy, and that’s priceless.
Most awards charge a fee to enter. Not all awards have a category for your genre and not all of these will work for every book.
Here’s a list of my top book awards worthy of your consideration.Keep in mind that links change all the time and contests come and go. Some links are for the previous year because that’s all that was available at the time of this writing.
1. Entering IndieFab Awards should definitely be on your literary to-do list. https://publishers.forewordreviews.com/awards/
2. Find out how your book can earn a Seattle Worldcon 2025 and check out science fiction’s most prestigious award details. https://seattlein2025.org/
3. Enter Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards. Don’t miss this important e-book only award. https://globalebookawards.com/
4. The Deadline for the Autumn House Press award for poetry, fiction and non-fiction is late June. Check it out here https://www.autumnhouse.org/submissions/
5. Poets & Writers has a nice list of writing contests, grants and awards. Check it out at: https://www.pw.org/grants
6. Find out how to make it on the Indie Next List to win an Indies Choice Book Award – https://www.bookweb.org/indiebound/nextlist/view
7. The Nautilus Book Award seeks books that make a difference and inspire. https://www.nautilusbookawards.com/
8. The National Indie Excellence Book Awards competition selects award winners and finalists based on overall excellence of presentation in dozens of categories. Created especially for indie and self-published authors. https://www.indieexcellence.com/
9. Have you written a business book? The Axiom Business Book Awards celebrate excellence in business book writing and publishing by presenting gold, silver and bronze medals in 20 business categories. https://axiomawards.com/enter
10. USA Best Book Awards has a ten-year plus track record of honoring and promoting books to the national and international community. The contest is sponsored by American Book Fest, which focuses on mainstream, independent, and self-published books. https://www.americanbookfest.com/2024bestbookawards.html
11. Reader Views Annual Literary Awards were established to honor writers who self-publish or who were published by small presses or independent publishers. https://www.readerviews.com/literaryawards/
12. Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Whether you’re a professional writer, a part-time freelancer or a self-starting student, here’s your chance to enter the only self-published competition exclusively for self-published books. One winning entry will receive $8,000 with nine first-place winners who’ll receive $1,000 each. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/self-published-book-awards
13. Readers’ Favorite Awards receives submissions from independent authors, small publishers, and publishing giants like HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, with contestants that range from the first-time, self-published author to New York Times best-selling authors. https://readersfavorite.com/book-reviews.htm
14. Romance Writer of America promotes the interests of career-focused romance writers by sponsoring awards that acknowledge excellence in the romance genre. RWA sponsors: “The RITA” for published romance fiction novels and “The Golden Heart” for unpublished romance fiction manuscripts.
15. Rubery Book Award is the longest established book award based in the UK for independent and self-published books. “The key to our success is having a keen eye for quality from distinguished and reputable judges.” First prize is $1,500 and the winning book will be read by a top literary agent. https://www.ruberybookaward.com/
16. The Eric Hoffer Award for independent books recognizes excellence in publishing with a $2,500 grand prize and various category honors and press type distinctions. To enter, a book must be from an academic press, small press or self-published author. https://www.hofferaward.com/
17. Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Thousands of dollars in prize money. Finalists and Winners receive a list in the Next Generation Indie Book Catalog distributed to thousands of book buyers, media and others. Plus, the top 70 books will be reviewed by a top New York Literary agent for possible representation. https://indiebookawards.com/enteryourbook.php
18. The International Book Awards (IBA) are specifically designed to be a promotional vehicle for authors and publishers to launch their careers, open global markets and compete with talented authors and publishers throughout the world. Winners get an extensive public relations campaign, social media promotion and more. https://www.internationalbookawards.com/
19. The Literary Classics Book Awards and Reviews were created to help authors gain recognition for their work and to help parents find the best in literature for children and young adults. http://www.clcawards.org
20. The Scotiabank Giller Prize. A $100,000 grand prize and $10K (CDN) to each of the finalists. To be eligible, a book must be a first-edition, full-length novel or short story collection, written by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. The publisher must enter. Sorry, no self-published books.
21. The Feathered Quill Book Awards accept submissions from all size publishers and work very hard to honor and publicize the winners (there’s a link to a testimonial page on the awards page – read what past winners have to say). https://featheredquill.com/feathered-quill-book-awards/
22. Shelf Unbound Magazine’s Best Indie/Self-Published Book Competition honors more than 100 indie/self-published books. In addition to $1,500 in cash prizes, they’ll feature the winner, five finalists, and more than 100 “notable” books in the December/January issue of Shelf Unbound. Any independently published book in any genre in any publication year is eligible for entry. Entry fee is $100 per book. The competition also includes the Pete Delohery Award for Best Sports Book, open to fiction and non-fiction sports-related books. https://shelfmediagroup.com/competitions/
23. Chanticleer International Book Awards — Grand prize winner receives $1,000 cash plus other awards. More than $30,000 cash and prizes awarded each year. 15 genres including the CYGNUS for SciFiction, M&M for Mystery & Mayhem, Somerset for Literary, etc. https://www.chantireviews.com/ Several of their winners have received major publishing deals (6 figures) and two have had their works optioned for film.
24. The Royal Dragonfly (all genres) and Purple Dragonfly (children’s books) Book Awards are prestigious national book contests recognizing exceptional authors for excellence in writing and a Story Monsters Approved! (children’s books) must inspire, inform, teach or entertain, and adhere to rigorous standards of excellence. https://www.storymonstersbookawards.com/
25. The Independent Author Network IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest opens to all authors with 35 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes exceeding $6,000 USD. An Outstanding Book (category winner) will be awarded in each category with recognition of Finalists. Six outstanding titles will be named the Books of the Year. Winning books will be shared at the IAN Facebook page with over 120,000 fans and 575,000 followers at twitter. https://www.independentauthornetwork.com/book-of-the-year.html
26. The Chautauqua Prize for authors is $7,500 plus travel and expense for a short summer residency. Full-length books of fiction and narrative/literary nonfiction are eligible. Self-published books are not eligible. In general, cookbooks, self-help books (including inspirational literature), reference books, picture books, graphic novels, or children’s books are not eligible. https://www.chq.org/things-to-do/education/literary-arts/chautauqua-prize/
27. Mom’s Choice Awards® is recognized in over 55 countries around the world for setting the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. If you have a children’s book or family friendly book, then this is a terrific award to pursue. https://www.momschoiceawards.com/
28. Book Excellence Awards – With over $30,000 in grand prizes in media and marketing services, the Book Excellence Awards has helped honorees increase their book sales, garner attention from film producers, receive distribution in bookstores and increase their visibility and media attention. https://bookexcellenceawards.com/
29. The Page Turner Awards – Their prizes promise the winning authors career-changing opportunities. Fiction authors could win a publishing deal or win an audiobook production, non-fiction authors could win a writing mentorship with a business mentoring expert or get their non-fiction manuscript seen by publishers who are actively looking for work to publish. https://pageturnerawards.com/
30. The Douglas Dillon Book Award is an award presented by the American Academy of Diplomacy designed to celebrate distinguished writing about US diplomatic efforts and achievements. The award comes with a $5,000 cash prize and an invitation to the awards ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the US Department of State. https://www.academyofdiplomacy.org/douglas-dillon-book-award
31. Next Generation Indie Book Awards – The largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. https://indiebookawards.com/
32. The 2024 International Book Awards – Over their 14-year history, thousands of self-published and indie authors have leveraged the promotional power of their International Book Award to increase online recognition, enhance their title’s credibility, and garner more attention in the crowded book buying marketplace. https://www.internationalbookawards.com/2024callforentries.html
33. NAIWE’s 1st Annual Book Awards 2024 – If you have written a book that was published in the last five years, you are eligible to enter it in the NAIWE 1st Annual Book Awards 2024. https://naiwe.com/book-awards/
34. Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction – The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year. The shortlisted authors and eventual winners reflect the expert judgment and insight of the seven-member selection committee of library professionals who work closely with adult readers. These are the ALA’s first single-book awards for adult trade fiction and nonfiction. https://rusaupdate.org/awards/carnegie/
35. BRASS Best of the Best Business Web Resources Award – The BRASS Best of the Best Business Web Resources Award was established in 2009. The Award recognizes 3-5 websites highly relevant to information professionals involved in providing business reference services. The websites are nominated and selected by the BRASS Education Committee members, typically in October-November. https://rocketexpansion.com/book-awards/
36. Sophie Brody Medal – The Sophie Brody Medal was first awarded in 2006 and includes a medal for the winner. It is funded by Sophie and Arthur Brody Foundation, and is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. Works for adults published in the United States in the preceding year will be eligible for the award. https://rusaupdate.org/awards/sophie-brody-medal/
37. Dartmouth Medal – Established in 1974, this medal honors the creation of a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, including, but not limited to: writing, compiling, editing, or publishing books or electronic information. The award is given to works that have been published or made available for the first time during the calendar year preceding the presentation of the award. https://rusaupdate.org/awards/dartmouth-medal/
38. National Book Awards – Established in 1950, the National Book Awards are American literary prizes administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization. A pantheon of writers such as William Faulkner, Marianne Moore, Ralph Ellison, John Cheever, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth, Robert Lowell, Walker Percy, John Updike, Katherine Anne Porter, Norman Mailer, Lillian Hellman, Elizabeth Bishop, Saul Bellow, Toni Morrison, Flannery O’Connor, Adrienne Rich, Thomas Pynchon, Alice Walker, E. Annie Proulx, Jesmyn Ward, and Ta-Nehisi Coates have all won National Book Awards. Although other categories have been recognized in the past, the Awards currently honor the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature, published each year. – https://www.nationalbook.org/national-book-awards/
39. The Booker Prize 2024 – Novelist Esi Edugyan, twice-shortlisted for the Booker Prize, will chair the panel and will be joined by Adjoa Andoh, actor, writer and director; Mary Jean Chan, poet, lecturer, editor and critic; James Shapiro, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and author specializing in Shakespeare; and Robert Webb, actor and writer. https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/2024
40. PEN America Literary Awards – Since 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards have honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of our partners, PEN America confers over 20 distinct awards, fellowships, grants and prizes each year, awarding nearly $350,000 to writers and translators. https://pen.org/literary-awards/
41. The Neustadt Prize – The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and World Literature Today since 1970. It is the first international literary award of this scope to originate in the United States and one of few international prizes for which poets, novelists, and playwrights are equally eligible. https://www.neustadtprize.org/
42. The National Book Critics Circle Awards – Each year, the National Book Critics Circle presents awards for the finest books published in English in six categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Poetry, and Criticism. https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/
43. John Leonard Prize – Named for the longtime critic and NBCC co-founder John Leonard, the Leonard Prize is awarded for the best first book in any genre and was launched in 2013. Recent winners include Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So (2021) and Luster by Raven Leilani (2020). https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/leonard-prize/
44. The Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award – The Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award was established in 1981 to honor Ivan Sandrof (1911-1979), the first president of the National Book Critics Circle. The Sandrof Award is given to a person who has, over time, made significant contributions to book culture. https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/sandrof/
45. The Toni Morrison Achievement Award – The Toni Morrison Achievement Award was established in 2021 to honor novelist Toni Morrison (1911-1979), a former National Book Critics Circle Winner who championed literature throughout her celebrated career. The Morrison Award is given annually to an institution that has, over time, made significant contributions to book culture. The decision to name the award for Toni Morrison was the result of a year-long process in which the general membership of the NBCC was asked to nominate deserving candidates. https://www.bookcritics.org/the-toni-morrison-achievement-award/
46. Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize – The NBCC’s Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize seeks to highlight the artistic merit of literature in translation and recognize translators’ valuable work, which expands and enriches American literary culture by bringing world literature to English-language readers. https://www.bookcritics.org/gregg-barrios-book-in-translation-prize/
47. Mystery Writers of America Edgar® Awards – The 78th Annual Edgar® Awards will be celebrated on May 1, 2024, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City. The 2024 Edgar Award Symposium events will be online via Zoom. https://edgarawards.com/
48. The British Book Awards 2024 – The moment for the British book industry to celebrate its own has arrived with the 2024 British Book Awards Books of the Year shortlists. Now in its 34rd year, the ‘Nibbies’ showcases the very finest fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature, from compelling page-turners to insightful memoir and beyond. The winners will be announced on Monday 13 May. https://www.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-british-book-awards
49. The Writers’ Prize (formerly Rathbones Folio Prize) – The Writers’ Prize is awarded to the book which represents the truest example of literary excellence in any one year. It is open to all works of literature written in English of any genre or form (except for books written explicitly for children) and published in the UK. https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/thewritersprize
50. 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards – Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 16, 2023, and November 14, 2024, will be eligible for the 2024 awards. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
51. The Orwell Prizes 2024 – Every year we award prizes to the writing and reporting which best meets the spirit of George Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-prizes/
52. Nebula Awards – June 6th-9th, 2024 – Pasadena, California and Online – Registration is open! Join them to engage in professional development, foster community among aspiring and established industry professionals, and of course, celebrate our Nebula Award finalists and honorees throughout the weekend and at the Nebula Award ceremony. That includes recognizing the inspiring work of their newest Grand Master, Susan Cooper. https://events.sfwa.org/
53. The 2024 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction – Bringing people together through a shared passion for books written by women. The Women’s Prize Trust enriches society by creating equitable opportunities for women in the world of books and beyond. https://womensprize.com/
54. The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction – The Baillie Gifford Prize rewards excellence in non-fiction writing, bringing the best in intelligent reflection on the world to new readers. It covers all non-fiction in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. We celebrate the best in contemporary non-fiction writing as we believe all the best stories are true. https://www.thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/
55. The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature – The Michael L. Printz Award annually honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit, each year. In addition, the Printz Committee names up to four honor books, which also represent the best writing in young adult literature. The awards announcement is made at the ALA Midwinter Meeting as part of the Youth Media Awards and is celebrated with a program and reception each year at the ALA Annual Conference. https://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz-award
56. John Newbery Medal – The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newbery
57. Randolph Caldecott Medal – The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecott
58. The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards – First presented in 1967 and customarily announced in June, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the field of children’s and young adult literature. Winners are selected in three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction. Two Honor Books may be named in each category. https://www.hbook.com/page/boston-globe-horn-book-awards-landing-page
59. Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table – The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood. – https://www.ala.org/cskbart
60. Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards – The Tufts poetry awards—based at Claremont Graduate University and given for poetry volumes published in the preceding year—are not only two of the most prestigious prizes a contemporary poet can receive, they also come with hefty purses: $100,000 for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and $10,000 for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. This makes the Kingsley Tufts award the world’s largest monetary prize for a single collection of poetry. And for most poets who have just published their first collection of verse, $10,000 should keep the pen scribbling. https://arts.cgu.edu/tufts-poetry-awards/
61. Griffin Poetry Prize – The Griffin Poetry Prize is one of the world’s most generous poetry awards. As of 2023, the prize is worth C$130,000, making it the world’s largest international prize for a single book of poetry written in, or translated into English. The other shortlisted poets each receive $10,000. https://griffinpoetryprize.com/
62. Page Turner Awards – Page Turner Awards gives unpublished writers the chance to enter unpublished fiction and non-fiction books, to be read by a carefully curated judging panel made up of influential players in the publishing industry. And published authors, whether mainstream published or independently published, the chance to get their fiction story or non-fiction book recognized by successful authors, high-calibre industry professionals and film producers. https://pageturnerawards.com/2024-book-award
63. Nero Book Awards – Celebrating outstanding writing by great authors living in the UK and Ireland, these awards list the best books of the year. Each year, their expert panel of judges will choose which books from the past 12 months they would most want to recommend to others for their quality writing and readability. From a shortlist of 16 unputdownable books, a winner will be named in each of the following four categories: Children’s Fiction, Debut Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction. An overall winner, given the Nero Gold Prize for the “Book of the Year”, will also be named. https://nerobookawards.com/
64. The IndieReader Discovery Awards – The IR Discovery Awards seek to find the best of the best. Every book is read by an IR Pro reviewer and judged on its own merit. Only if it receives a 4+ rating does it go on to be read by one of our judges. https://indiereader.com/the-discovery-awards/
65. The Independent Publisher Book Awards – Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s best independently published titles from around the world. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published books released each year. https://ippyawards.com/
66. Next Generation Indie Book Awards – The largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. The most exciting and rewarding book awards program open to independent publishers and authors worldwide is now accepting entries written in English and released in 2023, 2024 or 2025 or with a 2023, 2024 or 2025 copyright date. https://www.indiebookawards.com/
67. The International Best Indie Book Award® – Celebrating 12 Years of Recognizing Indie Authors! The annual Best Indie Book Award® (or BIBA®) is an international literary awards contest recognizing self-published and independently published authors from all over the world. Entries are limited to independently (indie) published books, including those from small presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors. https://bestindiebookaward.com/submit/
68. The National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) – The National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) are open to all English language printed books available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors. NIEA is proud to be a champion of self-publishing and small independent presses going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect. https://www.indieexcellence.com/
69. Poetry Awards – Writer’s Digest’s only competition exclusively for poetry, the Annual Poetry Awards, is not currently accepting entries. Winners are awarded cash and prizes. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/poetry-awards
70. Personal Essay Awards – Writer’s Digest’s newest competition, the Personal Essay Awards, is not currently accepting entries. Winners of the competition are announced annually in our May/June issue of Writer’s Digest. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/personal-essay-awards
71. The Autumn House Press Fiction Prize – For the 2024 contest, the Autumn House staff as well as select outsider readers serve as the preliminary readers, and the final judge is Kristen Arnett. The winner receives publication of their full-length manuscript and $2,500. https://www.autumnhouse.org/submissions/fiction/
72. Nilsen Literary Prize for a First Novel – Open to English-writing, U.S. residents who have not yet published a novel. http://www.semopress.com/events/nilsen-prize/
73. The Cowles Poetry Book Prize – Open to any living poet writing in English, age 18 or older, regardless of publication history. http://www.semopress.com/events/cowles-prize/
74. The Encore Award – The Encore Award was first presented in 1990 to celebrate the achievement of outstanding second novels. The Award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes. The RSL has administrated the award since 2016. https://rsliterature.org/the-encore-award/
75. The PEN Open Book Award – The PEN Open Book Award, formerly the Beyond Margins Awards, invites book submissions by authors of color, published in the United States during the applicable calendar year. The Open Book Award was created by PEN America’s Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities. Works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography/memoir, poetry, and other works of literary character are strongly preferred. https://pen.org/literary-awards/
76. The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction – The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction honors the best published works of fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year. Three writers are chosen annually by the Board of Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to serve as judges, ensuring that our awards selection process is free of commercial influence. https://www.penfaulkner.org/our-awards/pen-faulkner-award/
77. The Pulitzer Prize – Each spring, Columbia University awards Pulitzer Prizes in eight Books, Drama and Music categories. The winners are chosen by the Pulitzer Prize Board, which seeks to recognize excellence by eligible American writers, playwrights and composers. https://bdmentrysite.pulitzer.org/
78. Shirley Jackson Awards – In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, The Shirley Jackson Awards, Inc. has been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. https://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/
79. National Jewish Book Awards – Inaugurated in 1950, the National Jewish Book Awards is the longest-running North American awards program of its kind and is recognized as the most prestigious. The Awards are intended to recognize authors, and encourage reading, of outstanding English-language books of Jewish interest. https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards
80. The Christy Award® – The Christy Award® was established in 1999 to acknowledge the value and impact of the novel of faith in contemporary culture. Since that time, the Christys have been a focal point for the writers and publishers in our community, symbolizing the best aspirations and accomplishments of writers who write from a perspective of faith and who create stories with matters of belief at their core. https://www.christyawards.com/
81. Carol Awards – The Carol Awards are ACFW’s recognition for the best Christian fiction published in the previous calendar year. The first round of the contest will be judged by three published authors or by experienced unpublished authors. The final round will be judged by agents, editors and multi-published authors, and other industry professionals. In the event of a tie, the previous round scores of the tied entries will be used to break the tie. https://acfw.com/acfw-contests/carol-awards/
82. The CWA Daggers – They award thirteen Daggers in total. Nine of these are for books and short stories and are judged independently by industry professionals. https://thecwa.co.uk/awards-and-competitions/the-daggers/
If You Don’t Have Time to Do All This... A great option for authors to maximize their success in the world of book awards is an automation service called Book Award Pro https://bookawardpro.com/ Their smart matching technology pinpoints the best award opportunities for your book and delivers actionable results. This service automates it all for you: researching thousands of awards, continuously targeting your perfect matches, and professionally submitting your book for awards. Book Award Pro creates a windfall of fresh promotional opportunities for your book – every single month. Check them out at https://bookawardpro.com/
Author Kelly K. Lavender read this very article about the value of book awards and said this. “I followed Scott’s advice. It worked! To my complete surprise, Beautiful Evil Winter earned a bouquet of book awards, including a highly coveted Eric Hoffer Award and a Readers’ Favorite award. For those that don’t know, the high-profile Readers’ Favorite competition attracts celebrities and New York Times Best-Selling authors. Thanks, Scott for penning that piece! What a game-changer!”
The Bottom Line: Book awards do matter. Enter a few and become an “award-winning author.” As Hockey great Wayne Gretzky said, “You Can’t Score Unless You Shoot!” Get to it and let me know how it goes. If you know of another book award I should check out, please send me the details.
Here’s a list of Top Book Awards for #Authors created by Book Publicist Scott Lorenz #ian1 #publishing #amwriting
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://westwindbookmarketing.com/ or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post 82 Top Book Awards for Authors in 2025 appeared first on The Book Publicist.
December 9, 2024
The Incredible Power of Publicity for Authors
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
Some people say a book’s success is based on luck. Some say it’s the right opportunity at the right time. But the real secret? Publicity. As a book publicist, I have seen firsthand what publicity can do for authors. It is not the same as advertising or marketing. Publicity happens much more organically, and it can be the key factor for an author’s big break.
From Obscurity to Stardom: The Power of Publicity for AuthorsLet’s look at four amazing success stories by well-known authors!
Ever Heard of SLOW HORSES?British spy novelist Mick Herron began his career as an obscure author who wrote mostly for himself. He had a day job, and he didn’t expect his literary career to ever get off the ground, especially when he got dropped by his publishing house due to low sales of his first spy novel, Slow Horses.
His agent reached out to an independent publishing house in New York, Soho Press, for his second book, Dead Lions. At first, it didn’t seem like much had changed. Then, his new publisher nominated him for the U.K. Crime Writers’ Association’s Best Novel of 2013. He went home with the top prize, and the attention immediately increased his sales. A U.K. production company even optioned for television rights for Herron’s book. Even so, it wasn’t life changing.
It wasn’t until four years later when librarian Nancy Pearl raved about Slow Horses on National Public Radio. In the following month, the book sold 20,000 copies—more than the past seven years combined.
His novels boomed in popularity, earning him connections with a British publishing company, allowing him to reissue the two books. The relaunch of his writing career put him in the spotlight, and Slow Horses was picked up by Waterstones, Britain’s largest bookstore chain, as their Thriller of the Month in 2017. This was seven years after the book was originally published.
Herron has now sold over three million copies under his British publisher, and even more in the U.S., as well as being picked up for an Apple TV+ series.
It wasn’t an interview or typical advertisements; Herron’s success came from someone praising his book on public radio. That’s the power of publicity.
Dan Brown: The Role of Timing and Radio InterviewsTiming is everything when it comes to publicity. Authors can go years without being recognized. Thriller author Dan Brown is a perfect example of this. At the start of his career, he was a failed songwriter and an unknown author. His first three books sold less than 10,000 copies each. He signed with a new publisher and a new agent, who released the fourth novel of his Robert Langdon series, The Da Vinci Code. To Brown’s shock, it made its way quickly onto the New York Times bestseller list. This boost of attention drew curious eyes to his other works. Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons, and Deception Point, the first books of the series, soon became bestsellers as well. He has now sold millions of copies.
The difference? Brown dove head-first into publicity for his fourth book. He met with executives of major bookstores as well as smaller ones. He created a new image for himself, one that painted him as a scientific researcher. He deleted all evidence of his weak self-promotion and failed career.
By painting a specific image of himself to go along with his book, he got people’s attention. Not to mention, his rank on the New York Times bestseller list was an instant spotlight on his work. His book was thrilling, gripping, and left people talking about it for years after. However, this wouldn’t have happened without publicity. In a Masterclass episode, which I highly recommend, Brown credits Radio TV Interview Reports (RTIR) a printed publication which was mailed to thousands of media outlets announcing new authors and their availability for interviews. He booked himself on dozens and dozens of radio and TV shows, and then his book began to sell. That mailer has morphed into the National Publicity Summit a virtual meeting where authors can pitch themselves to show bookers via ZOOM. Check it out here: http://j.mp/PR-Summit
Rachael Ray: From Cooking Demonstrations to TV StardomA successful career in the writing field can also open up many other opportunities. Everyone knows who Rachael Ray is, whether it is from her TV shows, bestselling books, or product lines. Did you know that her career began with some in-store cooking demonstrations, which led to cookbooks and radio appearances?
Before her big break, Rachael Ray had sold around 10,000 cookbooks and was appearing regularly on her own TV segment. However, working behind the scenes, her publicist was booking her on a number of radio shows to promote two of her cookbooks, Comfort Foods and Veggie Meals. While on these programs, listening in was a friend of the Food Network’s VP of Programming as well as Al Roker the weatherman from The Today Show. Their praise of her segment led to hit appearances on both networks. Then, she received the call from Oprah that launched her daily TV show.
Rachael Ray can trace her “big break” to that one radio interview.
The Real Secret to a Book’s Success: PublicityI personally worked with Jared Knott, author of Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters. His terrific book began with few reviews and little attention. Westwind created a press kit, book trailer, solicited book reviews, posted on Twitter and other social media. We booked Knott on dozens of radio interviews and podcasts. Jared is an engaging interview and his enthusiasm drove sales. With the newfound spotlight, Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters made its way onto eight Amazon Bestseller lists, and it now has more than 3,000 reviews. At one point the reviews were coming in so fast, we could even watch the number of reviews tick up on Amazon right before our eyes!
Knott says, “It is one thing to have a very good book. It is something else for the world to know about it, like it and want to buy it.” With the help of publicity, his book has kept up its popularity for over a year and is still growing. Knott was very complimentary about our services and has graciously thanked me. “No one gets better or more powerful results in a shorter time than Scott Lorenz of Westwind Book Marketing. He knows the industry inside and out. He and his very professional team know what works, what doesn’t work.” Thank you, Jared!
Keila Shaheen: TikTok’s Role in Book PublicityEven self-published books can become hits with the right publicity. Social media sites such as TikTok allow authors to reach a new audience. Keila Shaheen, self-published author of the book The Shadow Work Journal, became a bestseller thanks to the app. Fellow influencer Kohn Gray (@girldadsos) raved about Shaheen’s work, making many short-form videos about it, leading thousands to purchase the book directly from TikTok Shop. It has now sold over a million copies.
While TV shows and radio programs are still around, social media has taken the new generations by storm. One hit post or video can bring millions of people to an author’s page. It’s a new form of publicity that is already showing its incredible success.
Interviews on podcasts, radio, TV, and print help truly motivated book readers to buy a book. If they like an author interview, they’ll read the synopsis, check out the reviews, and then buy the book. If they like it, those book buyers become advocates themselves and tell their friends, family, and associates. For authors, there are tons of resources out there for publicity. Hiring agents, using social media, and traditional marketing are just some first steps.
Still unsure? Check out this list of 127 ways that publicity can benefit authors.
The Bottom Line: Word-of-Mouth IS FREE, but it takes a financial commitment from the author or publisher to get the publicity going so that word-of-mouth can do its work.
#Author Dan Brown's rise to fame wasn't just luck. Strategic publicity & radio interviews played a huge role in his success. Book Publicist Scott Lorenz pulls back the curtain on several successful authors in a case study.…
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Book Marketing, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award-winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post The Incredible Power of Publicity for Authors appeared first on The Book Publicist.
November 14, 2024
Biography vs. Memoir: What’s the Difference? Why does it Matter?
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
Biographies and memoirs are commonly confused, both telling personal stories about an individual’s life. However, there is a distinct difference, and this plays an important role in the purpose of the book and how it is marketed. Let’s take a look at both!
BiographyA biography is a nonfiction account of a person’s entire life. It includes key events that shaped them as a person, as well as information about their relationships, work, education, and defining character traits. Biographies can be written about both people who have passed or people who are alive today. Sometimes, biographies are written by the subject themself, and this is known as an autobiography.
The information presented in a biography is objective and factual, often taken from first-hand accounts such as interviews, letters, diaries, newspapers, and more. Biographies are often written in the third person. The main goal of a biography is to present a fact-based record of someone’s childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Here are some examples of well-known biographies. All of these extend over their subjects’ entire lives and come from reliable sources.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson: “Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries.” The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: “Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?” Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges: “This New York Times bestselling biography of the founder of computer science, with a new preface by the author that addresses Turing’s royal pardon in 2013, is the definitive account of an extraordinary mind and life.” Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera: “This engrossing biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her own experiences.” Mad Girl’s Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted by Andrew Wilson: “Drawing on exclusive interviews with friends and lovers who have never spoken openly about Plath before and using previously unavailable archives and papers, this is the first book to focus on the early life of the twentieth century’s most popular and enduring female poet.”MemoirA memoir is a story of a person’s life as told by that person. Unlike an autobiography, a memoir centers on emotion and reflection rather than a timeline. Memoirs tend to be limited to a specific time or experience. Memoirs generally fit into one of the following structures: flashback, chronological, themed, or overcoming a struggle.
Memoirs come directly from the source and don’t take an objective approach, since they focus on how the author perceived a situation or event. They are written from a first-person point of view. Memoirs take aspects of fiction novels as well, as they include scenes, dialogue, and an engaging narrative. The main goal of a memoir is for an author to explore a specific theme or situation in their life in an emotion-based way.
Here are some examples of memoirs. Each one focuses on a theme or event that had a profound impact on the author’s life.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.” Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer: “A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that ‘suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down.’ He was wrong. By writing Into Thin Air, Krakauer may have hoped to exorcise some of his own demons and lay to rest some of the painful questions that still surround the event.” Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert: “This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and set out to explore three different aspects of her nature, against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.” The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion: “This powerful book is Didion’s attempt to make sense of the ’weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death, about illness, about marriage and children and memory, about the shallowness of sanity, about life itself.’” Night by Elie Wiesel: “Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps.”Why does this distinction matter?Websites like Amazon categorize biographies and memoirs into the same section, so why should they be marketed differently? In a nutshell, biographies and memoirs hold different purposes for readers. A person researching an individual will likely prefer the fact-based biography, while someone looking for a relatable story will gravitate towards a memoir. Therefore, books should be marketed as such to reach their intended audience.
When marketing biographies, focus on the factual aspects. Highlight the first-hand sources, such as photos or interviews. Emphasize what your book offers that a source like Wikipedia does not.
When marketing memoirs, use the emotional aspects to your advantage. Many memoirs focus on childhood events, marriage, divorce, or other life events that readers can relate to. Memoirs can be marketed similarly to fiction novels, although the non-fiction aspect sets them apart as unique stories.
The Bottom Line: Biographies are factual accounts of an individual’s entire life, while memoirs focus on the emotional aspects of a specific event or theme in the author’s life.
About Book Publicist Scott LorenzBook publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award-winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post Biography vs. Memoir: What’s the Difference? Why does it Matter? appeared first on The Book Publicist.
October 31, 2024
Top 10 Tips for Creating an Engaging Author Website
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
As an author, your website is a brief glimpse into who you are and what you do. In today’s marketplace, readers are looking to connect with their favorite authors, and books can’t promote themselves. Your website is how you attract and maintain readers. So how can you make it more engaging? Let’s take a look at ten suggestions that other authors are using!
Show your book covers
Visuals are the first thing people see when they open your website, so make them eye-catching! Put your books front and center and let them speak for themselves. Book covers convey the genre, tone, and appeal of your books. They are an easy way to add some visual flair!
Your website designer should pick up on the colors of the book cover and use them in the site.
For example, take a look at James Patterson’s website. The background is kept simple and clean, utilizing the colorful book covers as the key visual.
Share about yourselfReaders want to know who you are! Consider adding an about page that shares some interesting information about yourself. Here are some things you could include:
CredentialsEducationHobbiesPersonal achievementsPlace of residenceCultural backgroundYou can pull your author bio straight from your book or create something unique just for your website. Readers are more likely to connect with authors who share similarities with them, so let your personality show!
Add blurbs from reviews
Sometimes other people say it best! Sharing reviews lets potential readers know what to expect from your work. They also add to your credibility, especially when they are from reputable sources such as editorial reviews. When choosing blurbs, keep them short and sharp! Pick ones that encompass the theme or that highlight a key element of your book. Make sure they are different and don’t repeat the same points.
Let’s take a look at Julie Orringer’s website. Before any other information, she shares a review that captures the tone of each tone. Based on a single review, readers who are interested in ambitious and suspenseful stories will probably enjoy Julie’s book The Flight Portfolio. Julie includes reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus Reviews to name a few.
Create a book trailer
One very effective tactic to promote and publicize your book is to create a “Book Trailer.” A book trailer is like a movie trailer in that it allows someone to preview a book both visually and via audio. A video book trailer brings the book to life and gives the potential reader a sneak peek at the contents. When we create a book trailer, we’ll include it on the author’s website and we’ll post it on YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and use it in the promotion of a book.
Besides attracting readers of a book’s genre and the immediate visual impact benefit, a trailer can actually improve search engine ranking for an author’s web site. The book trailer on YouTube becomes searchable by key words which are carefully selected to attract interest and drive more traffic to the author’s web site or Amazon page.
The website for the “Bad Love” series by Dr. Kevin Schewe features four of the book trailers Westwind Book Marketing created. The trailers are prominently featured on his website and further suggest the series is ‘movie material’ as it has such strong visuals. Check it out at: https://kevinschewe.com/
Add links to buy your booksWhat is the main goal of an author website? To get people to buy your books! Make it easy for readers to purchase your books by including big buttons that link to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, The Publisher etc. Don’t make people scroll and search for the link. Put it right under or beside the cover.
If you’re searching for additional book retailers to carry your works, check out this list of America’s biggest booksellers. The top ones include Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books-A-Million.
Quote your book
An easy way to get people interested in your books is to put excerpts on your website. Sometimes, readers unfamiliar with your work may not want to commit to purchasing and reading a whole book. Readers can decide if they are interested based on your writing style and subject matter. Pick excerpts that are well-written, set the tone for the book, and aren’t too confusing without context.
You could also consider providing a chapter for free, like author James Clear. He offers a download of the first chapter of his hit book Atomic Habits. Much like a free sample given out at your local grocery store, an excerpt gives readers a taste of what’s to come!
Add media clips or logos
Add clips of your media interviews to your website and be sure to use the logos from media outlets as well. Use the podcaster’s photo, their promo piece for the interview anything that is already created you’ll want to repurpose it. Often when a member of the media wants to interview one of my clients they’ll go to the author’s website. They want to hear and interview and for TV they want to see what you look like before they book the interview.
For example, let’s look at Jay Shetty’s site. Right away, the site plays a video. He includes interviews and clips of his podcast. On his press page, he promotes a variety of content that he has been a part of, accompanied by the logos of well-known platforms, such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The New York Times, Red Table Talk, and more.
Share book awards
Book awards are a great way to position yourself in the industry. One of the reasons to go after book awards is to tell people you’ve WON a few. Don’t be afraid to show off your accomplishments! Much like logos, book awards are easy to recognize and add visual flair. They show that people appreciate your work and that it is worth reading. Additionally, readers may seek out the winners of specific awards if they are looking for a certain genre or topic.
Let’s look at Patrick Asare’s website. He displays five awards for The Boy from Boadua, including the Literary Titan Book Award and the International Impact Book Award. Pretty impressive right?
Create a backlist of your books
Much like a portfolio, a backlist provides readers with the full extent of your work. You never know what will connect with someone, and an older book may have a resurgence. In addition, people who have read your other books will recognize them and be more inclined to check out others.
Take a look at Emma Davies’ site. Right on the home page, she displays a variety of her works, as well as including a books tab in her menu.
Utilize a mailing listA mailing list is a great way to interact with your readers on a regular basis. You can keep them up to date on new releases, your next projects, promotions, and other updates. It’s been said that with a list of a few thousand avid book buying fans an author can live quite well. If you are not collecting the email addresses of your readers, you are missing an opportunity. Many mailing lists are simple to sign up for, just input your name and your email.
Here are some sites that offer free plans for mailing lists:
Mailchimp Brevo MailerLite SenderFor other examples of strong author websites, check out one of my articles on the topic where I’ve benchmarked some of my favorite author websites here.
The bottom line: By utilizing these ten tips, as seen by the success of many popular authors, your website will intrigue readers and keep them coming back for more.
By utilizing these ten tips, as seen by the success of many popular #authors, your #website will intrigue #readers and keep them coming back for more.
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award-winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post Top 10 Tips for Creating an Engaging Author Website appeared first on The Book Publicist.
August 24, 2024
Love in the Stacks: The Rise of Romance Bookstores
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
The popularity of romance books has been steadily on the rise for several years now. Stemming from the trend, the latest phenomenon in the reading community is brick and mortar stores exclusively for romance novels. According to an article by Alexandra Alter in The New York Times, romance bookstores are scattered throughout the nation “and have become vibrant community hubs for romance fans.”
The Rise of Romance“The current romance craze traces to the early days of the pandemic,” says Alter. Romance books began to trend as people were in search of exciting love stories in times of boredom and uneasiness. Alter continues, “Print sales more than doubled in the last few years, from 18 million copies in 2020 to 39 million in 2023.” A significant turning point in the world of romance novels pre-pandemic was the 2016 release of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us. Hoover’s novel topped the charts, selling 6.9 million copies and remaining on The New York Times’ Best Sellers list for 131 weeks, according to Vox. The book gained tons of attention on social media, especially BookTok, because of its subject matter of abusive relationships. The iconic romance novel has now been made into a movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Dream Me HomeAnother notable novel intertwines romance and mystery: Dream Me Home written by psychotherapist Laurie Elizabeth Murphy. Murphy says her book “is about characters that are real, and face real dilemmas, they make irrational decisions even with the best intentions, and cannot always control the outcomes of the most well-planned lives.” The book was published in 2023 and Murphy won first place with Dream Me Home at the 2024 PenCraft Book Awards for Best Fiction in the Mystery category. Visit Murphy’s website to learn more about her award-winning novel.
DarzikPhysician Fionne Foxxe Farraday’s science fiction fantasy Darzik is a continuation of her Mates of the Alliance series. This compelling series tells the story of the love connection between a human and an extraterrestrial being. Farraday says, “In this story, Emily has been through something horrific which altered the course of her life. She is a survivor and doesn’t see herself as a victim. Most of this book is her journey to reclaim her life and how Darzik is there for her through it all as her staunchest cheerleader, the one who sees her bravery and supports her as she steps forward into a new life.” Find out more about Darzik here.
Get Involved in the Romance WorldMore and more people have jumped on the romance novel train. The industry has grown far from its old “smut” and guilty pleasure stereotypes. As the community has grown, there are now events for romance fans to come together in celebration of their shared interest. Here are a couple of upcoming events for romance fans: Romance Con taking place September 6-7, 2024, in Milwaukee, WI and Black Romance Book Fest taking place May 30-June 1, 2025, in Atlanta, GA.
Advice for Romance WritersIn every good romance novel, there are common aspects that are keys to its success. For example, to write a good romance story there needs to be tension. According to The Book Coach, readers become more engaged as the tension between characters strengthens, building up the story and creating an emotional connection with the reader. Similar to other genres, a good romance includes some kind of character development.
A blog post on QinPrinting says to “avoid creating a one-dimensional character and instead focus on making your heroine human, flawed, and capable of growth.” This allows readers to relate to the character, which heavily influences how much they will enjoy the story. You can also implement character development with the use of tropes; everybody loves a good enemy to lovers’ trope! A final piece of advice is to have a happy ending to your book.
As The Urban Writers stated, “Real life doesn’t always guarantee happy endings, especially when it comes to love… readers understand this and are drawn to romance bestsellers because they know that a happy ending is in the cards.” Readers expect a “happily ever after” to follow the whirlwind of drama they’ve just been taken through.
Romance Bookstores in the USThe Ripped Bodice in Los Angeles, CA as well as Brooklyn, NYLove’s Sweet Arrow in Tinsley Park, ILThe Last Chapter in Chicago, ILMeet Cute in San Diego, CABlush in Wichita, KSUnder the Cover in Kansas City, MOTropes & Trifles in Minneapolis, MNGrump & Sunshine in Belfast, MEA Novel Romance in Louisville, KYBeach Read Books in Wilmington, NCLovebound Library in Salt Lake City, UT…And more!The Bottom Line: If you’re a romance reader or writer, dive deeper into the community. Visit these romance bookstores, join/start a romance book club, or write a romance novel of your own!
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers!
Click To Tweet About Book Publicist Scott LorenzBook publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award-winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post Love in the Stacks: The Rise of Romance Bookstores appeared first on The Book Publicist.
June 28, 2024
How TikTok Transformed a Self-Published Author into a BESTSELLER
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
TikTok has become a major hot spot for influencing in a range of different fields. When it comes to the literary world, influencers use this digital platform to promote different books and authors in the TikTok community known as BookTok. Read more about BookTok and its benefits in an article I wrote here.
BookTok’s influence has been taken to the next level with “The Shadow Work Journal,” written by Keila Shaheen. This journal is a spiritual guide based on the concept of “the shadow self” by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. It is meant to help readers acknowledge and repair their deep-rooted emotional wounds. The debut, self-published book is now a bestseller thanks to TikTok. So how exactly did Shaheen rise to BookTok fame?
An Influencer’s InfluenceTikTok influencer Kohn Glay (@girldadsos) played a critical part in the book’s success. Glay passionately promoted Shaheen’s work, telling his viewers that they needed Shaheen’s workbook to shepherd them in their spiritual journey. Glay’s viewers began to purchase Shaheen’s journal directly through TikTok Shop. According to The New York Times, “Shaheen went on to sell more than a million copies,” of which almost 700,000 were sold through TikTok Shop.
Targeting the AudienceShaheen promotes shadow work on her TikTok profile with aura cleansing and sound healing, as well as leading viewers through some of the exercises in her journal. The escalation of Shaheen’s sales further proves a point that I made in my article on BookTok, which is that “many users, especially the younger generations, are drawn to organic promotions directly from their source rather than traditional advertising.” TikTok users want to see videos that are short and straight to the point.
If a video drags on baiting the audience for too long, they’ll lose interest and scroll. TikTok influencing is about catering to short attention spans, which is why influencers like Glay were so effective in their promotion of “The Shadow Work Journal,” diving right in at the beginning of his videos to get people hooked on the topic.
Not only was Glay strategic about his marketing, but his endorsement of Shaheen’s work is authentic and real. It is evident that he truly cares about his viewers discovering shadow work in order to better themselves, and this is what made his influence so impactful.
TikTok SellsAs stated in The New York Times, Shaheen has made history with TikTok “by fully harnessing its potential not just for marketing, but for direct sales.” Glay’s viewers were directly influenced by his videos on Shaheen’s work, which caused them to switch tabs and purchase it immediately through the app. This is a true testament to the ability TikTok has not only to market and promote, but to actually sell a book. With over 1 billion users, TikTok has the potential to not only reach a wide market, but its rapid and convincing format has proven to convert leads to meaningful sales.
Bending the Rules of Becoming a BestsellerShaheen signed with publisher Simon & Schuster after her book became a bestseller. She was able to reach this point solely because of the way the app launched her into success. Agent Albert Lee of United Talent Agency told The New York Times, “It breaks all the rules of what makes a best seller,” because the book was self-published by an unestablished author with no expansion beyond the United States. Shaheen is a prime example of the truly revolutionary things TikTok is doing for authors.
For advice on jumping on the TikTok train, check out David Alan Arnold’s Facebook Group called How to Grow on TikTok. He is the author of Help From Above as well as the Deadliest Catch helicopter cameraman, and he has 1.8 million followers on TikTok (@davidalanarnold). “I will show you the good and the bad,” Arnold says, “Let’s help each other grow.”
The Bottom Line: Start growing a profile on TikTok now! Use the app to your book’s advantage, and you could be the next author to go from debut to bestseller.
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers!
Click To Tweet About Book Publicist Scott LorenzBook publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award-winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post How TikTok Transformed a Self-Published Author into a BESTSELLER appeared first on The Book Publicist.
May 29, 2024
How Jimmy Fallon Selects Books for The Tonight Show’s Book Club
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
How can you get free promotion for your book? The answer is simple: have people connect over your book and talk about it. That’s why book clubs are such an effective tool for authors. Book club members go out and buy your book, read it, meet up to talk about it, and then recommend it to their friends. It’s good old fashioned ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing every book needs. You can learn about this approach to promoting your book in a more extensive article I wrote about it here: book clubs.
There’s one book club with a huge national following and it was started by Jimmy Fallon of the Tonight Show.
About the Fallon Book Club SegmentJimmy Fallon hosts a book club segment where he and his viewers choose a book to read together. Jimmy starts by giving the audience their options. The choices range from debut novels to New York Times Best Sellers, with genres ranging from love stories to murder mysteries. In 2018 when Jimmy started the segment, it was called The Tonight Show “Summer Reads,” but in 2022 Jimmy coined the official “Fallon Book Club.”
Up until this year, Jimmy has picked out five or six books for his viewers to choose from, none of which he has previously read. To compile his list of competitors, Jimmy does research on each of his selections and their authors to ensure he chooses a mix of both established authors and those publishing for the first time. Jimmy has stuck strictly to fictional stories, and he tends to choose either love stories, psychological thrillers, or murder mystery stories as contestants.
As he stated, “Summertime you want the murder mystery, or you want the love and romance.” After Jimmy read the description of each, viewers could scan a QR code or visit the Fallon Book Club website to cast their vote on the story that most appealed to them.
FBC’s March MadnessThis spring, Jimmy decided to switch things up. Instead of only doing a Summer Read, he put together a March Madness style bracket with 16 of his favorite finds. From the initial “Sweet 16,” the viewers voted to determine the “Elite Eight,” then the “Final Four,” followed by the “Terrific Two,” and finally the one winning book, which would be the Spring Read for the FBC. Jimmy’s original bracket was made up of 16 action-packed, thrilling mysteries.
The champion that has become the Spring Read is Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra, a debut novel. According to LateNighter News, there were about 1 million total voters involved in determining the winner, with each viewer allowed to vote up to 10 times on the Fallon Book Club website.
Winner Takes It AllThe Fallon Book Club has helped debut authors become New York Times Best Sellers. Having your book selected by Jimmy Fallon could change the trajectory of your career as an author. Thanks to the publicity from the FBC, Nightwatching’s sales have made an outstanding increase. When Jimmy first introduced the novel as a contestant on the bracket, it was #20,143 on Amazon’s list of Best-Selling Books.
A couple days after the voters proclaimed it the winner, it jumped to #46, according to LateNighter News. Jimmy also announced that he would invite the author of the winning book onto the show, which will even further promote Sierra’s novel.
Bring A Social Life to Your BookToday, people are using social media to connect in ways beyond the traditional gatherings. Connect with Jimmy and the FBC by following along on Facebook and Instagram @FallonBookClub and tagging him with mentions of your book.
Use the hashtag #FallonBookClub and ask friends and family to do the same. Doing this will help build community around your book.
Getting Fallon’s AttentionMultiple attempts to contact the show were futile, so they must want their selection method to remain a secret. It is likely a combination of publisher contacts, agents, and serendipity. The show’s mailing address is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York.
Jimmy Fallon mainly looks for either love stories or mysteries for the Fallon Book Club. If this aligns with your books, you could be a contender for the segment!
The Bottom Line: A plug on The Tonight Show can be a life changing event. The opportunity is in your hands. Go for it!
Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers!
Click To Tweet About Book Publicist Scott LorenzBook publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Full Name *Email Address *PhoneWebsiteTell me about your book. What is the title, genre, how many pages, is it published? Give me a short Synopsis. *Send Message
The post How Jimmy Fallon Selects Books for The Tonight Show’s Book Club appeared first on The Book Publicist.
