Frontlist | Top Book Awards for Authors in 2021 by Scott Lorenz

Frontlist | Top Book Awards for Authors in 2021 by Scott Lorenz
on Feb 05, 2021

Do book awards matter? YES!! says book publicist Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications. I can assure you they absolutely do matter, says Lorenz. 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, says Lorenz. 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. Lorenz is an award-winning author himself. He published a book about how to title a book called Book Title Generator: A Proven System in Naming Your Book. It's earned nine awards including the Independent Author Network, Pencraft Book Awards, Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards, and Literary Titan Book Award, 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. Lorenz has compiled an extensive list of top book awards for authors worthy of consideration. 1. Entering IndieFab Awards should definitely be on your literary to-do list. 2. Find out how your book can earn a Hugo Award and check out science fiction's most prestigious award details. 3. Enter Dan Poynter's Global eBook Awards. Don't miss this important e-book only award. 4. The Deadline for the Autumn House Press award for poetry, fiction and non-fiction is late June. 5. Poets & Writers has a nice list of writing contests, grants and awards. 6. Find out how to make it on the Indie Next List to win an Indies Choice Book Award. 7. The Nautilus Book Award seeks books that make a difference and inspire. 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. Deadline is March 31, 2021. 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. 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. 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. Early Bird deadline is April 1, 2021. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. 25. The Independent Author Network IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open 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. 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. 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. 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 book stores and increase their visibility and media attention. 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. I realize entering awards is time consuming, says Lorenz. If you don't have time to spend then use an automation service called Book Award Pro. Their smart matching technology pinpoints the best award opportunities for a book and delivers actionable results. This service automates it all, 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. According to author Kelly K. Lavender, I read this very article and 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, says Lorenz, 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!' About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz 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. Source: Digital Journal