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The BookFest Book Awards

The BookFest Book Awards trophy

Submissions for the spring 2024 awards are closed.

Submissions for the fall 2024 BookFest Awards open in May.

Sign up to receive The BookFest notifications and early bird pricing information for the fall book awards program.

Join us live on April 6th and 7th for The BookFest Spring 2024 with panels, and conversations for authors and readers as well as spring 2024 book award announcements.

The BookFest Book Awards icons

Your Book Could Be Honored with an Award from The BookFest Book Awards

The BookFest Awards honors authors who create outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction. Books are judged in categories based on genre, theme, and aesthetics.  Entries will be vetted by an initial team, then the final places will be determined by an elite team of experts in the literary and entertainment world.

Judging

Three Components to Vetting in The BookFest Book Awards Judging Process
The vetting process has three components. An initial team vets each book submitted to make sure it is eligible and correctly categorized. Then judges with individual expertise further evaluate the submissions using the judging form, rating the books based on several criteria. The ratings are averaged to give the books a score.

The judges are experts in their field. For example, a professional artist evaluates the cover designs, a professional in the literary arts for children evaluates children’s books, etc. The third round of judging is done by The BookFest Bellwethers for final evaluations.

Awards are given in book genres as well as other categories such as best cover art and best website. There are three levels of awards in each subcategory.

How The BookFest Awards Are Awarded
Awards are assigned based on first, second, third and honorable mention, according to their score by judges.

This means that sometimes not every category has a first place, second and/or third place winner. If no books in that category rated appropriately, then no award was granted in that place. Likewise, several books sometimes tie for first place, second and third place. Much like getting a letter grade in school, sometimes there are more “A”s in the class because there are outstanding students who warrant that grade. Books are similar. Sometimes there are several outstanding books deserving of their place in The BookFest Awards.

The goal in the judging process is to highlight books that are well written. At The BookFest, we feel it is important to give niche or often unrecognized genres a chance to shine, too. 

All BookFest Award Recipients Will Receive:

  • Free downloadable certificate
  • Free downloadable award graphic to use on their website, social media, newsletter etc.
  • Free placement on The BookFest website award winners’ page
  • Optional purchase of award certificate
  • Optional purchase of award stickers
  • Optional purchase of award trophy
    (Additional certificates and trophies may be purchased for coauthors, cover illustrators, editors, etc., but must be purchased under your account.)

Select Winners will be evaluated and may be invited to be a guest on the award-winning Books That Make You Show.

Special Promotional Opportunities like the New York Times Square Salute to The BookFest Award Winners billboard display may be offered to winners. (Graphic design and production costs may apply.)

First Place Winners may be featured in social media posts on The BookFest social media platforms.

Are you ready to enter your book? See complete rules and submission information below.

Submission guidelines

What books can be submitted
Any traditionally published, independent published, or self-published books may be submitted as long as they are published between Jan 1st 2020 and Sep 2nd 2024, and are available for sale online in the US. Republished books also qualify as long as they were republished in this window.
Please note, this does not include preorders, books must be available for download or shipping.

Books that we do not accept
Books that promote hate or divisiveness (we are all about building each other up and making the world a better place)
Books that promote misinformation (trying to pass off science fiction as science fact)
Erotica (It’s not you, it’s the internet. If you are unsure on your book, please contact us and we will checkout your title.)
Textbooks (we accept books on learning and education, but not actual textbooks)

Who can submit for an award
Authors, and representatives of authors such as publicists, publishing companies etc.
Also, artist, designers, voice actors, audio producers, web developers, and social media experts. But these submissions must be related to a book, audio book, author or book website, or social media platform.

What you will need to complete your submission

Required:

  • Book cover in PNG or JPEG format at least 1080 pixels tall
  • Book interior file in PDF or ePub format. (You can also ship your book to us but there is an additional cost for this service, see below under pricing. If you are submitting an audio book you will need to provide a download code for Audible or Spotify or we will need access to the audio files via other means)
  • Book title
  • Author name (You may also add a coauthor and illustrator etc.)
  • Book description
  • Book sales link, preferably Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Recommended but not required unless submitting in that category :

  • Website link
  • Social media links

Submit your book in the most comprehensive lists of genres and subgenres

We have the most comprehensive genres and subgenres you can submit your book to, so you can find the perfect fit for your book. We have all of the standard fiction and nonfiction genres as well as technical categories for art, design, audio books, author websites, and social media platforms.

Find the complete list of genres and categories below

Major categories include Artistic & Technical, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Action
& Adventure
Anthologies
Children’s – Action &
Adventure
Children’s – Activity Books
Children’s – Animals
Children’s – Beginning Readers
Children’s – Board Books
Children’s – Chapter Books
Children’s – Diversity &
Multicultural
Children’s – Fables 
Children’s – Fairy Tales
Children’s – Family 
Children’s – Historical 
Children’s – Holidays 
Children’s – Picture Books
Children’s – Sci-Fi
Children’s – Social Themes
Children’s – Transportation
Chick Lit
Christian – Action &
Adventure
Christian – Biblical
Christian – Classic &
Allegory
Christian – Collections &
Anthologies
Christian – Contemporary
Christian – Fantasy
Christian – Futuristic
Christian – Historical
Christian – Mystery
Christian – Romance
Christian – Suspense
Christian – Western
Comics – Action & Adventure
Comics – Fairy Tales, Myths
& Legends
Comics – History & Learning
Comics – Horror
Comics – Humor
Comics – Juvenile
Comics – Manga 
Comics – Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Comics – Slice-of-Life
Comics – Superheroes
Comics – YA
Detective – Amateur Sleuths
Detective – Cozy
Detective – Hard-Boiled
Detective – Historical
Detective – Police Procedural
Detective – Private
Investigators
Detective – Traditional
Detective – Women Sleuths
Dystopian – Alternate History
Dystopian – Climate Change
Dystopian – Genetic Engineering
Dystopian – Science Fiction
Dystopian – Society, War
Dystopian – Viruses, Plagues
& Zombies
Fantasy – Action &
Adventure
Fantasy – Contemporary
Fantasy – Dark
Fantasy – Dragons &
Mythical Creatures
Fantasy – Epic
Fantasy – Gaslamp
Fantasy – Historical
Fantasy – Humorous
Fantasy – Magic, Myths &
Legends
Fantasy – Military
Fantasy – Paranormal &
Urban
Fantasy – Superheroes
Fantasy – Urban
Gothic
Historical – Fictional
Biography
Historical – Multi-Period
Family Saga 
Historical – Mystery
Historical – Nautical, War
& Military
Historical – Pre-2010 
Historical – Western
Horror – Body Horror & Gore
Horror – Creatures &
Monsters
Horror – Ghosts &
Paranormal
Horror – Gothic
Horror – Psychological
Horror – Serial Killers
Humor – General
Humor – Comic Strips
Humor – Jokes & Riddles
Humor – Limericks & Verse
Humor – Parodies
Humor – Pictorial
Humor – Puns & Wordplay
Humor – Politics
Humor – Relationships
Juvenile – Action &
Adventure
Juvenile – Bedtime & Dreams
Juvenile – Boys & Men
Juvenile – Concepts
Juvenile – Multicultural
Juvenile – Fairy Tales
Juvenile – Family
Juvenile – Fantasy & Magic
Juvenile – Girls & Women
Juvenile – Historical
Juvenile – Holidays
Juvenile – Myths, Fable
Juvenile – Lifestyles
Juvenile – Mysteries
Juvenile – People & Places
Juvenile – Science & Nature
Juvenile – Social Themes
Juvenile – Sports
LGBTQ+ – Fantasy
LGBTQ+ – Graphic Novels
LGBTQ+ – Historical Fiction
LGBTQ+ – Horror
LGBTQ+ – Literary Fiction
LGBTQ+ – Mystery
LGBTQ+ – Romance
LGBTQ+ – Science Fiction
LGBTQ+ – Thriller &
Suspense
LGBTQ+ – Young Adult
Literary – Coming of Age
Literary – Historical
Literary – Journey &
Adventure
Literary – Love Story &
Romance
Literary – Mystery, Thriller
& Suspense
Literary – Sci-fi & Fantasy
Mystery – Cozy
Mystery – Historical
Mystery – Spies & Espionage
Mystery – Murder & Crime
Mystery – Noir
Mystery – Procedurals
Mystery – Supernatural
Mystery – Thriller
Poetry – Children’s
Poetry – Collections &
Anthologies 
Poetry – Contemporary
Poetry – Cultural
Poetry – Inspiration
Poetry – Love
Poetry – Modern
Poetry – Nature
Romance – Contemporary
Romance – Fantasy
Romance – Holiday
Romance – Medical
Romance – Military
Romance – Multicultural 
Romance – New Adult
Romance – Paranormal
Romance – Romantic Comedy
Romance – Royalty
Romance – Science Fiction
Romance – Small Town
Romance – Suspense
Romance – Urban
Romance – Wholesome
Romance Historical  – 20th
Century
Romance Historical  –
Ancient World
Romance Historical  –
Medieval
Romance Historical  –
Regency
Romance Historical  – Time
Travel
Romance Historical  –
Victorian
Sci-Fi – Action & Adventure
Sci-Fi – Aliens & Alien
Invasion
Sci-Fi – Alternate Realities
Sci-Fi – Apocalyptic &
Post-Apocalyptic
Sci-Fi – Crime & Mystery
Sci-Fi – Cyberpunk
Sci-Fi – Exploration &
Adventure
Sci-Fi – Galactic Empire &
Colonization
Sci-Fi – Genetic Engineering
Sci-Fi – Hard  
Sci-Fi – Humorous
Sci-Fi – Medical & Future
Technology
Sci-Fi – Military
Sci-Fi – Robots, Computers
& AI
Sci-Fi – Space Exploration
Sci-Fi – Space Opera
Sci-Fi – Steampunk
Sci-Fi – Time Travel
Sci-Fi – Utopian
Short Stories
Supernatural – Ghosts
Supernatural – Magic, Legends,
& Lore
Supernatural – Paranormal &
Psychic Phenomenon
Supernatural – Supernatural
Creatures & Beings
Supernatural – UFOs
Supernatural – Weird Stuff
Thriller – Crime & Legal
Thriller – Domestic
Thriller – Espionage
Thriller – Historical
Thriller – Medical 
Thriller – Military, Spies
& Politics
Thriller – Political
Thriller – Psychological 
Thriller – Supernatural
Thriller – Suspense
Thriller – Technothrillers
Urban
War & Military
Westerns
Women’s
Women’s – Fantasy
Women’s – Graphic Novels
Women’s – Historical Fiction
Women’s – Historical Romance
Women’s – Horror
Women’s – Mystery
Women’s – Science Fiction
Women’s – Thriller &
Suspense
YA – Action & Adventure
YA – Animals
YA – Boys & Men
YA – Dystopian
YA – Fairy Tales & Folklore
YA – Family
YA – Fantasy
YA – Fashion & Beauty
YA – Girls & Women
YA – Historical
YA – Humorous
YA – Law & Crime
YA – Legends, Myths, Fables
YA – Literary & Coming of
Age
YA – Mystery & Thrillers
YA – People & Places
YA – Poetry
YA – Romance
YA – Science Fiction
YA – Social Themes
YA – Thrillers & Suspense
Arts
Animals
Anthologies – Nonfiction
Biographies
Body, Mind & Spirit – Afterlife & Reincarnation
Body, Mind & Spirit – Angels & Spirit Guides
Body, Mind & Spirit – Astrology 
Body, Mind & Spirit – Divination 
Body, Mind & Spirit – Healing 
Body, Mind & Spirit – Meditation
Body, Mind & Spirit – Parapsychology 
Business – Careers 
Business – E-Commerce
Business – Entrepreneurship
Business – Industries 
Business – Labor 
Business – Marketing 
Business – Real Estate
Business – Sales & Selling
Business  Leadership – Business Communication
Business  Leadership – Industry Expertise
Business  Leadership – Leadership & Management
Business  Leadership – Professional Growth
Business  Leadership – Psychology & Mindset
Business  Leadership – Women in Business
Business  Leadership – Work Culture
Business  Leadership – Harassment & Discrimination
Children’s – Activity Books
Children’s – Animals 
Children’s – Crafts & Hobbies
Children’s – Family 
Children’s – Games & Activities
Children’s – History
Children’s – Holidays 
Children’s – Learning & Educational
Children’s – People & Places
Children’s – Science & Nature
Conservation & Environment
Crafts & hobbies
Education & Learning
Entertainment
Fitness & Dieting – Diet & Nutrition
Fitness & Dieting – Exercise
Fitness & Dieting – Guides & How-Tos
Fitness & Dieting – Massage & Reflexology
Fitness & Dieting – Weight Loss
Fitness & Dieting – Yoga
Food & Drink – Beverages, Wine, Beer & Spirits
Food & Drink – Cookbooks
Food & Drink – Courses & Dishes
Food & Drink – Food & Travel
Food & Drink – Health & Healing
Food & Drink – Vegan
Health & Wellness – Addiction & Recovery
Health & Wellness – Alternative Medicine
Health & Wellness – Medical
Health & Wellness – Mental Health
Health & Wellness – Psychology
Health & Wellness – Sexual Health
History
Humor
LGBTQ+
Memoirs – Confessional
Memoirs – Personal
Memoirs – Portrait
Memoirs – Professional
Memoirs – Public
Memoirs – Transformational
Memoirs – Travel
Money
Outdoors
Parenting  
Politics & Government – Corruption & Issues
Politics & Government – Ideologies & Doctrines
Politics & Government – International & World Politics
Politics & Government – Political Psychology
Politics & Government – Politicians & Leaders
Politics & Government – United States
Relationships – Family
Relationships – LGBTQ+
Relationships – Love & Marriage
Relationships – Race & Culture
Relationships – Sex 
Religion  – Buddhism
Religion  – Christianity
Religion  – Hinduism
Religion  – Islam
Religion  – Judaism
Science – Breakthroughs
Science – Futurism
Science – Medicine, Health & Wellness
Science – Technology
Self-Help  – Anxiety, Depression & Mental Health
Self-Help  – Happiness & Success
Self-Help  – Humor
Self-Help  – Inspiration
Self-Help  – Motivation
Self-Help  – Transformation
Self-Help  – Relationships & Communication
Self-Help  – Spirituality, New Age & Metaphysics
Society & Social Sciences – History & Theory
Society & Social Sciences – Human Rights & Political Movements
Society & Social Sciences – Race, Class, Culture & Religion
Spirituality – Agnosticism
Spirituality – Atheism
Spirituality – Meditation & Prayer
Spirituality – New Age
Spirituality – Occult & Paranormal
Sports 
Technology
Travel – Adventure & Destinations
Travel – Guides & Tours
Travel – Parks
Travel – Self Discovery & Travel Journals
True Crime
YA – Family
YA – History 
YA – People & Places
YA – Self-Help
YA – Social Issues
YA – Sport+A1:A119s & Recreation
Children’s Poetry
Collections & Anthologies Poetry
Contemporary Poetry
Cultural Poetry
Inspiration Poetry
Love Poetry
Modern Poetry
Nature Poetry
YA – Poetry
Book Series
Book Series – Children’s
Book Series – Fantasy
Book Series – Romance
Book Series – Mystery
Book Series – Nonfiction
Book Series – Sci-Fi
Book Series – Women’s
Book Series – YA
Amazon Author
Profile
Audio Book – Overall Presentation
Audio Book – Sound Quality
Audio Book – Voice Over
Book Cover – Overall Design
Book Cover – Illustration
Book Cover – Photography
Book Cover – Typography
Book Design
Social Media – Facebook
Social Media – GoodReads
Social Media – Instagram
Social Media – TikTok
Social Media – Twitter
Website – Overall Design
Website – Blog
Website – User Experience

Submission Pricing

  • One category = $74.99
  • Three categories = $174.99
  • Five categories = $249.99

If you wish to get two or four categories, you may initially purchase one or three respectively and then add an additional prorated ($58.99) category in your dashboard by clicking the button on your submission that says, “Purchase additional categories”.

Other Fees: There is a $25 shipping fee if you need to submit physical copies of your book for the awards. This fee is to cover shipping cost of your book to our judges. You will need to send three copies of your book to the address provided via email after checkout. Note all books need to be shipped via USPS. If your book is in one of the following categories it is exempt from this additional charge: children’s, juvenile, nonfiction arts, comics, and any books that are in book cover or book design categories.

The BookFest Giveaway
We do giveaways for each of The BookFest events to promote books submitted for the awards and books from our speakers. These giveaways are widely advertised on social media and about 30,000 people see these ads.
Books that are physically submitted are generally included automatically, but if you are submitting digital only you can send in your book(s) to be included in The BookFest book giveaway for $10. You will need to select the $10 option for shipping at checkout to participate. You will also need to ship us two copies of your book prior to the submission deadline to be included. This is an optional add-on.
Note, juvenile and children’s books may be sent in for the giveaway at no additional charge.

How to submit your book for The BookFest Book Awards

(Detailed instructions)

We at The BookFest take security and privacy very seriously. As a result, our book award submission process is a little different than most. So here are the detailed instructions on submitting your book. Yes, it’s a lot of information but it’s not as difficult as it looks.

Decide on number of categories
The first thing you need to decide is how many categories you would like. You can view the full list of categories above. Once you have decided, click the “Enter Your Book” button above.

Add submission to cart
This will take you to the product page. Select the appropriate number of categories from the dropdown and enter the full title of your book. Then click add to cart.

Preview your order and add coupon if applicable
This will take you to the cart preview screen. Make sure you add your coupon code on this screen if you have one and click the “Apply Coupon” button. Check that the total to verify that it has decreased indicating that the coupon was applied. Next click “Proceed to checkout” button.

Payment
This will bring you to the payment screen. Completing the payment process will automatically create a BookFest account for you if you do not already have one linked to the email address you use at checkout. It will also add an award entry or entries your account with the appropriate number of categories.

As soon as you complete the checkout process you will be sent an email from our team that verifies your purchase and that you can reply to if you run into any issues. We are always here if you need anything. If you have opted to ship books to us instead of uploading it, we will reach out to you with the mailing address after your awards submission has been completed.

Log in to The BookFest
To complete your award submissions go to your “Dashboard” (link at the top of the page). You must be logged in to see the “Dashboard” menu option. If you do not see the Dashboard link after checkout go to the home page by clicking The BookFest logo at the top right of the page. Note: If you are logged out click the “Log in” menu option at the top of the page. If you have forgotten your password, you can click the link under the login box “Lost your password?” to reset it.

Complete your submission
In your dashboard you will see “My Award Entries” Click on “Edit Award Entry”.

Uploading your cover image (needs to be JPEG or PNG file 1080px tall or larger). Upload your book interior file (needs to be PDF or ePub file under 25MB). Complete the required fields on the form and any other optional field you would like as well. Remember, we use this optional information to make your award post on The BookFest website should you place. So, adding social media links, additional links to purchase your book, or find you online will help BookFesters discover you. (Note: Your book file and personal information is not made available to the public or other users on The BookFest site.)

Next Choose Award Categories. Select the category or categories that you would like to submit your book in.

Click Save, to save your work. You can go back and make changes or add links etc. later if you need to.
Next click the blue link “Preview This Submission” on your dashboard under your award entry. Here you can verify the cover you uploaded looks good. If it is pixelated, please go back to Edit Award and upload a higher resolution image. 
Verify your interior file looks good. You can also verify that all of your links work as expected by clicking on them. Note, make sure to include https:// or http:// as appropriate at the beginning of your link or your links will not work properly. Last but not least you can click on your book file to verify it uploaded properly.

Submitting multiple books
If you are submitting multiple books you will need to add them individually to your cart. i.e. One book title, 5 categories will only let you add five categories to a single book. Not five book, one category each. If you add multiple book titles to your cart and complete the checkout process you will see multiple awards entries to complete in your dashboard. Keep in mind that all of the books will be linked to the one account. If you are submitting on behalf of other people and you want them to have access to their own accounts, you will need to process the purchase individually using the appropriate email address and contact info for each.

Issues completing your award submission?
If you have any issues completing your award submission, please reply to our support team via email. You will receive an email from them after checkout. If you have questions but have not completed checkout you can contact us by clicking the “Contact Us” button at the bottom of the page. Our team is standing by to assist you.