Winners and Distinguished Favorites

get National Media & Industry Exposure!

Open to mid-size and small press; self-published; independent publishers & authors

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NOW ACCEPTING BOOKS DIGITALLY*:

Complete online form, pay online and

send your PDF or .epub to: 

Gabby@IndependentPressAward.com

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DON'T KEEP IT A SECRET - INDUSTRY AWARDS AND REVIEWS CAN HELP SELL BOOKS.  PROMOTE YOU'RE AN AWARD WINNER OR DISTINGUISHED FAVORITE!

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The INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD's mission is to find the best book: elements include structure, writing style, value of prose or information, design cover, interior; if fiction, character, plot, how it develops etc.; does it have certain elements of a quality published book, for example, a Library of Congress page, marketability of the title, etc.).  Only one winner can be chosen. Distinguished Favorites are not automatic and must have a compelling reason to be recognized, such as subject matter, author significance, or another presented reason to make their case for its importance.

 

As a Winner or Distinguished Favorite comes with many benefits.  We want to showcase your award-winning title, and help you get in front of your audience. We help you with your award-winning book and provide a number of items including free Winner or Distinguished Favorite (2nd place) banners in two different sizes (300x250 and 728x90 are typically supplied, if you need another size, ask please, customization is a charge.); free digital certificate of recognition which can be printed on any paper size; we list your title in our Announcement issue (40,000 digital copies, some print); free second listing of author & title in our Holiday Gift Guide or Last Minute Gifts (40,000 digital); free press release template that you can customize, and will even help you get the word out! In addition, you can purchase self-adhesive seals to put on each book you have already printed. 

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We promote on trade sites, emarketing, social media, advertising and send press releases that often result in coverage for winners and favorites.  We have satisfied authors who appreciate our support.  Lastly, check out our promotion page to help get additional exposure to key book buying audiences, discounted magazine and billboard advertising, and even videos and reels.  Books recognized as a Winner or Distinguished Favorite of the Independent Press Award® is a celebrated honor given by industry experts, and you'll want everyone to know!  

Three ways to enter:

1. Complete online form, pay online, mail book directly from Amazon or other retailer (no printing out of forms)

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2. Complete offline, mail check, form and book (for credit cards, use PayPal) 

 

3. Complete online form, pay online, and email your PDF or .epub file to: Gabby@IndependentPressAward.com

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AWARD RULES  

Books Eligible - Next DEADLINE is November 30, 2024. All books must be received by 12/30/24.

• Any book submitted is subject to eligibility of the Independent Press Award® selection committee.

• All books requested are to be in final published print form except Audiobooks.

• All titles should have an ISBN or ASIN or universal product code.

• Although we accept earlier published work since we are most concern with content, essentially all books submitted are published in the past three years.

• Unless you are emailing a PDF or epub file to:  Gabby@IndependentPressAward.com​​​  Please submit two copies of your book for entry into two or more categories. For a single-category entry, one copy is sufficient. Use a single form for each book entry, even if it's entered in multiple categories. Pay the entry fee according to the number of categories entered. 

• We reserve the right to move books into another category if it seems appropriate. 

• Independent Press Award® is open to all English language books that are available for sale wherever good books are sold both online and in bookstores.  

• The Independent Press Award is for independently published books by an author or a larger, mid-size, small press. Only books published by the Big 5 book house publishers: Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, or Simon & Schuster are not eligible to apply, although imprints may submit.  These Big Five main houses must apply for the FALL NYC Big Book Award, nycbigbookaward.com

• Any and all publishers and authors are eligible to enter into our FALL program as well, NYC Big Book Award, see website nycbigbookaward.com for details on deadlines and entry fee.

• We accept audiobooks in any category.  For audiobooks only, you can include a redeemable Audible code or similar service for us to redeem and download.

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Book Submissions

• Book submissions are not complete until you receive email confirmation from the Independent Press Award®.  Books must be received by the published deadline to be considered, and any book received after deadline will be automatically considered for the next year's judging process.  

• Book submissions cannot be returned. Each entry should contain the official entry form, including your e-mail address and contact telephone number. 

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Independent Press Award® Refund Policy

All sales are final. There are no refunds. Only appropriate submissions will be eligible to enter the contest. Independent Press Award® therefore reserves the right to refuse any material for any reason.

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Notifications and Deadlines of Winners and Distinguished Favorite 

Receipt of every book entry will be acknowledged via e-mail within 2 weeks and will announce the winning entries on our website.

In addition, Winners and Distinguished Favorite in each category will be notified by e-mail.

Thank you for applying to the Independent Press Award®!

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ENTRY FEES AND DEADLINE

$125.00 per entry/per category, then $75 for each additional book entry/category

• All monies must be in U.S. Dollars

• Please send one copy of the book per category entered. 

  • Go to the Categories page, or click on link here to view the:

  • OFFICIAL CATEGORIES OF THE ANNUAL INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARDS®

• You can put all the categories in which you submit on one submission form but be sure to copy the submission form and put it in each book you submit in each category. 

• All titles should have an ISBN and be published books for sale available on Amazon.com or major retailers,

• Next DEADLINE: November 30, 2024. Final deadline to receive books is 12/30/24, this final deadline will NOT be extended.

• Winners and Finalists are notified by February, official announcement is March 20, 2025.

• All submissions are final. 

• We may require a hard copy if you book was submitted digitally.

• There are no refunds.

(All international checks or money orders must have “USD” or “US Dollar” pre-printed on the check/money order.)

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Please include proof of Paypal or check with your entry submission, unless applying online (You can have your book sent without any paperwork.)

Please make checks payable to: “Independent Press Award” (or to pay by credit card, use pay pal button on this page) and mail to:

Independent Book Award

Attn: Gabby Olczak

63 Clinton Road

Glen Ridge, NJ  07028​​

(973) 969-1899

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About the Independent Press Award 

We started the Independent Press Award for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to help independent publishers gain more attention and to better purvey their content to a larger audience.  We have individually met with thousands of publishers, distributors, and authors face to face, and have seen their lists of published work for years.  We have discovered worthy independent presses and authors publishing for years without much notice, and were able to bring to a larger book buying audience in our other roles.  We have crisscrossed the nation (and in some cases even the globe) where we found many individual books that were well worth promoting, and may have never found their audience as quickly as they did without our help.  We plan to continue our work with the Independent Press Award.

The Independent Press Award applies a number of criteria in judging a book, and some are more subjective than others in it's interpretation.  We draw upon our relationships of literally thousands of contacts that like us have a vast knowledge of the marketplace, and the diversity and breath of publishing to give a framework to the decision-making process.  Judging is done by committee and point system.  We make every effort to bring a fairness and high standard to every book we judge, hence why we have known industry leaders advise us in the awards.  The names and contact information of judges will not be made public to respect their privacy, but feel free to LinkedIn with us, as we open our contacts for all to see.  We recognize that some books have outstanding qualities in every category but reserve the right to limit those that are designated “Winner.”  To that point, often there is more than one category a book excels, and believe these books are due their just deserve, so the notable category of “Distinguished Favorite” has been designed for such recognition.

Books that are recognized as Distinguished Favorite are so competitive in many ways that the difference between the Winner and Distinguished Favorite books can be small.

The bottom line is that being recognized as a Distinguished Favorite is a high honor and something about which any author can and should be justifiably proud.

Readers recognize that Distinguished Favorite books are worthy of their attention and their book-buying dollars.

All submitted books, except the winners, are donated to veterans groups, Boy Scouts of America book drives and the local libraries in Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair and Newark, New Jersey.