ANNUAL BOOK AWARD CONTESTContest Deadline - April 1, 2025

It’s a fact. Awards grant instant credibility and influence book sellers and buyers alike!
Book Award Contest Seals
17th Annual Award Contest Deadline in...
Contestants range from first-time authors to New York Times bestsellers and celebrities!
Jim Carrey Gold Book Award, How Roland Rolls
Jim Carrey sports his Readers' Favorite Gold Medal for “How Roland Rolls.”
Contest Features
  • Chance to win one of $125,000 in prizes just for entering.
  • Chance to have your book made into a movie or TV show.
  • Chance to be published by an award winning traditional publisher.
  • Chance to be represented by a leading author marketing and PR firm.
  • Chance to be represented by a leading literary management company.
  • Additional award competition for illustrated books and covers.
  • More features including a book review, award ceremony, and publicity.

RESPECTED BOOK AWARD CONTEST

Book Contest Award Winning Author

Become an award-winning author! Book awards grab the attention of bookstores, publishers, libraries and readers, which can translate into increased sales. If you place in our contest you will be able to add your Readers' Favorite award seal to your book and all other marketing materials as well as identify your book as an "award-winning book" and you as an "award-winning author."

We accept manuscripts, published and unpublished books, eBooks, audiobooks, comic books, poetry books and short stories in 150+ genres. We do not have a word count restriction or a publication date requirement, which means it does not matter when or if your book was published. We are an international competition, but your work must be in English.

We receive thousands of entries from all over the world. Because of these large submission numbers, we are able to break down our contest into 150+ genres, and each genre is judged separately, ensuring you only compete against books of your specific genre for a fairer and more accurate competition. We receive submissions from independent authors, small publishers, and publishing giants such as Random House, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, with contestants that range from the first-time, self-published author to New York Times bestsellers like J.A. Jance, James Rollins, and #1 best-selling author Daniel Silva, as well as celebrity authors like Jim Carrey (Bruce Almighty), Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek) and Henry Winkler (Happy Days).

Carew Papritz discuses his Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal on Virginia This Morning.

Carew Papritz discusses his Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal on Virginia This Morning.

Diana Hart discusses her Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal on Calgary Breakfast Television

Diana Hart discusses her Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal on Calgary Breakfast Television.

Gold Medal winner Landau Murphy Jr. gives a surprise performance at our Awards Ceremony

Gold winner Landau Murphy Jr. gives a surprise performance at our Awards Ceremony.

Authors mingle at our Friday night Meet & Greet like Harlem Globetrotter Kevin Daley

Authors mingle at our Friday night Meet & Greet, like Harlem Globetrotter Kevin Daley.

After our Meet & Greet authors receive advice from experts in the film and literary industry

After our Meet & Greet authors receive advice from experts in the film and literary industry.

Saturday authors see their books in our booth at the fair then its on to the Awards Ceremony

Saturday authors see their books in our booth at the fair then its on to the Awards Ceremony.

Nearly 300 authors and guests attend the Readers' Favorite International Book Awards Ceremony in Miami each year from as far away as Pakistan, Australia, Brazil, Peru, Switzerland, Singapore, India, the UK and more. Guest speakers have been industry experts and celebrities including Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky & Hutch), Eriq La Salle (E.R., Coming to America) and Dete Meserve, president of Wind Dancer films (Home Improvement, What Women Want).

Authors are recognized on stage and presented with physical award medals, then mingle and enjoy a buffet dinner. Staff photographers take free photos of the authors on stage and in front of our awards backdrop. Media is often present taking pictures, video and interviewing authors.

BOOK CONTEST BONUS FEATURES

Special Bonus Opportunities

Over the years, we have caught the eye of industry leaders who have graciously offered to support our contest by providing their services to our contestants. Our contestants now have a chance for the opportunity to have their book made into a movie or TV show, to be published by a multi award-winning publisher, to be represented by a renowned publicist, and to be represented by a renowned literary agent. All of these opportunities are included free of charge with your entry into our book award contest.

Wind Dancer Films

Wind Dancer Films is an independent motion picture and television production company that has generated over $4 billion in revenue from film and television properties the company has created and produced, like the hit TV series "Home Improvement" and movies like "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. We are excited to announce that Wind Dancer Films has partnered with Readers' Favorite to provide our authors with the unprecedented opportunity of having their work considered for possible film or TV production!

In addition to entrants from publishing giants like Random House and HarperCollins, the Readers' Favorite award contest is also attracting an increasing number of contestants from the film industry such as Henry Winkler (Happy Days), Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky & Hutch), Jim Carrey (Liar, Liar) and Dete Meserve, president of Wind Dancer Films.

Dete Meserve entered her book "Good Sam" in our contest and attended our awards ceremony in Miami. She was so impressed with the caliber of our award-winning authors and their writing that she has agreed to evaluate 10 of our contest award-winners each year for possible film or TV production by her company! This is an incredible opportunity for 10 lucky authors. The chances of getting a book read by a studio like Wind Dancer Films through normal channels is so incredibly minute, that it is simply not possible for 99.9 percent of authors today. That is why this offer from Dete Meserve and Wind Dancer Films is so extraordinary.

The needs of a TV and film production company are very dynamic and change constantly to reflect the tastes of audiences. Consequently, we cannot predict the genre and types of stories Wind Dancer Films will be looking for each year. In late August, when we are finalizing our winners, they will tell us what genres and types of stories they are currently looking for. At that time we will select the 10 best books from our contest that meet their criteria and contact the authors on September 1st, which is also when we announce our final contest winners and results.

This opportunity is completely free as a contestant in our contest and there are no fees if you are chosen to have your book considered by Wind Dancer Films (Please do not contact Dete Meserve or Wind Dancer Films directly, as they do not accept unsolicited material). Good luck!

Headline Books

Headline Books is an acclaimed independent publisher that has been helping authors succeed for over 33 years. They maintain a small number of authors so they can provide personalized attention in a team effort to get them noticed. Their authors are as varied as their books and range from first time writers to renowned authors and celebrities. Combined, their authors' books have won hundreds of national awards, have been optioned for film production and one was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Headline Books has been submitting their author’s books to Readers’ Favorite for review and consideration in our contest for years and have been impressed with the quality of our award-winning authors. As a result, Cathy Teets, president of Headline Books, has offered to select and evaluate 10 of our award-winning authors each year for possible publication through Headline Books. They publish all genres and even have a Headline Kids division specifically for the children’s book market.

The 10 winners will be notified on September 1st when the results of our contest are announced. This opportunity is completely free and complimentary with your entry in our contest. There are no fees to have your book or manuscript evaluated by Headline Books if you are chosen for consideration, and you are not obligated to accept a publishing offer. Good luck!

Allen Media Strategies

Allen Media Strategies is one of the nation's premier media, marketing and public relations firms, focusing on communications consulting and strategy including comprehensive television, radio, print and online media relations services. Allen Media Strategies is proud to work with both New York Times best-selling authors and self-published/indie authors to help get their work noticed. Our publisher clients include Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, Thomas Nelson, Scholastic, St. Martin's and more.

Allen Media Strategies author clients have appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, David Letterman, Howard Stern, CNN, Fox and Friends, Bill O' Reilly, Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Anderson Cooper Show, The Talk, The View, Wendy Williams, Ryan Seacrest, Rachel Ray, The New York Times, The New York Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post and hundreds of other leading media outlets.

Landau Murphy Jr - From Washing Cars to Hollywood Star

Burke Allen, CEO of Allen Media Strategies, traveled with one of his clients to the Readers' Favorite Awards Ceremony in Miami. His client, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., winner of America's Got Talent and Readers' Favorite award-winner, gave an impromptu concert for our authors. They both had such a great time at the event with our authors that Mr. Allen offered to help by agreeing to evaluate 10 of our award contest winners each year for possible representation by his company.

The 10 winners will be chosen at random and all ten lucky authors will receive a Publicity Primer package, which is an incredible brain-dump of information that will show you step-by-step how to orchestrate an effective P.R. campaign to help you sell thousands of copies of your book and land you guest appearances on major television and radio shows around the globe.

This combination audio and text package includes one-on-one interviews with Allen Media Strategies CEO Burke Allen, who reveals all the nuts and bolts of successful P.R. and marketing campaigns in an easy to follow program. You’ll also receive dozens of supporting documents and audio tutorials from book publishers, morning radio producers, on air hosts, national television guests and much more.

One lucky author will be selected for a special 90-day representation by Allen Media Strategies. During this period, they will work with CEO Burke Allen and his team to relaunch their book. This three-month campaign will include message development, a SWOT analysis, press release, targeted email pitches, online asset review and more, all customized to the author’s specifics needs and overseen by CEO Burke Allen and his experienced team of media professionals.

Testimonial from Lisa Maxbauer Price

I'm so grateful to have found Allen Media Strategies through Readers' Favorite. Burke Allen and his team worked tirelessly to break through the noise in the media landscape and get my award-winning children's book, Squash Boom Beet, the attention it needed. They landed me an invaluable and lengthy television feature that aired throughout my state and helped take my book to the next level.

Lisa Maxbauer Price, 90-day representation winner and author of "Squash Boom Beet."

The winners will be notified on September 1st when the results of our contest are announced. This opportunity is completely free and complimentary with your entry in our contest. Good luck!

Folio Literary Management

Folio Literary Management is a full-service, mid-sized agency, located in the heart of Manhattan. With over 15 agents who are some of the most productive in the business, Folio combines the expertise, experience, and strength of a larger firm with the passion and ingenuity of a boutique agency.

Folio represents a wide range of adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction, from first-time authors to worldwide bestsellers and major award-winners. Folio is proud to offer a full complement of literary services and is dedicated to supporting its authors across all platforms, working with them to make each book a success. For everyone at Folio, their work isn’t a job — it’s a passion and an adventure that they’re excited to embark on each day.

Frank Weimann.jpg

Readers’ Favorite is proud and excited to be able to provide the opportunity of possible representation by Frank Weimann of Folio Literary Management to contestants in our annual International Book Award Contest!

Mr. Weimann, Senior Vice President and Director of Operations for Folio Literary Management, has agreed to evaluate 10 Readers’ Favorite Award Winners for possible representation. With nearly 3 decades of literary management experience he has worked with celebrities, athletes, and novelists, as well as Pulitzer, Caldecott, Nobel Prize and Medal of Honor winners. His clients range from debut and indie authors to icons and bestsellers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gregg Allman, Laura Prepon, Homer Hickam, and Dan Abrams. In addition to book sales, he has optioned many books for film and TV production, including "October Sky," "Flags of Our Fathers," and "I Heard You Paint Houses," the basis for the upcoming film "The Irishman," directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci.

The 10 authors selected by Mr. Weimann will be notified on September 1st when the results of our contest are announced. This opportunity is completely free and complimentary with your entry in our contest. There are no fees to have your book evaluated by Folio Literary Management if you are chosen for consideration, and you are not obligated to accept any offer for representation. Good luck!

Additional competition for illustrated books and covers

The Readers' Favorite Illustration Award recognizes books with quality illustrations in two ways: Award for Best Cover Illustration and Award for Best Illustrated Book. All illustration types and genres are welcome (no photographs). Whether your book is a children's picture book or an Non-Fiction Memoir, if your illustration artwork is original, created by you or an artist you hired, you can enter your book to compete for this additional award. The Illustration Award is a separate award, which may be won by itself or in conjunction with a standard Gold, Silver, Bronze, Honorable mention or Finalist award in your primary contest category.

Illustration Book Award Seal

All entries are judged by Mark Wayne Adams, a multiple award-winning illustrator who has worked as an artist for Disney and Sea World. He is currently the CEO of an illustration and publishing company, and is the former president of the Florida Authors and Publishers Association.

One winner will be chosen for Best Cover Illustration and one winner will be chosen for Best Illustrated Book in each of six genres: Children, Young Adult, Christian, Fiction, Non-Fiction and Graphic Novel/Comic. All Best Illustrated Book entries will receive a scoring sheet from Mark on six key elements of their illustrations and how well they work with the story. We do not provide a scoring sheet for entries that only have a cover illustration. The winners will be listed at the top of our Award Winners page (click the Award Winners link under the search bar at the top of our website) and receive a Mini-Critique of their book, as well as all of the other applicable benefits that our regular contest winners receive.

Book Award Winner Presentation

Winners receive a digital 16x22 inch Illustration Award certificate beautifully illustrated by Mark Wayne Adams. Winners who attend the Awards Ceremony will be presented with a framed copy of their certificate on stage by Mark Wayne Adams.

Winners also receive a digital Illustration Award seal and a free roll of 250 1.5 inch embossed Illustration Award stickers ($50 value). Additional rolls and larger 2 inch stickers are also available. In addition, Mark will announce the winners through his vast network of readers, authors, publishers, and other literaray professionals.

The Illustration Award is part of our regular Award Contest and follows the same time line, which means winners will be announced on September 1st. If you would like to compete for this award, you will need to compete in the regular Award Contest as well by selecting at least one category for your book to compete in, then you will be able to add the Illustration Award ($65) option to your entry. You will automatically compete for the Illustration Award for both Cover Illustration and Illustrated Book for the one payment of $65.

NOTE: If no book in a genre meets Mark's standards for the Illustration Award, no award will be given in that genre. Because of the potential for more than one book to receive the same winning score, more than one award may be given in each genre.

BOOK CONTEST BONUS PRIZES

Win one of $125,000 in prizes just for entering

All authors are automatically entered to win one of more than 270 prizes worth a combined total of $125,000 just by entering the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest. Prizes are generously donated by industry experts who support our contest and our authors. Winners are picked at random, and it does not matter how many categories you entered or whether you won an award or not. Prize winners will be announced on September 1st along with the contest results.


Allen Media Strategies is one of the nation's premier media, marketing and public relations firms, focusing on communications consulting and strategy including comprehensive television, radio, print and online media relations services. Their author clients have appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, David Letterman, Howard Stern, CNN, Fox and Friends, Bill O' Reilly, Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Anderson Cooper Show, The Talk, The View, Wendy Williams, Ryan Seacrest, Rachel Ray, The New York Times, The New York Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post and hundreds of other leading media outlets. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating $6,000 in book marketing prizes.

Author’s Publishing Publicity Primer – $3,000 value
  • Becoming Semi-Famous manual and workbook-step by step P.R. and media strategies to get you on the air and online
  • Complete listing of Top 20 Talk Radio Topics
  • Becoming Semi-Famous two hour audio download with bonuses
  • Publicity Primer Step By Step Audio Training-Hours of Specific Training
  • Seven 60 minute podcasts with P.R. experts from TV, radio, authors, etc.
  • Subscription to AMS "Talent Tips" white paper newsletter
  • Radio format worksheet with breakdown by demographics
  • Personal media training session
  • 1 guaranteed net radio interview/podcast including link

2 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $3,000.

Leaders Press has shared more than 500 entrepreneurs’ stories with the world and 220 of them became USA Today or Wall Street Journal best-selling authors. Leaders Press distributes books traditionally via a distribution agreement with Simon & Schuster and offers many services like marketing, ghostwriting, distribution and orchestrating USA Today best-selling launches. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating a $6,000 slot in their USA Today best-seller program.

USA Today Anthology Slot - $6,000 Value
  • You will join other talented authors in creating an anthology that we market heavily to the USA Today best-seller list.
  • You will be able to proudly include "USA Today best-selling author" on all your book covers, in your email signature, Linked-In profile, business cards and marketing materials. In addition, USA Today best-seller status helps you stand out among your peers and as a speaker, it also makes you more interesting to agents and traditional publishers.

Readers’ Favorite has been selected as the official review company for BookBaby, one of the world’s largest digital book publishers and distributors for self-published authors. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating $5,000 in book publishing prizes.

The Complete Self-Publishing Package - $2,190 value
  • Custom Printed Books: Includes 25 printed books (300 pg, 6x9, softcover, black interior).
  • Print On Demand (POD): When readers order your book, we print and ship your book straight to them.
  • BookShop sales page.
  • Expert eBook Conversion.
  • Cover Design and interior formatting.
  • Printed book distribution.
  • Global eBook Distribution.
  • Two ISBNs included.

2 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $2,190. Winner is responsible for all costs over $2,190 (taxes, shipping, etc.).

eBook Conversion - $99 value
  • Manuscript conversion.
  • Graphics conversion.
  • eBook proof.
  • Quality control check.
  • Free customer service support.

6 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $99. Winner is responsible for all costs over $99 (taxes, shipping, etc.).

Headline Books is an acclaimed independent publisher that has been helping authors succeed for over 33 years. Their authors are as varied as their books and range from first-time writers to renowned authors and celebrities. Combined, their authors' books have won hundreds of national awards, have been optioned for film production, and one was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating $5,000 in marketing prizes.

Zoom Into Books Presentation - $500 value

Zoom Into Books is an online program series featuring authors and illustrators discussing their craft, which is a wonderful way for people to meet you and hear about your book(s). In addition to the excellent exposure, it is also a powerful marketing tool. Sales can be directed to your website or wherever you specify. We have interviewed award-winning authors, bestselling NYT authors and celebrities.

  • 30-60 minute interview plus Q & A and optional author supplied PowerPoint presentation.
  • Live streamed to your Facebook Page, Zoom Into Books and Headline Books Facebook page and other pages on request.
  • Author supplied media links used to tag on Facebook.
  • One Facebook Boost of your Live Event.
  • YouTube video on Zoom Into Books YouTube Channel which is marketed to Libraries, Schools, Book Clubs and more.
  • One practice session if requested.

10 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $500.

Since 2002, Outskirts Press has helped thousands of authors develop & publish tens-of-thousands of high-quality books with their exceptional design, printing, publishing, distribution, and book marketing services. They are the A+ rated and #1 rated self-publishing company according to the Better Business Bureau and Top Consumer Reviews, respectively, because they deliver outstanding customer service, affordable pricing, industry-leading royalties, and a team of hands-on, US-based publishing experts. In short, they take the complexity and guesswork out of book publishing & marketing. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating over $5,500 in book marketing prizes.

Book Marketing Specialist - $349 value

In today’s market, it can be tough to know where to focus your efforts in order to effectively market your book. This prize includes five hours of one-on-one assistance with an Outskirts Press Book Marketing Specialist to help you...

  • Develop a marketing plan specifically for your book.
  • Identify venues for productive book signings & events.
  • Create or enhance your author social media platform.
  • Launch lead-gen programs and then follow-up on leads.
  • and much more!

6 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $349.

Book Video Trailer & Distribution – $599 value

A Book Video Trailer is a slick, creative way to showcase your work and market your book effectively to a wide audience. They are the most portable of marketing tools and are easily shared across all major social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and elsewhere. They can also be embedded into blog posts or the link distributed by email.

Your Book Video Trailer will be approximately 1 minute in length including 10-12 static images, your book cover, and 10 text slides comprised of approximately 4-10 words each. In addition to being very entertaining and informative, your Book Video Trailer will receive high visibility distribution on the Outskirts Press YouTube channel.

6 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $599.

For over a decade Entrada Publishing has been helping authors perfect their books and getting them into readers’ hands everywhere. They specialize in beta reading, editorial reviews, and custom marketing plans to fit any author’s budget. Entrada Publishing supports our award contest with over $18,000 in prizes.

Proofreading Service - $3,000 value

1 winner will receive a professional Proofread of their book (up to 400 pages). Our editors will work to find and correct all those pesky typos, grammar issues and formatting problems to make your book as perfect as possible.

Editing and Proofreading - $5,000 value

1 winner will receive a professional Edit and Proofread of their book (up to 400 pages). Combining a professional level edit and proofread will take the quality of your book to the next level.

Expedited Editorial Review - $389 value

20 winners will receive an Expedited Editorial Review of their book. Similar to Kirkus, only faster, cheaper and with more feedback, our editorial reviews help sell your book with quotable blurbs appropriate to use on your cover, eCommerce sites (like Amazon, BN, etc.), social media and author pages.

Beta Reading - $150 value

20 winners will receive a Beta Reading for a current or new book. Find out what readers really think about your book, before you publish. Find plot holes, fix pacing and more with feedback from real readers. Our beta readers are reliable, on time and read every word of your manuscript to tell you what they loved, hated and what could be improved.

The Authors Show is a professional audio and video book marketing company offering authors services like a professional level interview to help market their work. They are one of the most popular Internet radio shows (podcast) for authors in existence today, enjoying extremely high ranking. The Authors Show supports our award contest by graciously donating $7,200 in book audio marketing prizes.

Media Marketing Package - $1,200 value

Danielle Hampson, Executive Producer of The Authors Show, is a regular speaker to our award-winning authors at our annual Readers' Favorite Awards Ceremony in Miami about the importance of being prepared for your media appearances. She created this package to help you create a powerful radio interview that will help get you noticed and improve your sales.

Online Radio Interview Program (Podcast)
  • Professional Podcast Interview & MP3 recording for your marketing.
  • 12 Months Interview Archiving plus Featured Rebroadcasts.
  • 12 Months Daily Marketing Outreach & Weekly publicity.
  • 12 Months Dedicated Web Page for your interview & book.
  • 12 Months Media & Social Media Platform Package.
Search Engine Optimization/Amazon Page Optimization

Your choice of a search optimization of your website or of your Amazon page to help you appear in more search results and maximize the promotion from your radio broadcasts.

1 Hour Media Coaching Session

Executive Producer Danielle Hampson will prepare you for your interview on The Authors Show and will also coach you on how to best present yourself for interviews on traditional and online broadcasting platforms.

6 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $1,200.

AtriTex Technologies has been specializing in eBook Conversions for over a decade. They create digital conversions to the highest industry and professional standards. They always ensure each conversion is perfect and that it meets the author’s expectations in every way. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating $5,000 in professional eBook Conversions.

Standard Conversion for Kindle, iPad, Nook, and other major readers - $400 value
  • We will hand-code (no automated programs) your Word Document/PDF book to create a high quality digital version of your book for Kindle, iPad, Nook, Apple and Android and all other major platforms. Your conversions will not only work with the newest Readers and Apps but will also be backwards compatible.
  • The conversions will have all the navigational bells and whistles like linked TOCs, Weblinks, internal crosslinks, etc.
  • We provide instructions to help you upload your digital book to the major digital bookstores like Amazon, Apple’s iBoookstore, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Playstore, and more.

5 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $400 (up to 400 pages).

Fixed-Layout Conversion to Kindle, Kobo, iPad and Google - $600 value

The Fixed-Layout format is recommended for design oriented books like Cook books, Children's books, Travelogues and Coffee Table Books.

  • We will use your PDF/InDesign file(s) to create digital versions that are exact replicas of the printed book, maintaining the layout of your book exactly.
  • You will be able to upload your digital book to Apple's iBookstore, Kobo, Amazon's Kindle Store, and Google Play Books.

5 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $600 (up to 300 pages).

Authors Unite has been helping authors become successful for nearly a decade. They create custom marketing plans that have put their clients on the bestseller lists for Amazon, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. They strive to exceed the expectations of their authors by helping them sell thousands of copies of their books, landing them dozens to hundreds of podcast interviews, and growing their business with proven online marketing strategies. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating $15,000 in professional marketing services.

Book Launch Package - $7,500 value
  • Large email list campaigns.
  • Facebook advertisements.
  • Kindle advertisements.
  • Highly targeted.
  • 100% done for you.
  • Phone and email support.

2 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $7,500.

Helping authors increase sales since 2003, Stress Free Book Marketing is on the forefront of the ever-changing book industry. They specialize in online and traditional book marketing, social media, content creation, website creation, reviews, awards, promotions, mentoring and advanced distribution. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating over $5,000 in professional marketing analysis services.

Professional Book Marketing Assessment and Strategy - $395.00 value

Navigate your way to more book sales and learn which tools and strategies get you the best results. Stress Free Book Marketing will perform a complete marketing analysis with recommendations for your book. We evaluate how your book is currently positioned and recommend strategies customized for your book to help generate sales.

13 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $395.

Readers’ Favorite has been an outstanding resource for our authors. As the world’s first complete publishing platform with integrating marketing, branding and discoverability features, Bublish is proud to support Readers’ Favorite with $5400 in marketing and publishing prizes.

One-Year Subscription to Bublish’s Authorpreneur Dashboard, so you can:
  • Reach and engage more readers with Book Bubbles.
  • Track social engagement and conversions on your Dashboard.
  • Grow your author brand with your Bublish Author Profile.
  • Expand your fan base with Bublish’s automated “Follow” feature.
  • Gain exposure with Bublish’s retweet, Weekend Reader Marathon, Floating Bookstore and other weekly events.
  • Write your next book on Bublish. Share excerpts right from your manuscript.
  • Build pre-launch buzz and capture pre-orders with “rough-cut” book bubbles.
  • And so much more…

45 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $120.

A highly rated Partner Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, Aaxel Author Services offers turnkey solutions including editing, book production, publishing, audiobook production, marketing and more. We accompany authors through the self-publishing journey so that they enjoy all the benefits of independent publishing as well as a fully customized experience and the support of a team of readily accessible book professionals. Each year they support our award contest by graciously donating $9,000 in professional manuscript evaluations.

Full Manuscript Evaluation - $3,000 value

Treat your manuscript to a thorough and customized assessment conducted by experienced editors in all major genres. Each evaluation includes:

  • Comments throughout the manuscript.
  • A chapter-by-chapter assessment.
  • Concrete and detailed suggestions moving forward.
  • And a consultation call with the author.

3 prizes - each prize will be honored up to $3,000.

Readers' Favorite provides $31,000 of our services as prizes to our contest. If you win a Readers' Favorite service that you have already paid for, we will provide you with another prize of equal or greater value. Good luck!

  • Proofreading Service

    3 winners will receive a professional Proofread of their book. You can learn more about this service on our Writing Services page.

  • Editing + Proofreading Service

    3 winners will receive a professional Edit and Proofread of their book. You can learn more about this service on our Writing Services page.

  • Editing + Proofreading + Critique Service

    3 winners will receive a professional Edit, Proofread and Critique of their book. You can learn more about this service on our Writing Services page.

  • 2 Week Express Review

    20 winners will receive a 2 Week Express Review of their book. You can learn more about this service in the "BOOK REVIEW OPTIONS" section of our Book Reviews page.

  • 3 Express Reviews package

    20 winners will receive a 3 Express Reviews package for their book. You can learn more about this service in the "BOOK REVIEW OPTIONS" section of our Book Reviews page.

  • 5 Express Reviews package

    20 winners will receive a 5 Express Reviews package for their book. You can learn more about this service in the "BOOK REVIEW OPTIONS" section of our Book Reviews page.

  • Roll of high quality, embossed stickers

    20 winners will receive 1 roll of 250 1.5 inch embossed stickers for any award level or 5-star review.

  • One month promotion in our Featured Book rotator

    30 winners will receive 1 month in our Featured Book rotator, which is on our home page and on the left side of every Readers Section page on our site and rotates randomly through all our Featured Books. When a book cover is clicked, it will take the visitor to the book's Readers' Favorite review page.

BOOK AWARD CONTEST FEATURES

Due to our large submission numbers we are able to break down our contest into 150+ genres, where each genre is judged separately, ensuring you only compete against books of your particular genre for a more fair and accurate competition. We offer up to 5 award levels in each category: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Honorable Mention and Award Finalist.

Each winner and finalist will receive a personalized award certificate and a digital high-resolution version of their award seal or finalist seal for their book and other marketing materials as well as a web-optimized version for websites, blogs and social networking sites.

Gold, Silver, Bronze and Illustration Award winners will receive a free roll of 250 1.5 inch high quality, embossed award stickers ($50 value) to affix to copies of their book. These premium, professional looking stickers have a raised shiny layer and work wonderfully on book covers. Additional rolls or rolls for Honorable Mention and Finalist will also be available as well as larger 2 inch versions of all stickers.

Book Award Contest Seals

Winners and finalists are also invited to our Awards Ceremony during the week of the Miami Book Fair International, the largest book fair in America. Our Awards Ceremony will be held at the Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon, where we have organized a room discount for all our authors. Our Awards Ceremony is completely optional.

The hotel will provide free shuttle service to and from the Miami International Airport which is only a mile or two away. Although it is a large hotel, nearly everyone you meet or pass in the elevator will be a Readers' Favorite author or guest, making it easy and fun to make new friends.

We average nearly 300 authors and guests at our awards ceremony each year. All award winners and finalists will be brought up on stage to be recognized and have their picture taken. Gold, Silver and Bronze award winners will be presented with an Olympic-style Award Medal representing their particular award level. Guests will be able to take pictures along with Readers' Favorite photographers, who will be taking free photos of the authors on stage and in front of our awards backdrop.

Book Award Ceremony PresentationBook Award Ceremony Photo

We aggressively campaign to media outlets for their attendance to provide additional publicity for you and your book (although the attendance of some media is likely, we cannot guarantee it). We have been fortunate to have media at all our past Miami Award Ceremonies, including film crews and print media photographers and journalists.

Book Award Ceremony News CrewBook Award Ceremony Media

We will have a Meet & Greet on the Friday evening prior to our Saturday Awards Ceremony so authors can network, socialize and get acquainted. The Meet & Greet is attended by several hundred authors and guests and is held at the Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon.

During the Friday night Meet & Greet there will be a presentation by guest presenters with advice on various literary topics. These presenters are often contestants in the Readers' Favorite awards contest who are attending the Awards Ceremony themselves, and are asked to share their expertise with the other attending authors.

Past presenters include Leigh Cunningham-Executive Director of the Association of Independent Authors (AiA), Dete Meserve-president of Wind Dancer films (Home Improvement, What Women Want with Mel Gibson), Steven Spatz-President of BookBaby (industry leader in author services), Burke Allen-CEO of Allen Media Strategies (industry leading P.R. and media firm for authors), Eddie Price-marketing expert and successful self-published author, Darlene Chan-Hollywood publicist that specilizes in promoting independent authors, and Mark Wayne Adams-multiple award-winning illustrator, Readers' Favorite Illustration Award Judge, former Disney artist, and former president of the Florida Authors and Publishers Association.

Author Meet & GreetAuthor Expert Presenation, BookBaby

The Miami Book Fair International runs for a week in mid-November and features celebrities such as Madonna, bestselling novelist James Patterson, Tom Wolfe, Bill O'Reilly, and Molly Ringwald. The street fair portion is held the last 3 days of the book fair and will feature hundreds of booths manned by authors, publishers and other literary professionals. We will have a full booth all three days of the street fair, where we will display all the award-winning books from our contest to hundreds of thousands of visitors from school children to agents and publishers.

Miami Book Fair International, Readers' Favorite BoothMiami Book Fair International, crowd

If you are unable to make it to the book fair and Awards Ceremony in Miami, we will still display and sell your book in our booth, whether it is to an agent, publisher or consumer, which will help you gain more recognition and exposure.

St. Jude Children's Research Hostpial donation

In addition, 100 percent of all book sales are donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, as well as any unsold copies. We are the only vendor at the fair that donates all book fair proceeds to charity, which is popular among fairgoers and increases both the money earned for charity and attention for our authors' books.

5 Star Book Review Seal

If you do not already have a Readers' Favorite review for your book, we will provide you with one as part of your contest entry. Your review will be posted on our site, KOBO, Books-A-Million, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Your review will also be indexed by search engines like Google, which recognizes our reviews and formats them with their starred rating, just like Amazon and Goodreads. Additionally, our reviewers often post reviews to their blogs and social media sites.

All 5-star reviews receive a FREE "Five Stars" digital seal for your website and a high-resolution version for your book cover. Our seal can be seen on book covers from indie authors to iconic publishers like Simon & Schuster. All reviews come with a Readers' Favorite Review Page and a host of free features to help you promote your book and your new review.

Unsolicited testimonial from Nicky VanValkenburgh, self-published author

As a result of my Readers' Favorite Review Page, a journalist invited me to do a radio interview, which led to many other radio shows! Now I am networking and selling more books than I ever imagined! Thanks so much!

Unsolicited testimonial from Nicky VanValkenburgh, self-published author of "Train Your Brain, Transform Your Life"
All book review features are FREE
  • Review Page with features to get your book noticed.
  • Review listed in the Readers’ Favorite app for readers.
  • Review posted to popular websites and search engines.
  • Review announced to 500,000 libraries and bookstores.
  • Donate books with our Book Donation program.
  • Get more reviews with our Review Exchange program.
  • Get more reviews and fans with our Free Book program.
  • Get help and share information in our Author Forum.
  • Get advertising & fans with our Monthly Book Giveaway.

All entrants will receive a mini-critique from their reviewer with their complementary Readers' Favorite review (unless you have already received a Readers' Favorite mini-critique of your book), which will provide ratings on 5 key literary areas: appearance, plot, development, formatting and marketability.

Award Badge

We will add your award seal image to your Readers' Favorite Review Page for both winners and finalists. Additionally, we add your award seal to your book in its category and search listing to drive more visitors to your Review Page. Click here to see a search result example for previous Readers' Favorite Award Winner Jim Carrey.

Winners and finalists will also be featured on a Contest Results page via the "Award Winners" link under our search box at the top of every page and also on the top-left of every page in the section of our site designed for readers. Visit our 2024 Award Contest Winners page to see what this year's page will look like.

Publishes Weekly

Publishers Weekly has been the authority on book publishing since 1872. It is the most powerful and influential brand serving all segments involved in the creation, production, marketing and sale of the written word in book, audio, video and digital formats. It is read by booksellers, publishers, public and academic librarians, wholesalers, distributors, educators, agents and is critical to booksellers and librarians for evaluating, purchasing and stocking titles.

We advertise the results of our contest through two different Publishers Weekly e-newsletters reaching a combined total of 100,000 literary industry professionals who are looking for quality books just like yours.

Readers' Favorite announces the results of our competition through a premium press release using an industry-leading content distribution platform to thousands of media outlets, journalists, influencers and bloggers; social media; print, TV, radio and online media organization newsroom systems; mobile and voice networks; top search engines like Google and Yahoo; news cooperatives like Associated Press and more.

We announce our contest results to 115,000 libraries, 85,000 bookstores and 300,000 schools (elementary through high school) nationwide. We use a white-listed email company that professionally maintains these lists to ensure they are current and accurate. This powerful mailing can not only lead to sales and recognition, but schools and libraries can request donation copies from your Review Page for even more exposure.

Library Journal has been an icon in the publishing industry for over 140 years. They bring together the most respected brands and best minds in the world of children’s, young adult, and adult media to serve the library community. Their fundamental purpose is to help librarians, teachers, parents and others to better serve readers’ appetite for lifelong learning and enjoyment.

We advertise the results of our contest through two different Library Journal weekly e-newsletters reaching a combined total of nearly 50,000 public, academic and school librarians who are looking for quality books just like yours.

In addition to all our external press releases, we also send an internal mailing to our membership base which contains tens of thousands of authors, agents, publishers and publicists who use our services.

BookAwards

BookAwards.com is a premier site whose domain keywords receive 200,000 searches each month from literary enthusiasts like readers, agents, publishers and journalists looking for award-winning books. BookAwards.com is owned and was created by Readers' Favorite as a free marketing tool for all our award-winning authors and finalists. It only lists winners and finalists from the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest, past and present.

We actively update, market and publicize the site to grow its popularity and aid our authors in obtaining sales, fans, media attention and possible agent/publisher representation. If you are a winner or finalist in our Book Award Contest, you will automatically be added to BookAwards.com for free and forever, continually garnering more and more attention as the site and your book's popularity grow.

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database

The CLCD (Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database) houses the world’s largest collection of professional reviews and awards data for Children’s and YA titles. They are the leading resource for independent information about Children’s and YA titles and are used by countless literary professionals and thousands of institutions ranging from universities and colleges to public and K-12 libraries.

Readers’ Favorite's book reviews and book awards have been accepted into this database, which provides our authors with exposure to thousands of library professionals, educators and students, as well as a large number of publishers and book-sellers. If you have a Children's or YA book and receive a Readers' Favorite 4 or 5-star review, and your book is available on Amazon (now or in the future), your book and review will be listed in the CLCD database. There is nothing you need to do.

If you win any Readers' Favorite award level in our Annual Book Award Contest, your listing in the CLCD will be automatically updated to display your award, setting your book apart to the countless literary professionals who use the database.

PLEASE NOTE: Currently this feature is only available to Children's and YA titles. However, we are working to expand this opportunity to all our genres through other databases. When this happens, all qualifying reviews in our database will be submitted.

BOOK AWARD CONTEST FAQS

We accept manuscripts, published and unpublished books, eBooks, audiobooks, poetry books, comic books, graphic novels, and short stories. Your work must be complete, written in English, and fit into one of our 150+ genre categories. Currently we do not accept erotica books that contain primarily sex with no substantial plot. We do not have a minimum or maximum word count restriction. Your book does not have to be published, and if it is published we do not have a publication date requirement. We are an international competition and accept submissions from all over the world.

To enter, simply complete our Contest Entry form below along with your payment by our contest deadline. The contest entry fee to enter your book in one genre category by the April 1st Early Bird Registration deadline is $99, by the May 1st Regular Registration deadline is $109.00, and by the June 1st Final Registration deadline is $119. You may enter that same book in up to 3 more genre categories for a fee of $65.00 for each. You can enter as many books as you like, but you will need to complete a separate entry form for each book you wish to enter.

You can submit your book to us in the following formats in order of preference: PDF, Kindle (MOBI), Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX), RTF, and ePUB. If you have a different file format like Open Office or Word Perfect, or you have any trouble attaching your book to our Contest Entry form, just complete the form without attaching your book and your confirmation email will have instructions on how to easily send us your book file.

If you are entering a sequel that is not standalone, where you need the reader to have some information from the previous book(s), then please add a short synopsis of your previous book(s) to the beginning of the Book Description field of our Contest Entry form. If there is not enough room, add the synopsis to the first page of your book file. If you have trouble doing that, then go ahead and enter your book in the contest and send us your synopsis via our Contact Us page and we will attach it to your entry for you.

As one of the largest book award contests in the world, we receive thousands of entries from dozens of countries. Because of these large submission numbers, we are able to break down our contest into 150+ genres, ensuring you only compete against books of your particular genre for a fairer and more accurate competition. Each genre is judged separately and will have a different number of entries depending on its popularity.

Contest entries are judged all year long and are given a rating score based on key literary elements. No consideration is paid to the notoriety of the author, publisher or book itself. Book covers are not scored by the judges because many entries do not have covers, and those that do would have to compete with covers created by the large publishers who enter our contest. Our judges simply read the book and score it based on its merits. This allows for a completely fair contest where an independent author who just finished their book has the same opportunity to place as a NYT bestselling author from Random House. We do not provide judging scores, they are for internal use only, which allows judges to be completely honest in their ratings and comments.

Up to four levels of winners will be chosen in each genre: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention, as well as a possible Finalist level. Because awards are determined by a rating score and not by the number of entrants, not all award levels will be given in every genre. A book can only win in one genre. Entering your book in multiple genres gives you more chances to place, but it does not allow you win in multiple categories. If a book is entered in multiple genres and places in more than one, it will receive the highest award it won and will be removed from the other genre(s).

The final contest deadline is June 1st and winners are announced on September 1st, giving winners and finalists two months to arrange travel plans to Miami for our Awards Ceremony and for the display and sale of their books in our booth during the Miami Book Fair International in mid-November. Attendance at the Awards Ceremony is completely optional. If you do not attend you can have all of your award materials mailed to you.

Due to the popularity and size of our contest, a common question asked is the role competition plays in the judging. Let's assume a particular entry is given a rating that equates to a Silver medal. If the category that book was entered in did not have any other qualifying entries, then it would simply be awarded the Silver medal. Its award level would not be increased due to lack of competition. Conversely, if that category had two books that had been rated in the Silver medal range, those books would be ranked with the top book garnering the Silver medal and the second winning a Bronze medal. If the two books had the exact same Silver rating, both would be awarded the Silver medal.

If you visit our Award Contest Winners pages by clicking the Award Winners link under the search bar at the top of our website, you will notice that in some cases the same award is given more than once in the same category, which is the result of more than one book receiving the same judging score. You will also notice that some award levels are not awarded at all in a particular genre; this is because despite the number of entries in that category, no book received a score equating to the missing award level.

When a book is submitted to us for review or our contest, all our reviewers/judges will be able to see the book details you provided to help them choose your book, but they must select your book for review/judging before they will have access to your book file. Once your book is selected it is removed from the list and the only people who have access to it from that point on are the reviewer/judge and select admin staff. Once the book file is no longer needed it is deleted from our system.

We have done hundreds of thousands of reviews since we launched in 2009 and are used by all the big publishers and have never had an issue with piracy. All our reviewers are vetted and provide a government-issued ID so we can verify their identity and so we can cooperate with law enforcement should there ever be an issue with an author's book. We also have a litany of systems in place to track and monitor our books to ensure their security.

Generally, authors have nothing to fear when submitting their books to reputable review companies because their books are not of interest to pirates yet. Pirates do not need to work for a review company to steal book files. They can buy the Kindle version of the bestselling book on Amazon and use common DRM cracking software to copy it in 10 minutes or they could simply buy the paperback version and use a standard OCR scanner to scan each page and have a PDF in about an hour.

Using these methods, they can steal and sell James Patterson's new book or all the Harry Potter books, the choices are unlimited. With review companies, almost all the books are unknown or not even publish-ready yet. And it's not about quality, they don’t care how good your book is, they just want something they can sell, which means books that are at the top of Amazon’s sales lists because those are books people are currently talking about and searching for.

However, if you would feel better securing your book file a bit, there are a couple of things you can do: you can add a watermark to your pages, just please be sure it is light enough not to interfere with the reader’s ability to clearly see the text. You can also password protect your PDF, just be sure to provide us with the password in our Book Description box when you submit it to us so the reader can access it.

BOOK AWARD CONTEST ENTRY FORM

2025 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest

Early Bird deadline - April 1 ($99), Regular Deadline - May 1 ($109), Final Deadline - June 1 ($119)

 

Please select the book you would like to enter into the contest or select "I am entering a new book."

If your book is on Amazon, please enter your Amazon 10-digit (not 13-digit) ISBN or ASIN number, otherwise leave this box blank. This is a special number created by Amazon to track your book on their site, it is only created by Amazon once your book is on their site. You can find this information in the Product Details section on your Amazon page. Then click the Search Amazon button and we will add your book cover from Amazon to this form for you.

PLEASE NOTE: Your book does NOT have to be published or on Amazon to receive a review or enter our contest, and you can update this information at any time.

Please enter the Author Name associated with this book. This can be your legal name or a pen name. This is the name we will use to identify the author of this book.

If you are the agent, publisher, publicist or other representative for this author and would like to be notified when the review for this book is complete, please enter your email address.

Just like any reader, our Reviewers use the description of your book to determine if they want to read it. The more compelling your description, the faster your book will get reviewed. If you already have a blurb or description of your book on Amazon, you can copy and paste it here or write something new.

Please indicate if your book has explicit language, sexual situations, graphic violence or any other unique qualities. This will ensure you get the right reviewer for your book.

 

Please select the type of book you are submitting: audiobook, children's book, poetry book, short story/novella or collection of short stories, fiction or non-fiction book.

 

You may select up to 4 categories for this title. The first category is $99. Each additional category is $65. There are 150+ categories to choose from in the dropdowns. You can use the scroll bar or your arrow keys to scroll through them.

 

 

 

 

If your book has illustrations or it has an illustrated cover, you can enter it in our Illustration Award competition.

If your book cover contains a unique illustration, you can enter it in our Illustrated Book Cover Competition. If your book contains illustrations you can enter it in the Illustrated Book Competition, and if your book has both, you can select the ‘Both Book Cover AND Interior Illustration Competitions’ option. You can enter one or both of the illustrated competitions for the $65 Illustration Award entry fee.

You can upload your book in the following formats listed in order of preference: PDF, Kindle (MOBI), Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX), LibreOffice (ODT), RTF, and ePUB. To re-upload, click the X and choose a new file.

Please provide 2 Audible or Spotify codes for free audiobook copies of your book, one for your reviewer and one for your judge, and the link and instructions to redeem the codes. You can also provide a Dropbox or Google Drive link to your audiobook files but they must be accessible to anyone with the link and the link cannot expire (you can disable the link once your complimentary review is complete and the contest is over).

If you are attaching your book cover, you can upload it in the following formats listed in order of preference: JPG, JPEG, GIF and PNG. To re-upload, click the X and choose a new file.

 

Each year Readers’ Favorite donates books and income to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, whose mission is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Select this option if you would like to help bring aid to kids in need.

Dare to Care is a nonprofit food bank that has been fighting hunger in Louisville, KY for nearly 50 years. Readers’ Favorite is based in Louisville and donates to this important organization to support our local community with the help of our authors. Your $1 donation will provide 3 meals to those who would otherwise go hungry. In addition, Readers’ Favorite will match your donation, providing a total of 6 meals for your $1 donation.