At the beginning of the year I wrote a list of awards with deadlines for spring and summer, and now that those have passed, I wanted to share a list of upcoming indie book award deadlines for fall and winter.
Because there are so many indie book awards out there, there are submission periods open basically throughout the year. But I also know it’s easy to miss those deadlines if you’re not on top of it, so I like to give reminders frequently.
These upcoming book awards have deadlines from September to December, and there’s a surprising amount of options in that time period. I’ve included the details so you can assess if they’re a good fit for your book and your goals before you do any further investigation.
Some Thoughts on Submitting to an Indie Book Award
Now, I know these awards usually have an entry fee and that may not be in everyone’s marketing budgets, but some are reasonably affordable. You’ll also have to decide if winning an indie book award will further your goals. In other words, is it worth it? If so, then I always encourage giving it a shot. You may also want to consider that many of these book awards offer publicity and marketing help even if you don’t win. This can often mean more exposure and book sales than you may get from spending the same amount of money on ads and other promotions. It’s just something to consider.
I wrote about the benefits of winning an indie book award, and you can read that here.
On to the List of Upcoming Indie Book Awards!
As I mentioned above, you will notice there is almost always an entry fee. This is because it takes time and effort from multiple people to evaluate all of the entries and make final decisions. Some of these awards have banquet events and ceremonies, some offer cash prizes, and most will offer some sort of direct publicity or marketing, and a few offer this just for entering.
It should be noted that submissions for the awards below are accepted for books published in 2025 unless otherwise noted. I also can’t personally vouch for any of the awards besides the Foreward Indies and Benjamin Franklin’s, but Ingram Spark and other trusted platforms have promoted the below awards. If you’d like an evergreen list of vetted book awards, you can find them on my blog.
For each indie book award below I’ve included the following information:
- Deadline
- Fee
- Details
- Links to the award’s page
- Perks/Prizes
1. The Foreward Indies Book of the Year Awards
This indie book award is open to small and university presses and self-published authors. The Forward Indies span almost every category and genre. It’s judged by booksellers, editors, and librarians–in other words, good people to impress when you want to get your book out there, and in the right hands. As a bonus, by simply entering you’ll receive a subscription to Foreword Reviews, which is a great way to stay on top of what’s happening in the industry.
- Deadline-September 30th(early entry)
- Fee-$109
- Prizes/Perks-$1,500 cash prize. Both winners and Honored Titles are featured and promoted across Foreward Reviews platforms with links to buy.
- Link-Foreward Indies
2. The Benjamin Franklin Book Awards (IBPA)
This indie book award, sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association, offers publicity and opportunity from a large and well-known organization. IBPA puts on an annual conference, Publishing University, which I have been speaking at since 2006. It’s a tremendous event with an incredible amount of value for authors and publishers alike due to the networking and resources available. The prizes are open to over 60 categories and include special community categories focused on visibility and diversity. It’s also the oldest, and most established and recognized indie book award.
- Deadline-October 1st-December 15th
- Fee-$234 nonmembers/ $99 Members
- Perks/Prizes-All entries are provided with direct feedback. Winners receive industry recognition, publicity and other perks, along with an invitation to the annual ceremony.
- Link- Ben Franklin
3. Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition
This indie book award, run by Shelf Media Group, is open to self-published, independently published, and small press books. Any genre is open for entry, with the exception of children’s picture books. The magazine, Shelf Unbound, is said to reach readers and book sellers and increase sales of the books they feature. You can check out the link below and see what you think of their publication and testimonials.
- Deadline-September 30th
- Fee-$150
- Perks/Prizes-Top 5 finalists, the 10 longlist, and overall winner all receive editorial coverage in the Dec/Jan issue of Shelfbound, with the overall winner receiving a year’s worth of full-page ads in the publication.
- Link- Shelf Unbound
4. The North American Book Awards
According to their website for this indie book award, “We give outstanding books the opportunity to reach new readers and establish a standard of excellence trusted by readers, bookstore buyers, organizations, book clubs, and lovers of books.”
They accept submissions from books published between 2021 and 2025(which is great if you didn’t publish this year and missed your chance to submit before). They also have several subcategory submission opportunities in both fiction and nonfiction.
- Deadline-October 1st
- Fee-$125
- Perks/Prizes-Gold, Silver and Bronze category winners all receive a digital badge, recognition and publicity via social media and press releases, etc.
- Link- NABA
5. Reader Views Literary Awards
They seek to spotlight exceptional books from new and established voices in the literary community. This indie book award accepts submissions from self-published authors as well as small press, hybrid and university publishers. Categories accepted include everything from adult and children’s books to regional and global entries.
- Deadline- October 31st
- Fee-$89
- Perks/Prizes- Every entry receives a professional review and evaluation and finalists and winners receive recognition via their platform and their affiliate partners. Grand prize is $2,500 cash.
- Link- Reader Views
6. Literary Global Book Awards
This indie book award offers awards for categories in both fiction and nonfiction and accepts children’s books in its own category. You can submit one book to multiple categories to increase your chance of winning and the entry fee is nominal compared to other book award submission fees.
- Deadline- November 30th
- Fee-$29
- Perks/Prizes-Digital award seals and promotion via press releases, their platforms, and book lists. They also offer professional reviews to all entrants.
- Link- Literary Global
7. Indies Today Book Award Contest
The Indies Today are open to books published in the current year or any prior year. They are open to the categories of fiction and nonfiction and like the above indie book award, they have the benefit of a smaller entry fee. This award focuses on literary quality and many of their prize winners are now recognized and praised authors.
- Deadline- December 31st
- Fee-$59
- Perks/Prizes- Publicity on the Indies Today website with homepage promo for a year, a digital badge, a real-life trophy and endorsements you can use for your own promotion. Acknowledgement and perks are awarded to runner ups and genre winners as well.
- Link- Indies Today
8. Book Excellence Awards
According to their website, the Book Excellence Awards, is a competition “dedicated to helping authors and publishers increase their credibility, visibility and books sales.” Book Excellence is an international book marketing company that has worked with a variety of authors from self-published to NYT bestsellers. They have no publication date requirement and are open to almost endless categories, but their entry fee is rather steep.
- Deadline- December 31st
- Fee-$199
- Perks/Prizes-They offer a grand prize valued at $30,000, meaning all the publicity and marketing they would put behind a client’s book. They are a book marketing firm, so all prizes offered include the use and guidance of their expertise and exposure to 350,000 international readers, journalists and industry professionals.
- Link- Book Excellence
9. The Maxy Awards
This indie book award is unique because it’s exclusively for children’s books and many awards don’t even offer a children’s category. They also accept submissions from any publication date.
- Deadline- December 31st
- Fee- $65
- Perks/Prizes-Book of the Year is a $1,000 cash prize and category winners receive $250. A bonus is that part of your entry fee goes to a charity for children.
- Link- Maxy Awards
10. Best Indie Book Award
Although the entry period begins ON January 1st, I decided to include this indie book award on the 2025 list because you can enter right after these other submission periods end. They offer illustration and book cover awards along with their literary award. They accept international submissions written in English by any indie author or press and offer 35 categories. This award also focus on literary merit and previous winners include USA Today and NYT bestselling authors.
- Deadline- Opens January 1st
- Fee-$75
- Perks/Prizes-Physical and digital awards, promotion across several websites and publications and an addition to the BIBA list on Goodreads and more. There is a $500-$2,000 cash prize for their book of the year winners.
- Link- Best Indies
