Because I’m so big on book awards, I like to give regular reminders to submit so no one misses out on an opportunity. So, below you’ll find eight 2026 indie author book awards with upcoming deadlines. I’ve put them in order by deadline. Don’t miss your chance!
1-Best Indie Awards: A Chance to Submit Early
I included this indie author book award on my late 2025 book award list because the submission period opened so close to when those submission periods ended. Note, the submission period starts January 1st. It actually ends in August, but you can submit now! Otherwise, bookmark it for later.
Along with their literary awards, the Best Indie Award offers awards for illustration and book covers. They also accept international submissions written in English by any indie author or press and offer 35 categories. This award also focuses on literary merit, and previous winners include USA Today and NYT bestselling authors. This 2026 indie author book award holds some prestige, so if that’s what you’re looking for, submit soon!
- Deadline: Opens January 1st. Ends August 1st
- Fee:$75
- Prize and Perks: 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
2-The Eric Hoffer Award: A Long-Running Opportunity
Winning an Eric Hoffer EIP Award will get your book into the hands of those in the industry. The judges range from other authors, to librarians, agents, and editors.
There are 19 categories including Business, Self-Help, Art, and Poetry, as well as Fiction and Nonfiction. Did you know you can even win a 2026 indie author book award for chapbooks? A neat thing about this award is that you can submit chapbooks at the smaller entry fee of $40.
- Deadline: January 21st
- Fee: $55
- Prizes and Perks: Because entries are judged by industry experts, this award holds clout and opportunity. They offer a $5,000 grand prize and awards and medals specifically for debut authors.
- Link: Eric Hoffer
3- Axiom Business Book Awards: More Categories than You May Realize
The Axiom BBA’s are, as the title suggests, open to both traditional and self-published books on the topic of Business. Categories include everything from Business Theory to Women and Minorities in Business and many more. The books are judged on content, originality, design, and quality.
Sidenote: If you long to win an indie book award for prestige and bragging rights–Condoleezza Rice is also a recipient of this award! She won a Sliver in the Business Theory category for her book with Amy Zegart, Political Risk.
- Deadline: January 29th
- Fee: $99
- Prizes and Perks: Because this award has over 25 categories and Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for each of those categories, your chances of winning are increased. This award also offers prestige in the Business book world.
- Link: Axiom
Note, this link will also lead you to the various awards offered through Independent Publisher, which have varying categories and deadlines. So, check them out too!
4-American Legacy Book Awards 2026: An Indie Author Book Award for Second Chances
This 2026 indie author book award offers old books a chance at a prize. If you’ve missed out on submitting your book for an award, this is one of the few that accept submissions of older titles! You can submit books published as early as 2010, up to 2025. Now is your chance to get that award you missed out on. This award also has more than 70 categories for fiction and more than 80 for nonfiction!
- Deadline: January 31
- Fee: $74 per title
- Prizes and Perks: Winners get to grant older( but still in print) books the status of award-winning book. Your book will get a digital logo, awards and certificates, and of course, a chance at putting your book back in the spotlight!
- Link: American Legacy
5-Next Generation Indie Book Awards: This One Offers Prestige and Visibility
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards are judged by editors, publishers, and writers just like the Eric Hoffer award. With over 70 categories to submit to and cash prizes range from $100 to $1,500, this one offers some big perks. The top 70 winning books will even be reviewed by literary agent, and founding partner in the Allen O’Shea Literary Agency, Marilyn Allen. I definitely encourage you to give this one a shot!
- Deadline: February 13th
- Fee: $80
- Prizes and Perks: This 2026 indie author book award offers cash prizes, and a review by a literary agent. This is big for authors trying to get noticed by the industry.
- Link: Next Generation
6-The Indie Reader Discovery Awards: Big Perks Come with this Indie Author Book Award!
The IRDA is a big one for getting attention and opportunities! Like the other awards listed here offering connections to the industry, this one does that and goes a step further. Their judges include The Director of Author and Publishing Relations at Amazon and two editors from Kirkus Indie, among others. Award winners get announcement coverage in The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly to name a few.
This is a 2026 indie author book award to reach for that has a big pay off. I say go for it! You can’t win if you don’t enter.
- Deadline: February 28th
- Fee: $150
- Prizes and Perks: This 2026 indie author book award offers what they refer to as verdicts (basically a review) to every entrant, not just winners. These verdicts can be used in your blurbs or other promotional copy. They also offer perks such as a free website, book reviews from top literary agents, and a consultation with a PR & marketing firm and more.
- Link: Reader Discovery
7-The AWP Award Series: This Indie Author Book Awards a Publishing Contract!
The Association of Writers and Writing Programs holds this annual competition seeking extraordinary entrants for publication. This indie author award is different in that it offers publication. Only manuscripts are eligible and the award focuses on poetry, short fiction, novels, and creative nonfiction. It’s judged by writers and 10 manuscripts are chosen from each genre for a final evaluation. This IS the prize for indie authors hoping to be published traditionally.
- Deadline: February 28 (opens Jan 1st)
- Fees: $30
- Prizes and Perks: Not only does this award have a fairly low entry fee, but winners receive cash prizes ranging from $2,500 to $5,500 along with publication of your work with a partner press.
- Link: AWP Award
8-The National Indie Excellence Awards: An Award for Niche Genres
This award is open to self-published authors as well as small to mid-sized presses and universities. The NIEA is a bit unique in that it focuses on niche genres like Fantasy, Western and, Steampunk amongst others, which some awards tend to overlook in favor of more mainstream genres. So if you write stuff that’s a little different than your average fiction, this may be the indie author book award for you.
- Deadline: March 31st
- Fee: $75
- Prizes and Perks: Even finalists are recognized with a silver medal with this indie author book award. There are some cash prizes offered for specific achievements and all winners are listed in the NIEA’s Speaker’s Bureau. Their are also opportunities for marketing help.
- Link: Indie Excellence
I think these eight options have something for almost everyone. Choose which ones to submit to after some further research and considering your goals for submitting to any indie author book award. They all offer something from prestige, to cash, to visibility. Though they may have entry fees, an award offers a lot of bang for your marketing buck. Plus, they hold bragging rights and build trust with your potential audience. You can read all about the benefits of winning a book award here.
Happy submitting and good luck!
Any Indie book award winners reading? Feel free to share your experience in the comments!
