Regional
Florida Book Awards
Florida State University Libraries
In short
The Florida Book Awards are coordinated by Florida State University Libraries for books by full-time Florida residents, across eleven categories including one for Spanish-language books. Winners receive medals and are honored at events in Tallahassee. Authors, publishers, agents, or any member of the public may enter, at $70 per title, with one printed copy to the awards office and one to each juror. Residency means a Florida address on the federal tax return and Florida voter registration, and translations are not eligible.
Deadline December 11, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Every label is a fact from the official rules, never a judgment about whether the award is worth entering. How we describe awards.
The Florida Book Awards, coordinated by Florida State University Libraries, recognize books by full-time Florida residents in eleven categories: Cooking, Florida Nonfiction, General Fiction, General Nonfiction, Older Children's Literature, Poetry, Popular Fiction, Spanish Language, Visual Arts, Young Adult Literature, and Young Children's Literature. In the Florida Nonfiction, Visual Arts, and Cooking categories the residency rule is replaced by a requirement that the subject matter focus on Florida.
Authors, publishers, literary agents, or any member of the public may enter a book. Entries for the current cycle opened July 28, 2026 and close December 11, 2026, for books with a 2026 copyright date and an ISBN (the entry page describes the window as professionally published between December 13, 2025 and December 31, 2026). The fee is $70 per title, rising to $80 for entries in the late window that begins November 12, and publishers entering six or more titles pay half price after the fifth. One copy goes to the awards office and one to each juror in the category (two or three jurors), with materials due to jurors by January 8, 2027.
Self-published books are eligible, and ebooks are eligible provided printed copies are sent to the jurors. Full-time residency means a Florida address on the federal tax return and Florida voter registration. Winners, announced by February 2027, receive gold, silver, or bronze medals in each category and are honored at events in Tallahassee in April.
Why it may matter
Florida's program is unusually open: the public can enter a book, self-published and ebook titles qualify, and the Spanish Language category is one of few state-award categories for Spanish-language books. The trade-off is logistics, since copies must reach each juror individually and the residency test is specific.
2027 cycle: 2027 Florida Book Awards (books with a 2026 copyright)
- Eligible publication dates
- December 13, 2025 to December 31, 2026
- Entries open
- July 28, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Early deadline
- November 11, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Final deadline
- December 11, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Deadline note
- Standard $70 fee through November 11, 2026; late fee of $80 from November 12; entries and payment close December 11, 2026; copies to jurors by January 8, 2027
- Entry fee
- $70 per title; $80 per title in the late window from November 12; publishers entering six or more titles pay half price after the fifthChecked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Results
- Winners announced by February 2027; events in Tallahassee April 8 to 11, 2027
| Tier | Deadline | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Standard, per title | November 11, 2026 | $70 |
| Late window, per title | December 11, 2026 | $80 |
Worth knowing
Our reading, not a rule the organization published. We judge an award on the rubric in how we describe awards.
The enter page gives the late window as November 12 to December 12, 2026 while the close date and payment deadline are December 11, 2026; treat December 11 as the working deadline. Every book needs an ISBN, which rules out some very small self-published editions.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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