Paid-entry recognition
Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest
Readers' Favorite
In short
Readers' Favorite runs a free book review service and, separately, a paid-entry award contest in more than 150 genre categories. The contest seals appear widely on independent covers and online listings, though trade buyers and review outlets rarely track it. There is no publication date rule, so backlist titles and even unpublished manuscripts can enter, and a free review is not an entry. Check whether your publisher wants a paid-entry seal; if not, you can enter yourself by uploading a file.
Deadline April 1, 2027Checked 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.
Readers' Favorite runs a free book review service and, separately, an annual paid-entry award contest. The 19th annual contest is the 2027 cycle. It is an international competition in more than 150 genre categories, each judged separately, and it accepts manuscripts, published and unpublished books, ebooks, audiobooks, comic books, poetry, and short stories.
There is no word count restriction and no publication date requirement, so it does not matter when, or whether, the book was published. The work must be in English. Independent authors, small publishers, and major houses may all enter.
The contest page lists a deadline of April 1, 2027 and states that winners are announced on September 1 each year. Five levels are awarded per category: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Honorable Mention, and Award Finalist, and the organizer advertises more than $125,000 in donated prizes and services.
Why it may matter
Readers' Favorite is best known among self-published authors, many of whom already use its free review program, and the contest seals appear widely on independent covers and Amazon listings. Trade buyers and review outlets rarely track it. The lack of any publication-date rule makes it one of the few contests open to backlist and even unpublished work, and the prize pool consists mostly of donated services rather than cash.
2027 cycle: 19th annual contest (2027)
- Final deadline
- April 1, 2027Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Deadline note
- The contest page states the deadline as April 1, 2027. The entry form may show later deadline tiers at higher fees; confirm before relying on this date. No publication-date requirement.
- Entry fee
- Entry fee not stated on the contest page we read; current pricing and any deadline tiers appear on the entry formChecked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Results
- Winners announced September 1 each year
- Notes
- Fee tiers not recorded because the contest page does not state them
Worth knowing
Our reading, not a rule the organization published. We judge an award on the rubric in how we describe awards.
Keep the free review and the paid contest separate in your planning: a review is not an entry, and an entry does not include a review. The contest page we read gives the April 1, 2027 deadline but not the entry fee; the fee and any later deadline tiers appear on the entry form, so check them before relying on this date.
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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