Awards directory
Book awards: who can enter, what it costs, and whether your book fits.
Some awards choose books without accepting entries. Others accept author submissions, publisher submissions, member nominations, reader votes, or paid entries. Each record shows the model, eligibility, fee, current-cycle status, and official source so you can judge the fit yourself.
This directory feeds the checklist step Build an awards calendar before publication. Set a status on any award and it joins your checklist.
Still deciding whether to bother? Which book awards are worth entering works through it.
- National Book Foundation. Juried literary. This cycle closed.All publishing paths
- The Pulitzer Prizes, Columbia University. Juried literary. Rules not verified.All publishing paths
- National Book Critics Circle (NBCC). Nomination only. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- PEN America. Juried literary. Rules not verified.Traditionally publishedHybrid publisher
- Lambda Literary. Identity or community. Deadline November 22, 2026.All publishing paths
- Jewish Book Council. Identity or community. Deadline September 18, 2026.All publishing paths
- Association of American Publishers (AAP). Trade or industry. Next cycle not announced.Traditionally publishedHybrid publisher
- Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). Independent press. Deadline December 15, 2026.All publishing paths
- Foreword Reviews. Independent press. Rules not verified.All publishing paths
- Jenkins Group. Independent press. Deadline March 4, 2027.All publishing paths
- Next Generation Indie Book Awards (NGIBA). Independent press. Deadline February 12, 2027.All publishing paths
- Hopewell Publications. Independent press. Deadline January 21, 2027.All publishing paths
- Nautilus Book Awards (Boulder, Colorado). Genre. Deadline February 8, 2027.All publishing paths
- National Indie Excellence Awards. Independent press. Deadline March 31, 2027.All publishing paths
- Book Excellence Awards. Paid-entry recognition. Deadline December 31, 2026.All publishing paths
- NYC Big Book Award (Independent Press Award family). Paid-entry recognition. Deadline December 15, 2026.All publishing paths
- American Book Fest. Paid-entry recognition. Deadline August 31, 2027.All publishing paths
- Readers' Favorite. Paid-entry recognition. Deadline April 1, 2027.All publishing paths
- American Book Fest. Paid-entry recognition. Deadline March 31, 2027.All publishing paths
- IndieReader. Independent press. Rules not verified.Self-publishedHybrid publisher
- Mystery Writers of America (MWA). Genre. Deadline December 7, 2026.Traditionally publishedHybrid publisher
- Bouchercon (World Mystery Convention), administered by each year's local organizing committee. Reader voted. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- Romance Writers of America (RWA). Genre. This cycle closed.All publishing paths
- World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), presented at the annual World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). Reader voted. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). Genre. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- Locus magazine (Locus Science Fiction Foundation). Reader voted. Rules not verified.All publishing paths
- Horror Writers Association (HWA). Genre. Deadline January 15, 2027.All publishing paths
- The National Poetry Series. Juried literary. Opens January 7, 2027.All publishing paths
- Claremont Graduate University (CGU), School of Arts and Humanities. Juried literary. This cycle closed.All publishing paths
- American Library Association (ALA) and its divisions and round tables: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table. Nomination only. Deadline December 31, 2026.Traditionally publishedHybrid publisher
- American Library Association (ALA). Identity or community. Deadline December 1, 2026.All publishing paths
- Comic-Con International. Genre. This cycle closed.All publishing paths
- ReedPop, in association with New York Comic Con. Trade or industry. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- Biographers International Organization (BIO). Juried literary. Deadline December 1, 2026.Traditionally publishedHybrid publisher
- getAbstract. Nomination only. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). Trade or industry. This cycle closed.All publishing paths
- Columbia University in the City of New York (Columbia University Libraries). Juried literary. Deadline November 1, 2026.Traditionally publishedHybrid publisher
- McGill University. Juried literary. This cycle closed.Traditionally publishedHybrid publisher
- Evangelical Christian Publishing Association (ECPA). Trade or industry. Rules not verified.Traditionally publishedHybrid publisher
- The Publishing Triangle. Identity or community. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- Hurston/Wright Foundation. Identity or community. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Identity or community. Deadline November 6, 2026.All publishing paths
- Audio Publishers Association (APA). Trade or industry. Deadline October 9, 2026.All publishing paths
- Texas Institute of Letters (TIL). Regional. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Regional. Deadline November 20, 2026.All publishing paths
- Colorado Humanities, with Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry. Regional. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA). Regional. This cycle closed.All publishing paths
- Florida State University Libraries. Regional. Deadline December 11, 2026.All publishing paths
- Ohioana Library Association. Regional. Deadline December 31, 2026.All publishing paths
- Black Chateau Enterprises, with Books That Make You (Southern California). Paid-entry recognition. This cycle closed.All publishing paths
- The Independent Author Network (IAN). Paid-entry recognition. Deadline August 15, 2027.Self-publishedHybrid publisher
- Literary Titan (a review site founded in 2017). Paid-entry recognition. Next cycle not announced.All publishing paths
- JM Northern Media LLC (Hollywood, California). Paid-entry recognition. This cycle closed.All publishing paths