Build the award plan
Identify subject-specific awards
Nonfiction and many specialized books qualify for awards judged by subject experts, such as business, food, history, science, or religion programs, that general lists rarely mention.
Why it matters
Recognition from within a field reaches the people who buy and recommend books in that field: practitioners, teachers, specialist librarians, and the trade press. For a nonfiction book, that can matter more than a general award. Subject programs also tend to have entrant pools that actually match the book, which makes the entry fee easier to justify.
Your part
- What you do
- Do it. You normally do this yourself.
- Who normally owns it
- Author and Publisher and Publicist. Author, publisher, or publicist researches; author records the results
- When
- About 6 months before publication, since some subject programs close soon after the publication year ends (Build the award plan: twelve to six months before publication, because eligibility windows close early)
How to do it
The full walkthrough
Subject awards are given by organizations that care about a topic rather than a literary form: culinary associations, business publications, historical societies, scientific bodies, religious organizations, professional and scholarly publishing groups. The James Beard Book Awards for food writing and the PROSE Awards for professional and scholarly work are two well-known examples, but nearly every field has something.
These programs are often invisible to general awards lists because they are run by subject organizations, not the book trade. The way to find them is to start from the subject: which associations, journals, and conferences serve this field, and do any of them give a book prize?
Traditionally published authors should ask the publisher's marketing team, which may know the programs in the book's subject area, especially at a specialist or university press. Hybrid and self-published authors do the research themselves, and often find that subject organizations are more open to entries from any publisher than literary programs are, because they judge on the contribution to the field.
Read eligibility carefully. Subject programs often restrict by publication year, by the entrant's profession or membership, or by the type of book (trade versus academic).
Common mistakes
- Searching only for "book awards" and never for the subject itself.
- Missing a program because it is run by a professional association rather than a publishing body.
- Entering a trade book in an academic category, or the reverse.
- Ignoring the publication-year rule and entering a cycle the book does not qualify for.
What done looks like
- The main organizations and publications in your book's subject listed, with any book prizes noted.
- Eligibility, submitter, fee, and window recorded in the awards calendar for each.
- Membership requirements identified early enough to join if it is worthwhile.
- A check with the publisher on which subject programs it already enters.
Ask your publisher
Copy this into an email. Replace the bracketed parts with your details.
Sources and last checked
- Official source
- No single official page for this step.
- Last checked
- Not checked against its source yet.
- How confident we are
- Verified