Enter and track awards
Enter the award and save the details
When you enter an award, keep a record of exactly what was submitted: the confirmation, the category, the fee paid, and which copies went where and when.
Why it matters
Programs receive hundreds or thousands of entries and mistakes happen on both sides. A complete record turns "we have no entry for this title" into a solvable problem. It also prevents double entry, makes next year's budget honest, and is the basis for tracking outcomes, because you can't track a result for an entry you can't prove you made.
Your part
- What you do
- Do it. You normally do this yourself.
- Who normally owns it
- Author and publisher together. Whoever enters keeps the record; author holds the master list
- When
- At the moment of each entry (Enter and track awards: at each program's deadline, then as results are announced)Checked September 13, 2026
How to do it
The full walkthrough
An award entry is a transaction with several parts: an online form, a payment, and usually copies of the book sent by post or uploaded. Each part produces a confirmation, and each is the thing you will need if anything goes wrong. Save them all together, per entry, at the moment of entry.
The record should include the program and cycle, the category entered, the date submitted, the fee paid and the receipt, the confirmation email or number, the number and format of copies sent, the tracking number for physical copies, the date they were sent, and the address they went to. If a program asks for a digital file, note which file and version.
Traditionally published authors should ask the publisher for the same details for any entry it makes, because when results come out, or do not, you will want to know what was entered where. Hybrid and self-published authors keep the record themselves, ideally in the awards calendar next to the rules row.
This sounds bureaucratic until the day a program says it never received the copies, or the results list a category you do not remember entering, or the seal license asks which entry number it applies to.
Common mistakes
- Closing the browser on the confirmation page without saving it.
- Sending copies without tracking, then having no evidence when the program says they never arrived.
- Recording the fee but not the category, so next cycle's decision starts from scratch.
- Not asking the publisher what it entered, then entering the same program again.
A template for this
Award submission information sheetOne sheet per award entry that captures the book details, the program rules for the cycle you entered, the fee, the copies sent, and the confirmation.
When to use it: Use this when you are entering a book award and want one record per program per cycle: fill in the top half before you enter, and the rest as you submit and ship copies. Do not use this when you are still deciding which awards to enter. Compare programs in the Awards directory first, and start a sheet once you have chosen one.
What done looks like
- One folder or record per entry containing the confirmation, receipt, and shipping details.
- The category, fee, and date in the awards calendar row for that program.
- Tracking numbers and delivery confirmation for physical copies.
- The publisher's entry details requested and recorded for any program it handled.
- Status set to "Entered" in your record, with the results date if the program publishes one.
Evidence. Done means someone says the work happened. Verified means you checked the confirmation, link, or public record yourself.
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
- September 13, 2026
- How confident we are
- Verified
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.