Enter and track awards
Record every award result
Record the exact outcome of every award entry using the program's own terms, and record no result at all as its own outcome, so your bio and records stay accurate.
Why it matters
Recognition ends up in your bio, on the book cover, in metadata, and in press materials, and every one of those is a place where overstating a result is noticed. Accurate tracking lets you say exactly what happened and cite it. It also gives you the honest picture of which programs have recognized the book, which is what should drive the next round of entries.
Your part
- What you do
- Monitor. Check again on a schedule, or after something changes.
- Who normally owns it
- Author and Publicist. Author or publicist tracks; publisher passes on results for its entries
- When
- As each program announces results, and at each program's stated results date whether or not you hear from them (Enter and track awards: at each program's deadline, then as results are announced)
How to do it
The full walkthrough
Award programs announce results in stages and use specific words for each. A longlist is the first cut. A shortlist is a smaller group that follows. A finalist is a book in the final group; in some programs finalist and shortlist mean the same thing, in others they do not. A winner is a winner. Some programs also give honorable mentions, silver and bronze tiers, or distinguished favorites. And most entries end with no recognition at all, which is a result too.
Track each one separately, using the program's own terminology, with the date announced and a link to the announcement. "Longlisted for the X Award" and "finalist for the X Award" are different claims, and the difference matters to anyone who checks.
Traditionally published authors should ask the publisher to pass on results for entries it made, including the ones with no result, so the record is complete. Hybrid and self-published authors get the emails directly, and should also check the program's site, because not every program notifies the entrants who did not place.
A no-result outcome closes the entry in your record. It is not a failure to be quietly deleted; it is data for next year's decision about whether to enter again.
Common mistakes
- Calling a longlist a shortlist, or a shortlist a finalist, in the bio.
- Deleting entries that did not place, so the calendar forgets what was tried.
- Waiting for an email when the program only posts results on its site.
- Recording "won" for a category tier such as silver without saying which tier.
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
- Each entry in your record updated to Longlisted, Shortlisted, Finalist, Winner, Not Selected, or the program's own term, with the announcement date and link.
- Programs that publish no result for non-placing entries marked Not Selected once the winners are announced.
- The precise wording used by the program copied into the record for later use in bios.
- Results from publisher-made entries collected and recorded in the same place.
Evidence. Done means someone says the work happened. Verified means you checked the confirmation, link, or public record yourself.
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