by Scott Lorenz | Blog, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, BookTok, Promoting a Book, Social Media, TikTok
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
TikTok has become a major hot spot for influencing in a range of different fields. When it comes to the literary world, influencers use this digital platform to promote different books and authors in the TikTok community known as BookTok. Read more about BookTok and its benefits in an article I wrote here.
BookTok’s influence has been taken to the next level with “The Shadow Work Journal,” written by Keila Shaheen. This journal is a spiritual guide based on the concept of “the shadow self” by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. It is meant to help readers acknowledge and repair their deep-rooted emotional wounds. The debut, self-published book is now a bestseller thanks to TikTok. So how exactly did Shaheen rise to BookTok fame?
An Influencer’s Influence
TikTok influencer Kohn Glay (@girldadsos) played a critical part in the book’s success. Glay passionately promoted Shaheen’s work, telling his viewers that they needed Shaheen’s workbook to shepherd them in their spiritual journey. Glay’s viewers began to purchase Shaheen’s journal directly through TikTok Shop. According to The New York Times, “Shaheen went on to sell more than a million copies,” of which almost 700,000 were sold through TikTok Shop.
Targeting the Audience
Shaheen promotes shadow work on her TikTok profile with aura cleansing and sound healing, as well as leading viewers through some of the exercises in her journal. The escalation of Shaheen’s sales further proves a point that I made in my article on BookTok, which is that “many users, especially the younger generations, are drawn to organic promotions directly from their source rather than traditional advertising.” TikTok users want to see videos that are short and straight to the point.
If a video drags on baiting the audience for too long, they’ll lose interest and scroll. TikTok influencing is about catering to short attention spans, which is why influencers like Glay were so effective in their promotion of “The Shadow Work Journal,” diving right in at the beginning of his videos to get people hooked on the topic.
Not only was Glay strategic about his marketing, but his endorsement of Shaheen’s work is authentic and real. It is evident that he truly cares about his viewers discovering shadow work in order to better themselves, and this is what made his influence so impactful.
TikTok Sells
As stated in The New York Times, Shaheen has made history with TikTok “by fully harnessing its potential not just for marketing, but for direct sales.” Glay’s viewers were directly influenced by his videos on Shaheen’s work, which caused them to switch tabs and purchase it immediately through the app. This is a true testament to the ability TikTok has not only to market and promote, but to actually sell a book. With over 1 billion users, TikTok has the potential to not only reach a wide market, but its rapid and convincing format has proven to convert leads to meaningful sales.
Bending the Rules of Becoming a Bestseller
Shaheen signed with publisher Simon & Schuster after her book became a bestseller. She was able to reach this point solely because of the way the app launched her into success. Agent Albert Lee of United Talent Agency told The New York Times, “It breaks all the rules of what makes a best seller,” because the book was self-published by an unestablished author with no expansion beyond the United States. Shaheen is a prime example of the truly revolutionary things TikTok is doing for authors.
For advice on jumping on the TikTok train, check out David Alan Arnold’s Facebook Group called How to Grow on TikTok. He is the author of Help From Above as well as the Deadliest Catch helicopter cameraman, and he has 1.8 million followers on TikTok (@davidalanarnold). “I will show you the good and the bad,” Arnold says, “Let’s help each other grow.”
The Bottom Line: Start growing a profile on TikTok now! Use the app to your book’s advantage, and you could be the next author to go from debut to bestseller.
About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award-winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
by Scott Lorenz | Blog, Book Clubs, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Promoting a Book
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
How can you get free promotion for your book? The answer is simple: have people connect over your book and talk about it. That’s why book clubs are such an effective tool for authors. Book club members go out and buy your book, read it, meet up to talk about it, and then recommend it to their friends. It’s good old fashioned ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing every book needs. You can learn about this approach to promoting your book in a more extensive article I wrote about it here: book clubs.
There’s one book club with a huge national following and it was started by Jimmy Fallon of the Tonight Show.
About the Fallon Book Club Segment
Jimmy Fallon hosts a book club segment where he and his viewers choose a book to read together. Jimmy starts by giving the audience their options. The choices range from debut novels to New York Times Best Sellers, with genres ranging from love stories to murder mysteries. In 2018 when Jimmy started the segment, it was called The Tonight Show “Summer Reads,” but in 2022 Jimmy coined the official “Fallon Book Club.”
Up until this year, Jimmy has picked out five or six books for his viewers to choose from, none of which he has previously read. To compile his list of competitors, Jimmy does research on each of his selections and their authors to ensure he chooses a mix of both established authors and those publishing for the first time. Jimmy has stuck strictly to fictional stories, and he tends to choose either love stories, psychological thrillers, or murder mystery stories as contestants.
As he stated, “Summertime you want the murder mystery, or you want the love and romance.” After Jimmy read the description of each, viewers could scan a QR code or visit the Fallon Book Club website to cast their vote on the story that most appealed to them.
FBC’s March Madness
This spring, Jimmy decided to switch things up. Instead of only doing a Summer Read, he put together a March Madness style bracket with 16 of his favorite finds. From the initial “Sweet 16,” the viewers voted to determine the “Elite Eight,” then the “Final Four,” followed by the “Terrific Two,” and finally the one winning book, which would be the Spring Read for the FBC. Jimmy’s original bracket was made up of 16 action-packed, thrilling mysteries.
The champion that has become the Spring Read is Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra, a debut novel. According to LateNighter News, there were about 1 million total voters involved in determining the winner, with each viewer allowed to vote up to 10 times on the Fallon Book Club website.
Winner Takes It All
The Fallon Book Club has helped debut authors become New York Times Best Sellers. Having your book selected by Jimmy Fallon could change the trajectory of your career as an author. Thanks to the publicity from the FBC, Nightwatching’s sales have made an outstanding increase. When Jimmy first introduced the novel as a contestant on the bracket, it was #20,143 on Amazon’s list of Best-Selling Books.
A couple days after the voters proclaimed it the winner, it jumped to #46, according to LateNighter News. Jimmy also announced that he would invite the author of the winning book onto the show, which will even further promote Sierra’s novel.
Bring A Social Life to Your Book
Today, people are using social media to connect in ways beyond the traditional gatherings. Connect with Jimmy and the FBC by following along on Facebook and Instagram @FallonBookClub and tagging him with mentions of your book.
Use the hashtag #FallonBookClub and ask friends and family to do the same. Doing this will help build community around your book.
Getting Fallon’s Attention
Multiple attempts to contact the show were futile, so they must want their selection method to remain a secret. It is likely a combination of publisher contacts, agents, and serendipity. The show’s mailing address is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York.
Jimmy Fallon mainly looks for either love stories or mysteries for the Fallon Book Club. If this aligns with your books, you could be a contender for the segment!
The Bottom Line: A plug on The Tonight Show can be a life changing event. The opportunity is in your hands. Go for it!
About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
by Scott Lorenz | Artificial Intelligence, Blog, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Promoting a Book
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
As a book publicist, I am constantly looking for new and improved ways to help clients promote their books. Marketing is key when it comes to success—you can create a great book, but it will go nowhere if nobody knows about it. One new tool that is being used in book marketing is artificial intelligence (AI). AI is software that helps to carry out a task by collecting and applying data.
Many authors are already using a form of AI while writing. Features such as autocorrect and spellcheck utilize AI to search out grammar and spelling issues and offer corrections. With the more advanced generative AI, it can completely transform the style and tone of your work while keeping the content intact. I recently used AI on the first few pages of a client’s book, asking the program to rewrite it in a more dramatic style, and I was blown away by the finished product!
Beyond writing, AI can be used in many different ways during the publishing process. Here are some examples of ways AI can be used in book marketing.
1. Producing Copy
Using AI, authors can input key ideas and let the machines do the rest! What would take a human being hour to write up can be done in seconds. Sites such as The Associated Press have used AI for years to provide near-instant news, and in publishing, that speed can be used to get content out quickly, jump on the latest trends, and prepare for what comes next.
2. Find Target Audience
Many social media platforms utilize AI to provide personalized recommendations to each user. As stated in an article from FADEL, these recommendations are “a powerful tool for enhancing reader engagement, increasing content consumption, and fostering long-term loyalty.” For authors, AI can find those who will be interested in your book based on other content that they have engaged with.
3. Social Media Content Creation
Similar to producing copy, AI can be used to create social media posts based on popular trends. According to Forbes, this form of AI uses “text-to-image, image-to-video, image-to-image and other varieties of algorithms to create unique content like images, video, music and text.” For authors using social media to promote their books, AI will keep their content relevant and engaging.
4. Book Cover Creation
AI can also be used to create book covers. Given your genre and book content, it can make suggestions for potential covers based on similar or popular titles. Much like creating social media posts, some AI programs can even generate images for your cover. However, make sure to use programs that are not using stolen artwork to teach their AI!
5. Increased Accessibility
AI can also increase the accessibility of your book by generating text-to-speech, creating audiobook formats, translating to other languages, and much more. By offering more than one way to consume your content, more readers will be interested. Author C.S. Lakin recounts her experience of Amazon’s AI Audiobook feature: “Honestly, it took all of fifteen minutes, after I spent one minute choosing one of my titles, picking a voice, and publishing. Seriously! I have an entire 11 hours of audio listening for Time Sniffers, and it took Al all of ten minutes. The reading is pretty good—better than some narrators I paid to do my audiobooks.” Even better, this program is free!
6. Find Places and People for Promotion
You can ask AI chatbots for suggestions of places to promote your book based on your genre, target audience, or other factors. They can quickly locate influencers, websites, magazines, or bookstores that might be interested in promoting your book! Given how vast the internet is, it’s much simpler than trying to find them on your own. Plus, AI can find places that might not have ever crossed your mind.
7. Interview Practice
Not sure how to talk about your book? Ask AI chatbots to ask you questions about it. You can prepare answers for common questions before actual interviews. AI can also offer feedback on your answers, such as how to improve wording or what information you should add or remove.
8. Predictive Analysis
AI can be used to track trends and predict what will come next. What books will be popular? What advertising methods will be effective? What will catch people’s attention? What is going out of style? AI can study past and current trends to predict the answers to these questions. PublishersWeekly claims, “[AI] can do a great job with competitive analysis and can paint a compelling real-time picture of what’s happening in the market to the books that are siphoning off sales, and to opportunities missed.” Get ahead of the curve by preparing for the next big thing!
Reminder: Always double-check your AI-produced creations! You don’t want false or plagiarized information.
AI will continue to grow and expand, and authors should take advantage of it. It is cost-efficient, effective, and saves time. Some common AI programs for writers and publicists include ChatGPT, Bard, Jasper, CopyAI, Writesonic, Ocoya, Bing CoPilot, and DALL-E. However, this barely scratches the surface of the hundreds of programs available for every niche. Take time to explore and find what works for you!
If you’d like to see a step-by-step overview in using AI, check out an online video class by Jess Todtfeld, President of Success In Media, Inc, a leading business communication expert whose clients include the United Nations and Fortune 500 firms. ChatGPT to Supercharge Your Public Relations Media Training. Just watching the free previews will help you.
The Bottom Line: AI is a valuable tool when it comes to book marketing, as it is an effective and efficient way to expand your audience.
About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Book Marketing at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Blog, Book Awards, Book Contests
ENTER BOOK AWARD CONTESTS AND BECOME AN AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR in 2024!
I followed Scott’s advice. It worked! To my complete surprise, Beautiful Evil Winter earned a bouquet of book awards, including a highly coveted Eric Hoffer Award and a Readers’ Favorite award.
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
“Do book awards matter?”
YES!!
As a book publicist, I can assure you they absolutely do matter! One client won several awards and was contacted by two movie producers about her Young Adult Sci-Fi Fantasy Fiction novel. Another one of my clients won the prestigious Los Angeles Book Festival award. That then led to a flurry of media interest, which subsequently led to a major New York agent deciding to represent the book and pitch it to all the major publishing houses. This author, needless to say, was happy he decided to enter.
Recently a business book client won a major award which caused CNN to reach out to request the book. I could go on and on with examples of how pursuing and winning book awards will give you opportunities to reach out to the media, booksellers, and agents. As a book publicist, I see the media perk up when an author client has received an award. It’s the added credibility that gives them the assurance that the book is worthwhile. It takes the risk out of the equation for the producer or reporter if it’s an ‘award-winning’ book.
Awards also helped take my book Book Title Generator: A Proven System in Naming Your Book to the next level. It’s earned nine awards including the Independent Author Network, Pencraft Book Awards, Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards, and Literary Titan Book Award, just to name a few. My book also landed a spot in the Must-Read category for authors of all experiences and publishers of all sizes. I used a new service called Book Award Pro to take the drudgery out of keeping tabs of all the award entries. Check them out at: https://bit.ly/BookAwardPro
There’s no denying that awards create interest in your book, which can lead to more sales and other opportunities. A book award may cause someone to stop in their tracks and consider picking up your book in a bookstore. A book award can give you an edge and sometimes that’s all the difference you need to propel your book into bestseller territory. If you win you can say you are an “award-winning author.” Doesn’t that sound better? Of course, it does, and you get a little magic that comes from a third-party endorsement because an authority says your work is worthy, and that’s priceless.
Most awards charge a fee to enter. Not all awards have a category for your genre and not all of these will work for every book.
Here’s a list of my top book awards worthy of your consideration.
Keep in mind that links change all the time and contests come and go. Some links are for the previous year because that’s all that was available at the time of this writing.
1. Entering IndieFab Awards should definitely be on your literary to-do list. https://publishers.forewordreviews.com/awards/
2. Find out how your book can earn a Hugo Award and check out science fiction’s most prestigious award details. http://www.thehugoawards.org/about/
3. Enter Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards. Don’t miss this important e-book only award. https://globalebookawards.com/
4. The Deadline for the Autumn House Press award for poetry, fiction and non-fiction is late June. Check it out here https://www.autumnhouse.org/submissions/
5. Poets & Writers has a nice list of writing contests, grants and awards. Check it out at: https://www.pw.org/grants
6. Find out how to make it on the Indie Next List to win an Indies Choice Book Award – https://www.bookweb.org/indiebound/nextlist/view
7. The Nautilus Book Award seeks books that make a difference and inspire. https://nautilusbookawards.com/
8. The National Indie Excellence Book Awards competition selects award winners and finalists based on overall excellence of presentation in dozens of categories. Created especially for indie and self-published authors. https://www.indieexcellence.com/
9. Have you written a business book? The Axiom Business Book Awards celebrate excellence in business book writing and publishing by presenting gold, silver and bronze medals in 20 business categories. https://www.axiomawards.com/66/how-to-enter
10. USA Best Book Awards has a ten-year plus track record of honoring and promoting books to the national and international community. The contest is sponsored by American Book Fest, which focuses on mainstream, independent, and self-published books. https://www.americanbookfest.com/2024bestbookawards.html
11. Reader Views Annual Literary Awards were established to honor writers who self-publish or who were published by small presses or independent publishers. https://www.readerviews.com/literaryawards/
12. Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Whether you’re a professional writer, a part-time freelancer or a self-starting student, here’s your chance to enter the only self-published competition exclusively for self-published books. One winning entry will receive $8,000 with nine first-place winners who’ll receive $1,000 each. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/self-published-book-awards
13. Readers’ Favorite Awards receives submissions from independent authors, small publishers, and publishing giants like HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, with contestants that range from the first-time, self-published author to New York Times best-selling authors. https://readersfavorite.com/book-reviews.htm
14. Romance Writer of America promotes the interests of career-focused romance writers by sponsoring awards that acknowledge excellence in the romance genre. RWA sponsors: “The RITA” for published romance fiction novels and “The Golden Heart” for unpublished romance fiction manuscripts. https://www.rwa.org/Online/Awards/Online/Awards/Awards.aspx
15. Rubery Book Award is the longest established book award based in the UK for independent and self-published books. “The key to our success is having a keen eye for quality from distinguished and reputable judges.” First prize is $1,500 and the winning book will be read by a top literary agent. https://www.ruberybookaward.com/
16. The Eric Hoffer Award for independent books recognizes excellence in publishing with a $2,500 grand prize and various category honors and press type distinctions. To enter, a book must be from an academic press, small press or self-published author. https://www.hofferaward.com/
17. Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Thousands of dollars in prize money. Finalists and Winners receive a list in the Next Generation Indie Book Catalog distributed to thousands of book buyers, media and others. Plus, the top 70 books will be reviewed by a top New York Literary agent for possible representation. https://indiebookawards.com/enteryourbook.php
18. The International Book Awards (IBA) are specifically designed to be a promotional vehicle for authors and publishers to launch their careers, open global markets and compete with talented authors and publishers throughout the world. Winners get an extensive public relations campaign, social media promotion and more. https://www.internationalbookawards.com/
19. The Literary Classics Book Awards and Reviews were created to help authors gain recognition for their work and to help parents find the best in literature for children and young adults. http://www.clcawards.org
20. The Scotiabank Giller Prize. A $100,000 grand prize and $10K (CDN) to each of the finalists. To be eligible, a book must be a first-edition, full-length novel or short story collection, written by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. The publisher must enter. Sorry, no self-published books. https://scotiabankgillerprize.ca/
21. The Feathered Quill Book Awards accept submissions from all size publishers and work very hard to honor and publicize the winners (there’s a link to a testimonial page on the awards page – read what past winners have to say). https://featheredquill.com/feathered-quill-book-awards/
22. Shelf Unbound Magazine’s Best Indie/Self-Published Book Competition honors more than 100 indie/self-published books. In addition to $1,500 in cash prizes, they’ll feature the winner, five finalists, and more than 100 “notable” books in the December/January issue of Shelf Unbound. Any independently published book in any genre in any publication year is eligible for entry. Entry fee is $100 per book. The competition also includes the Pete Delohery Award for Best Sports Book, open to fiction and non-fiction sports-related books. https://shelfmediagroup.com/competitions/
23. Chanticleer International Book Awards — Grand prize winner receives $1,000 cash plus other awards. More than $30,000 cash and prizes awarded each year. 15 genres including the CYGNUS for SciFiction, M&M for Mystery & Mayhem, Somerset for Literary, etc. https://www.chantireviews.com/ Several of their winners have received major publishing deals (6 figures) and two have had their works optioned for film.
24. The Royal Dragonfly (all genres) and Purple Dragonfly (children’s books) Book Awards are prestigious national book contests recognizing exceptional authors for excellence in writing and a Story Monsters Approved! (children’s books) must inspire, inform, teach or entertain, and adhere to rigorous standards of excellence. https://www.dragonflybookawards.com/
25. The Independent Author Network IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest opens to all authors with 35 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes exceeding $6,000 USD. An Outstanding Book (category winner) will be awarded in each category with recognition of Finalists. Six outstanding titles will be named the Books of the Year. Winning books will be shared at the IAN Facebook page with over 120,000 fans and 575,000 followers at twitter. https://www.independentauthornetwork.com/book-of-the-year.html
26. The Chautauqua Prize for authors is $7,500 plus travel and expense for a short summer residency. Full-length books of fiction and narrative/literary nonfiction are eligible. Self-published books are not eligible. In general, cookbooks, self-help books (including inspirational literature), reference books, picture books, graphic novels, or children’s books are not eligible. https://chq.org/schedule/resident-programs/literary-arts/chautauqua-prize/
27. Mom’s Choice Awards® is recognized in over 55 countries around the world for setting the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. If you have a children’s book or family friendly book, then this is a terrific award to pursue. https://www.momschoiceawards.com/
28. Book Excellence Awards – With over $30,000 in grand prizes in media and marketing services, the Book Excellence Awards has helped honorees increase their book sales, garner attention from film producers, receive distribution in bookstores and increase their visibility and media attention. https://bookexcellenceawards.com/
29. The Page Turner Awards – Their prizes promise the winning authors career-changing opportunities. Fiction authors could win a publishing deal or win an audiobook production, non-fiction authors could win a writing mentorship with a business mentoring expert or get their non-fiction manuscript seen by publishers who are actively looking for work to publish. https://pageturnerawards.com/
30. The Douglas Dillon Book Award is an award presented by the American Academy of Diplomacy designed to celebrate distinguished writing about US diplomatic efforts and achievements. The award comes with a $5,000 cash prize and an invitation to the awards ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the US Department of State. https://www.academyofdiplomacy.org/douglas-dillon-book-award
31. Next Generation Indie Book Awards – The largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. https://indiebookawards.com/
32. The 2024 International Book Awards – Over their 14-year history, thousands of self-published and indie authors have leveraged the promotional power of their International Book Award to increase online recognition, enhance their title’s credibility, and garner more attention in the crowded book buying marketplace. https://www.internationalbookawards.com/2024callforentries.html
33. NAIWE’s 1st Annual Book Awards 2024 – If you have written a book that was published in the last five years, you are eligible to enter it in the NAIWE 1st Annual Book Awards 2024. https://naiwe.com/book-awards/
34. Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction – The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year. The shortlisted authors and eventual winners reflect the expert judgment and insight of the seven-member selection committee of library professionals who work closely with adult readers. These are the ALA’s first single-book awards for adult trade fiction and nonfiction. https://rusaupdate.org/awards/carnegie/
35. BRASS Best of the Best Business Web Resources Award – The BRASS Best of the Best Business Web Resources Award was established in 2009. The Award recognizes 3-5 websites highly relevant to information professionals involved in providing business reference services. The websites are nominated and selected by the BRASS Education Committee members, typically in October-November. https://rocketexpansion.com/book-awards/
36. Sophie Brody Medal – The Sophie Brody Medal was first awarded in 2006 and includes a medal for the winner. It is funded by Sophie and Arthur Brody Foundation, and is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. Works for adults published in the United States in the preceding year will be eligible for the award. https://rusaupdate.org/awards/sophie-brody-medal/
37. Dartmouth Medal – Established in 1974, this medal honors the creation of a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, including, but not limited to: writing, compiling, editing, or publishing books or electronic information. The award is given to works that have been published or made available for the first time during the calendar year preceding the presentation of the award. https://rusaupdate.org/awards/dartmouth-medal/
38. National Book Awards – Established in 1950, the National Book Awards are American literary prizes administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization. A pantheon of writers such as William Faulkner, Marianne Moore, Ralph Ellison, John Cheever, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth, Robert Lowell, Walker Percy, John Updike, Katherine Anne Porter, Norman Mailer, Lillian Hellman, Elizabeth Bishop, Saul Bellow, Toni Morrison, Flannery O’Connor, Adrienne Rich, Thomas Pynchon, Alice Walker, E. Annie Proulx, Jesmyn Ward, and Ta-Nehisi Coates have all won National Book Awards. Although other categories have been recognized in the past, the Awards currently honor the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature, published each year. – https://www.nationalbook.org/national-book-awards/
39. The Booker Prize 2024 – Novelist Esi Edugyan, twice-shortlisted for the Booker Prize, will chair the panel and will be joined by Adjoa Andoh, actor, writer and director; Mary Jean Chan, poet, lecturer, editor and critic; James Shapiro, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and author specializing in Shakespeare; and Robert Webb, actor and writer. https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/2024
40. PEN America Literary Awards – Since 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards have honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of our partners, PEN America confers over 20 distinct awards, fellowships, grants and prizes each year, awarding nearly $350,000 to writers and translators. https://pen.org/literary-awards/
41. The Neustadt Prize – The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and World Literature Today since 1970. It is the first international literary award of this scope to originate in the United States and one of few international prizes for which poets, novelists, and playwrights are equally eligible. https://www.neustadtprize.org/
42. The National Book Critics Circle Awards – Each year, the National Book Critics Circle presents awards for the finest books published in English in six categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Poetry, and Criticism. https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/
43. John Leonard Prize – Named for the longtime critic and NBCC co-founder John Leonard, the Leonard Prize is awarded for the best first book in any genre and was launched in 2013. Recent winners include Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So (2021) and Luster by Raven Leilani (2020). https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/leonard-prize/
44. The Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award – The Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award was established in 1981 to honor Ivan Sandrof (1911-1979), the first president of the National Book Critics Circle. The Sandrof Award is given to a person who has, over time, made significant contributions to book culture. https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/sandrof/
45. The Toni Morrison Achievement Award – The Toni Morrison Achievement Award was established in 2021 to honor novelist Toni Morrison (1911-1979), a former National Book Critics Circle Winner who championed literature throughout her celebrated career. The Morrison Award is given annually to an institution that has, over time, made significant contributions to book culture. The decision to name the award for Toni Morrison was the result of a year-long process in which the general membership of the NBCC was asked to nominate deserving candidates. https://www.bookcritics.org/the-toni-morrison-achievement-award/
46. Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize – The NBCC’s Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize seeks to highlight the artistic merit of literature in translation and recognize translators’ valuable work, which expands and enriches American literary culture by bringing world literature to English-language readers. https://www.bookcritics.org/gregg-barrios-book-in-translation-prize/
47. Mystery Writers of America Edgar® Awards – The 78th Annual Edgar® Awards will be celebrated on May 1, 2024, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City. The 2024 Edgar Award Symposium events will be online via Zoom. https://edgarawards.com/
48. The British Book Awards 2024 – The moment for the British book industry to celebrate its own has arrived with the 2024 British Book Awards Books of the Year shortlists. Now in its 34rd year, the ‘Nibbies’ showcases the very finest fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature, from compelling page-turners to insightful memoir and beyond. The winners will be announced on Monday 13 May. https://www.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-british-book-awards
49. The Writers’ Prize (formerly Rathbones Folio Prize) – The Writers’ Prize is awarded to the book which represents the truest example of literary excellence in any one year. It is open to all works of literature written in English of any genre or form (except for books written explicitly for children) and published in the UK. https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/thewritersprize
50. 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards – Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 16, 2023, and November 14, 2024, will be eligible for the 2024 awards. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/195298.2024_Goodreads_Choice_Awards_Predictions
51. The Orwell Prizes 2024 – Every year we award prizes to the writing and reporting which best meets the spirit of George Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-prizes/
52. Nebula Awards – June 6th-9th, 2024 – Pasadena, California and Online – Registration is open! Join them to engage in professional development, foster community among aspiring and established industry professionals, and of course, celebrate our Nebula Award finalists and honorees throughout the weekend and at the Nebula Award ceremony. That includes recognizing the inspiring work of their newest Grand Master, Susan Cooper. https://events.sfwa.org/
53. The 2024 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction – Bringing people together through a shared passion for books written by women. The Women’s Prize Trust enriches society by creating equitable opportunities for women in the world of books and beyond. https://womensprize.com/
54. The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction – The Baillie Gifford Prize rewards excellence in non-fiction writing, bringing the best in intelligent reflection on the world to new readers. It covers all non-fiction in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. We celebrate the best in contemporary non-fiction writing as we believe all the best stories are true. https://www.thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/
55. The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature – The Michael L. Printz Award annually honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit, each year. In addition, the Printz Committee names up to four honor books, which also represent the best writing in young adult literature. The awards announcement is made at the ALA Midwinter Meeting as part of the Youth Media Awards and is celebrated with a program and reception each year at the ALA Annual Conference. https://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz/
56. John Newbery Medal – The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newbery
57. Randolph Caldecott Medal – The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecott
58. The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards – First presented in 1967 and customarily announced in June, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the field of children’s and young adult literature. Winners are selected in three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction. Two Honor Books may be named in each category. https://www.hbook.com/page/boston-globe-horn-book-awards-landing-page
59. Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table – The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood. – https://www.ala.org/rt/cskbart
60. Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards – The Tufts poetry awards—based at Claremont Graduate University and given for poetry volumes published in the preceding year—are not only two of the most prestigious prizes a contemporary poet can receive, they also come with hefty purses: $100,000 for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and $10,000 for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. This makes the Kingsley Tufts award the world’s largest monetary prize for a single collection of poetry. And for most poets who have just published their first collection of verse, $10,000 should keep the pen scribbling. https://arts.cgu.edu/tufts-poetry-awards/
61. Griffin Poetry Prize – The Griffin Poetry Prize is one of the world’s most generous poetry awards. As of 2023, the prize is worth C$130,000, making it the world’s largest international prize for a single book of poetry written in, or translated into English. The other shortlisted poets each receive $10,000. https://griffinpoetryprize.com/
62. Page Turner Awards – Page Turner Awards gives unpublished writers the chance to enter unpublished fiction and non-fiction books, to be read by a carefully curated judging panel made up of influential players in the publishing industry. And published authors, whether mainstream published or independently published, the chance to get their fiction story or non-fiction book recognized by successful authors, high-calibre industry professionals and film producers. https://pageturnerawards.com/2024-book-award
63. Nero Book Awards – Celebrating outstanding writing by great authors living in the UK and Ireland, these awards list the best books of the year. Each year, their expert panel of judges will choose which books from the past 12 months they would most want to recommend to others for their quality writing and readability. From a shortlist of 16 unputdownable books, a winner will be named in each of the following four categories: Children’s Fiction, Debut Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction. An overall winner, given the Nero Gold Prize for the “Book of the Year”, will also be named. https://nerobookawards.com/
64. The IndieReader Discovery Awards – The IR Discovery Awards seek to find the best of the best. Every book is read by an IR Pro reviewer and judged on its own merit. Only if it receives a 4+ rating does it go on to be read by one of our judges. https://indiereader.com/the-discovery-awards/
65. The Independent Publisher Book Awards – Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s best independently published titles from around the world. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published books released each year. https://www.ippyawards.com/
66. Next Generation Indie Book Awards – The largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. The most exciting and rewarding book awards program open to independent publishers and authors worldwide is now accepting entries written in English and released in 2023, 2024 or 2025 or with a 2023, 2024 or 2025 copyright date. https://www.indiebookawards.com/
67. The International Best Indie Book Award® – Celebrating 12 Years of Recognizing Indie Authors! The annual Best Indie Book Award® (or BIBA®) is an international literary awards contest recognizing self-published and independently published authors from all over the world. Entries are limited to independently (indie) published books, including those from small presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors. https://bestindiebookaward.com/submit/
68. The National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) – The National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) are open to all English language printed books available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors. NIEA is proud to be a champion of self-publishing and small independent presses going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect. https://www.indieexcellence.com/
69. Poetry Awards – Writer’s Digest’s only competition exclusively for poetry, the Annual Poetry Awards, is not currently accepting entries. Winners are awarded cash and prizes. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/poetry-awards
70. Personal Essay Awards – Writer’s Digest’s newest competition, the Personal Essay Awards, is not currently accepting entries. Winners of the competition are announced annually in our May/June issue of Writer’s Digest. https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/personal-essay-awards
71. The Autumn House Press Fiction Prize – For the 2024 contest, the Autumn House staff as well as select outsider readers serve as the preliminary readers, and the final judge is Kristen Arnett. The winner receives publication of their full-length manuscript and $2,500. https://www.autumnhouse.org/submissions/fiction/
72. Nilsen Literary Prize for a First Novel – Open to English-writing, U.S. residents who have not yet published a novel. http://www.semopress.com/events/nilsen-prize/
73. The Cowles Poetry Book Prize – Open to any living poet writing in English, age 18 or older, regardless of publication history. http://www.semopress.com/events/cowles-prize/
74. The Encore Award – The Encore Award was first presented in 1990 to celebrate the achievement of outstanding second novels. The Award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes. The RSL has administrated the award since 2016. https://rsliterature.org/the-encore-award/
75. The PEN Open Book Award – The PEN Open Book Award, formerly the Beyond Margins Awards, invites book submissions by authors of color, published in the United States during the applicable calendar year. The Open Book Award was created by PEN America’s Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities. Works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography/memoir, poetry, and other works of literary character are strongly preferred. https://pen.org/pen-open-book-award/
76. The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction – The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction honors the best published works of fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year. Three writers are chosen annually by the Board of Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to serve as judges, ensuring that our awards selection process is free of commercial influence. https://www.penfaulkner.org/our-awards/pen-faulkner-award/
77. The Pulitzer Prize – Each spring, Columbia University awards Pulitzer Prizes in eight Books, Drama and Music categories. The winners are chosen by the Pulitzer Prize Board, which seeks to recognize excellence by eligible American writers, playwrights and composers. https://bdmentrysite.pulitzer.org/
78. Shirley Jackson Awards – In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, The Shirley Jackson Awards, Inc. has been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. https://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/
79. National Jewish Book Awards – Inaugurated in 1950, the National Jewish Book Awards is the longest-running North American awards program of its kind and is recognized as the most prestigious. The Awards are intended to recognize authors, and encourage reading, of outstanding English-language books of Jewish interest. https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards
80. The Christy Award® – The Christy Award® was established in 1999 to acknowledge the value and impact of the novel of faith in contemporary culture. Since that time, the Christys have been a focal point for the writers and publishers in our community, symbolizing the best aspirations and accomplishments of writers who write from a perspective of faith and who create stories with matters of belief at their core. https://www.christyawards.com/
81. Carol Awards – The Carol Awards are ACFW’s recognition for the best Christian fiction published in the previous calendar year. The first round of the contest will be judged by three published authors or by experienced unpublished authors. The final round will be judged by agents, editors and multi-published authors, and other industry professionals. In the event of a tie, the previous round scores of the tied entries will be used to break the tie. https://acfw.com/acfw-contests/carol-awards/
82. The CWA Daggers – They award thirteen Daggers in total. Nine of these are for books and short stories and are judged independently by industry professionals. https://thecwa.co.uk/awards-and-competitions/the-daggers/
If You Don’t Have Time to Do All This... A great option for authors to maximize their success in the world of book awards is an automation service called Book Award Pro https://bit.ly/BookAwardPro Their smart matching technology pinpoints the best award opportunities for your book and delivers actionable results. This service automates it all for you: researching thousands of awards, continuously targeting your perfect matches, and professionally submitting your book for awards. Book Award Pro creates a windfall of fresh promotional opportunities for your book – every single month. Check them out at https://bit.ly/BookAwardPro
Author Kelly K. Lavender read this very article about the value of book awards and said this. “I followed Scott’s advice. It worked! To my complete surprise, Beautiful Evil Winter earned a bouquet of book awards, including a highly coveted Eric Hoffer Award and a Readers’ Favorite award. For those that don’t know, the high-profile Readers’ Favorite competition attracts celebrities and New York Times Best-Selling authors. Thanks, Scott for penning that piece! What a game-changer!”
The Bottom Line: Book awards do matter. Enter a few and become an “award-winning author.” As Hockey great Wayne Gretzky said, “You Can’t Score Unless You Shoot!” Get to it and let me know how it goes. If you know of another book award I should check out, please send me the details.
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
The saying goes “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but in the marketing world, the cover and title are crucial to the book’s success. No one picks up a book that doesn’t catch their attention with the cover and title. As a 