2016 Kindle Book Awards
Sponsored by…
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We’re Celebrating Our 5th Annual Kindle Book Awards!
Each Category Winner Will Walk Away With $849 in Cash & Â Prizes.
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2016 Kindle Book Award Details:
WHEN:Â Registration Starts Feb. 15, 2016. Ends May 1, 2016
WHO:Â Any Independent and Small Press Author.
WHAT:Â Books published on Amazon between May 1, 2014 – May 1, 2016 (Must have Amazon Link to qualify).
MINIMUM WORD COUNT: 25K words (to allow for novellas in all categories)
COST: $29Â
HOW: Click the BIG RED “REGISTER” button or click here.
PROCESS–HOW YOU WILL BE JUDGED:
- Books will be pre-screened by KBR staff and our amazing review team. We will initially read the “Look Inside” sample (90% of your score) and Amazon book description (10% of score). We’re looking for books with a compelling book description, but more importantly, books that “grab us from the beginning” and make us want to continue reading. The screening process is an indication of your potential buyers experience with your book, as subjective as that is. Book covers will only be judged to settle a tie.
- Your sample is enough for us to get a feel for the quality of writing and professionalism, and to get us excited about your book. Your book description should be compelling with zero typos. We recommend that you fix any typos on your book page and book file before submitting. We WILL NOT accept updated files after it is already submitted.
- If your book passes “pre-screening” it will become a “Semifinalists” (20 max per category) and one of our top reviewers who love your genre will read the manuscript in its entirety.
- NOTE: Advertising on our site will NOT help you win. Our screeners and review/judging team care nothing about ads. All we care about is finding the best books. That’s our quest, our passion. Of course, as always, literature is subjective and we hope you understand that.
 CATEGORIES: The following  genres & sub-genres are welcome (Min 25K words)
- Mystery/Thriller
- Romance
- Y/A
- Sci-fi/Fantasy
- Literary Fiction
- Horror/Suspense
- Non-Fiction
 AWARDS: 7 category Winners will Receive $300 cash, and $549 in promotion & tools.
- $300 Cash to Each Category Winner [Compliments of The Kindle Book Review ($200), Digital Book Today, ($100)].
- $200 in Free Promotion from The Kindle Book Review.
- $150 in Free Promotion from Digital Book Today.
- $50 in Free “Group” Promotion from Digital Book Today.
- FREE 1-year Premium Membership ($149 value) from authormarketingclub.com.
- All Semi-finalsts, Top-5 Finalists, and Winners will receive a Contest Badge.
HOW MANY BOOKS CAN I SUBMIT?: Authors can submit up to 2 titles max.
IMPORTANT DATES (Mark on your Calendar & watch your email/spam):
- Submissions Accepted: Feb. 15, 2016
- End Submissions: May 1, 2016
- Announce Category Semi-finalists: July 1, 2016
- Announce Top-5 Category Finalists: Oct. 1, 2016
- Announce 7 Winners: Nov. 1, 2016
LANGUAGE: All books must be written in the English language.Â
FORMAT:
All submissions must be in “mobi” format. This is the most commonly accepted Kindle format. You can get your mobi copy from your KDP account. Simply login to your KDP account, click “Bookshelf”, and then click on your book. Next, scroll down to “7. Preview Your Book” and click on the “Download Preview Book File” link. Or you can go to draft2digital.com and get your MS Word doc professionally formatted to mobi for FREE. You do not have to publish at draft2digital.com to take advantage of their free formatting service. I highly recommend this site; their customer service is excellent. Please do not contact us regarding book formatting; we’re going to be too busy reading to help you with this. If you have questions, contact KDP Customer Service, or draft2digital.com.
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HOW CAN YOU HELP? GLAD YOU ASKED!
You can help us promote this contest with tweets, FB posts, and Blog posts. Or share it with your author friends. The more publicity this contest gets, the better exposure YOU will receive if you are a Finalist or Winner!
Use this link in your promotion:Â https://wp.me/P2H01p-87N
Feel free to use any of the images on this page when promoting the contest. And stop by our sponsor websites and let them know how grateful you are for their contributions.
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RULES & CONDITIONS:
Any author submitting their book(s) to The 2016 Kindle Book Awards agree that their book will be judged by the Kindle Book Review Team & Reviewers (volunteers) and that the author is not guaranteed an award, prize, or publicity in return for the entry fee. Author understands that awards are based upon merit and not because the author buys promotion or any goods real or imagined from The Kindle Book Review and/or its sponsors, and the judges decisions are subjective and final. Books (either the print or ebook) must have a publish date within the guidelines between May 1, 2014 and May 1st, 2016. We prefer the pub date on the ebook, but we can accept a print pub date that meets guidelines as long as we receive a digital copy at the time of submission and an ebook is published on Amazon at a reasonable time after the cut off date. Re-issued books that retain an old, out of spec pub date will not be accepted. Author authorizes The Kindle Book Review and their associates permission to read and judge his or her work, and will not hold them responsible for any damages seen or imagined due to not winning an award or prize. Only semi-finalists (20 max per category) and finalists (Top 5 per category) and category winners will be notified if they advance. All works will be judged on the file submitted–no updated files will be accepted. Author further gives The Kindle Book Review and its sponsors permission to post his or her book cover, excerpts, or use of author’s name for publicity purposes during and after the contest. Author agrees that the judges are not obligated to “review” , “edit”, or “critique” said book(s). We reserve the right to update the rules at any time.
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WHAT NOT TO DO: 1. Do not email us and inquire about your status/results. We will not respond to inquiries. If you are having trouble loading your kindle file see notes above regarding formatting.
2. Do not send doc files, jpg, pdf or unformatted Kindle files (unless specifically requested by The Kindle Book Review). 3. Do not worry if your Kindle file does not load. If you pass the initial screening and make it into the “Semifinals” we will contact you if there is a problem with your file. Initial screening is based on YOUR Amazon sample, and book page–this contest is initially judged on the “reader’s” experience (see above for details), so we are more concerned about the sample the reader reads while visiting your Amazon book page. Only top-20 category semifinalists will get a full reading.
If you are not on our author mailing list, you can subscribe here. Please share this with your author friends and/or fellow reviewers. Then, confirm your subscription and check your email/spam for future notifications and confirmations.
Do you take children’s books for this competition?
Only if the fit in one of the 7 categories. Min. word count of 25K.
I am surprised that there is no category for children’s books.
Will Kindle offer an awards program just for children’s books in the future?
Hi Mary, We do not have a children’s category at this time because we do not (and have not) had reviewers interested in this category. If we had reviewers who read and consistently reviewed this genre, we would gladly add the category. Unfortunately, our review team has not had qualified/interested reviewers for this category.
How do you source your reviewers… there are plenty I could name who would opt to help review children’s books. Seems a missed opportunity
We have an application in our Contact page. When a reader fills out the form to voluntarily join our review team, we read through their previous Amazon reviews (if they have any). In order for this to happen, they have to provide a link to their Amazon review account. This is an important step because not only do our reviewers need to be well versed in their genre(s) of choice, they also need to be somewhat Internet savvy because they need to be able to handle the Kindle files (loading/gifting, etc) and able to post their reviews on our account. Sometimes we’ll turn down a reviewer is they can’t handle the basics of posting a review or providing a link where we can find their past reviews. Personally, I wish there were more children’s lit reviewers coming to us, but they just don’t. Part of the reason is probably because our reviewers are numerically rained according to the general popularity of most genres (EX: Romance is highest, followed by Mystery/thriller, then YA, etc). If you know children’s lit reviewers, send them our way. And if they faithfully read and review children’s books throughout the year we may be able to add the category. Hope that helps!
Hi guys – at the top it still says “under construction”… 🙂
Oh, Thank you!
[…] is the information from their website https://www.thekindlebookreview.net/2016-kindle-book-awards/#comment-12107: WHEN: Registration Starts Feb. 15, 2016. Ends May 1, 2016 WHO: Any Independent and Small Press […]
Hi
The registrations-form’s link doesn’t work.
Thank you. Try again. We made a temporary form that is working from the 2016 Awards home page.
The form will only accept MOBI files up to 1420KB. The smallest I can make mine is 1820KB. Even the Amazon download is 6MB. Any other way to submit the file?
Try again, Xio. We’ve update that to 6 MB. We had some form issues this weekend and have been updating. Please email me at jeffbennington@ymail.com if you have any more issues. Here’s the link: https://form.jotform.com/60408387165964
Thanks!
My file is 8MB via the Amazon download. How can I reduce the file size?
Not sure about that. You may have to talk to your formatter. I thought Amazon KDP only takes up to 6 MB?
A post-upload MOBI file contains 3 files. The source file (so, your Word file, or an ePUB, etc.); a KF7 MOBI file, and a KF8 Kindlebook file. That’s why your file is large. There is a rather convoluted way to reduce that down to simply the Kindlebook file, BUT, having said that, be aware that some of the judges or reviewers may not have the more-updated KF8 reading devices.
As your file is ~8MB, I’m guessing that your book contains images or graphics of some kind. If it does, ask your formatter to OPTIMIZE the images, for the purposes of this submission. Also, there’s no reason to have a massive cover file embedded, either. Your formatter can do this for you. If you don’t have a formatter, a) reduce your cover file size, significantly; b) reduce the image quality and size in your Word file (or..?), and then run it through the KDP again. Your formatter can use more-advanced compression settings, should s/he have professional experience. Programs like GIMP, Photoshop, etc., will allow you to OPTIMIZE the images (make them smaller physically and reduce the number of pixels for each).
I hope that helps you, or anyone else that comes along.
Thank you!
@JeffBennington: No, the Amazon KDP upload will accept up to 50MB. Who told you 6? I have a few clients considering this competition, so please feel free to email me if you need additional information on this.
I don’t remember where I heard that. But thank you for the info!
I had the same problem as Christopher. My book IN HIS KEEPING: TAKEN is over 100,000 words and has no images, but I have uploaded the mobi file several times and it seems like it takes it, but when I hit submit it tells me the file is too big.
Hi Mary,
Submit the form without loading the file, and send the mobi file to me at: jeffbennington @ ymail.com We keep increasing the file size allowance and the files coming in just keep getting bigger and bigger. I think it’s currently set at 8 MB, but we can increase that.
I have a book on pre-order with a release date of April 22. Can I go ahead and enter it now, or do I need to wait until April 22.
You can enter it now. And if you don’t have the final mobi file yet, that’s okay. Just email it to me (jeffbennington @ ymail.com) when you get it. The file is not mandatory in the submission form. However, if your book moves forward in the contest, your publish date must be within the dates listed in the guidelines.Good luck!
For a book already published, is there anything that can be changed before submitting ? Like the book description?
Sure. If you have access to your Amazon KDP you can always update your book description. But I would change that as soon as possible because some books are screened before May 1.
The form isn’t linking properly to paypal. It opens the paypal screen with an error that says “Sorry — your last action could not be completed.”
Sorry DP. That could’ve been a connection issue, or Paypal prob. The form is working on our end. Have you tried again since 4/10?
My novel was originally published in Nov 2013 but a second, newly edited/new cover edition was just launched this month (April 2016) – does it qualify? I hope so, I’m really excited about the new edition and want to enter in the literary fiction category. Please let me know, thanks.
As long as the listed Amazon publish dates shown in your ebook “Book Details” is within the 2016 guidelines, you’re good to go. Got a link? I’ll check it out.
http://www.amazon.com/Massive-Black-Hole-Andrea-Barbosa-ebook/dp/B00FKJK9S4
The new edition doesn’t show a new date though. I’ll contact Amazon to find out.
Here’s the publish date for Massive Black Hole. Missed it by about 6 months. Looks like you have other qualifying books on your Amazon author page though. Do you write under a pseudonym (Elizabeth Ann Domino, Fern Brady)?
Publisher: The Lonely Poet Publishing House; 2 edition (November 26, 2013)
Publication Date: November 26, 2013
I’m checking with Amazon if they can change the date since the new cover and new edition are different than the one published there, actually that is the first edition, it says 2 edition but not the correct date. The others are short stories that I have published in those anthologies, so they wouldn’t count. I write romance under Andrya Bailey, so I might submit the one that was published last year. I really wanted to submit the newly edited literary fiction, so I’ll see what I can do with Amazon in order to change the new date. Thanks!
I understand, and I hope they’ll work with you.
Thanks, Jeff. I entered another book. The way it works I’d have to delete the file completely and upload the new one as a brand new book, so I’ll leave as is. They told me if I don’t want to do that since the new version is already published, I can just adjust the book preview to reflect this is a new edition.
Alrighty. Good luck!
Are Kindle Scout winner titles eligible?
Of course! Doesn’t every author want to have one of “those” books with like 8 award badges on their book cover? Good luck! For your convenience ~> https://form.jotform.com/60408387165964
What if my latest book published is the last book in a series? I published the first of nine books in my series in 2012, finishing the last book in 2014. How do you feel about series books?
So….will there eventually be an answer to my question too? Does the entry need to be a standalone book, or can it be one of a series (especially if it isn’t the first book?)
Sorry if we missed your question! Yes. It can be one in a series. You can enter up to 2 books, so you could potentially enter 2 in the series. We’ve had semi-finalists that were a 2nd or 3rd in a series. Hope that helps!
As we’ve stated in previous comments and emails, we’re looking for the best writing. We’re not hung up on getting the genre and sub-genres exact. Nor are we overly concerned about the order of the series. As noted on the 2016 book awards page, we start by reading your Amazon nook sample and look at your page from a readers POV. To move to phase 2, we need to be captivated by the sample and drawn in by the description for what’s to come. So as you can see, the beginning pages are of extreme importance, as a posed to the rest—at least to become a semi-finalist. After that, we read the book in it’s entirety.
Can a book be entered in more than 1 category?
Yes. If you feel that strongly about the strength of the two genres and you’d like two separate judges to take a look than feel free. You will have to enter it twice though- once for each genre.
And therefore pay the fee twice?
Yes. You’re asking two judges to spend their valuable time reading instead of just one. But you don’t have to enter in two categories. That would be an extravagancy on your part.
Yes. See other replies to that question here in the comments.
My book’s official pub date is May 3rd but the print version is already being sent out to purchasers by Amazon. All the data about the books and the first customer reviews are up on Amazon. But the Kindle version isn’t released until May 3rd. Does this make it ineligible for entry in the award?
We would rather have the ebook pub date in bounds, but in all fairness, we have accepted books with an acceptable print(only) publish date. Good luck! For your convenience ~> https://form.jotform.com/60408387165964
Hey I missed the date of submission. Can I do it now.
Sorry. The submission deadline was May 1 at 11:59 pm EST. Maybe next year. Be sure to subscribe to our author newsletter so you don’t miss the announcements and important dates.
The 2016 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalists are to be announced on July 1, which is today. Where do I find this list? Thank you.
Watch the site and your email/junk mail today.
Will you be listing the semi-finalists for the 2016 awards online, or only via email?
Both. Watch your email/junk ,mail today.
My publisher closed and my book went out of print. I am in the process of republishing/seeking representation and/or a new publisher (Booktrope was my previous publisher). I assume I did not place in the semifinals due to a lack of kindle book to view for the book awards? Any chance I can bank my entry until I get a fair shot at it? I can accept that this may not be possible because I failed to contact you or try to change it ahead of the judging. thank you. My entry was “The Packing House.”
How many books were entered in each category?
We had over 800 total entries, and they were numerically broken down in typical genre popularity with Romance having the highest number of entries followed by Mystery thriller, YA, Sci-fi/Fantasy, etc etc.
The link says it’s beyond the entry date but that’s incorrect?
Hi Toni,
You’re posting this comment on the 2016 Kindle Book Awards page so I’m not sure what you’re referring to; the 2017 or 2016 Kindle Book Awards? Can you give me more specifics, Book title, link, publish date, so I can get the big picture os what you are asking, and then maybe I can be of greater assistance.
[…] Kindle Book Awards—Seven major categories for any book that qualifies and makes the cut. Kindle Book Awards are highly visible, and awards range from monetary awards to memberships to badges. Winners announced in November. (https://www.thekindlebookreview.net/2016-kindle-book-awards/ […]
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