Question about book awards

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu March 10th, 2011, 7:27 pm

Too long to explain the whole kerfuffle, but this question comes around from a couple of comments I received on a recent Amazon review. The first commenter mentioned something about how said book won an award and now a publisher agent has just commented back. To avoid mentioning names I'm not providing the link to the comment and will edit names out of the quoted comment below.

........ published Mr. ........ novel, ........., first in the six book series, .......

We submitted the book to USA 2010 National Book Review Awards competition. There are about 100 recognized national competitions ranging from RITA (Romance Writers of America) to SPUR (Western Writers of America), Indie, Ben Franklin and numerous others. There are no national competitions which do not charge an entry fee for submissions. Each and every book must pay to enter an awards contest - including here on Amazon.

Each and every one of the thousands of submissions to USA Book Review paid a $69.00 entry fee, as did .......on behalf of it's author. Submissions include self published (though some other contests do not allow self published entries) small independent presses like our own, and medium and big name publishing houses.

There were more than fifty categories of awards for various genre, non fiction, and fiction works. Each category had a Winner (best) and from one to seven Finalists (runner-ups).

The number of entrants in the Western and Romance, FAR exceeds the number of winner/finalists in each category. We are very proud that Threads West was the Winner in the Western category, and one of the Finalists in the Romance category.

I can assure you, no person at ....., nor Mr. ..... knows or has ever met any person connected with this national competition, nor does anyone connected with the book know who the reviewers were. We were completely surprised and thrilled with the awards!

This information is readily obtainable on-line. Honest non-motivated opinions of any nature by any reviewer, whether novice, experienced, semi-professional or professional are always welcome. Facts are seperate from opinion and should be accurate.

Very truly yours,

As I understand it we're being told that all competitions come with a price tag. Any of our authors involved in these care to enlighten me?

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Thu March 10th, 2011, 8:10 pm

I don't know about all, but the Romance Writers of America, a reputable organization, charges an entry fee for their RITA awards.

http://www.rwa.org/galleries/default-fi ... 20Form.pdf

The IPPY awards and the ForeWord Magazine awards, which are mainly open to independently published writers, also charge an entry fee. The fee, of course, doesn't guarantee a prize.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu March 10th, 2011, 8:35 pm

Thanks for that. This has been one of those books with very interesting reviews (including one from said publishing agent), let alone some of the comments on the critical reviews. Then the book fell into my lap from a librarything win

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Thu March 10th, 2011, 11:30 pm

The RNA in the UK doesn't charge publishers to enter. All they have to supply are reading copies of the novels they enter - and pay for their tickets at the awards events. I don't know if the CWA charges their members.

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Fri March 11th, 2011, 3:57 am

From what I can tell most (but not all) competitions charge an entry fee and require the entrant to send one or two copies of their book at the entrant's expense. This is why I've never entered any competitions. I can't afford the entry fees alone. Adding a copy or two of the book makes it even further from a possibility.

fljustice · Post by **fljustice** » Fri March 11th, 2011, 4:56 pm

I've never seen a contest that didn't charge a fee, but was curious about the biggies. I thought maybe the Pulitzer and Booker might be by nomination. I checked the Pulitzer and they charge a $50 "handling fee." I couldn't find anything on the Booker site, but didn't spend a lot of time there.

Michy · Post by **Michy** » Fri March 11th, 2011, 5:15 pm

So you mean an author has to actively enter their work into the Pulitzer Prize "contest" to be considered for the prize? That does seem kind of un-prestigious somehow.

Congratulations! You've won the Pulitzer Prize! Oh, and by the way, here's a bill for $50 to cover the handling fees....... sheesh

fljustice · Post by **fljustice** » Sat March 12th, 2011, 4:36 pm

[quote=""Michy""]Congratulations! You've won the Pulitzer Prize! Oh, and by the way, here's a bill for $50 to cover the handling fees....... sheesh

[/quote]

I was very surprised. Here's the quote from the application for 2010:

ENTRIES FOR THE AWARD
What books are eligible for consideration? Books first published in the United States during 2010. All entries must be made available for purchase by the general public in either hardcover or bound paperback book form. In the Fiction, Biography and General Nonfiction categories, authors must be United States citizens. In the History category, the author may be of any nationality but the subject of the book must be U.S. history. In the Poetry category, the award is for original verse by an American author.

Must the publisher make the entry? No, anyone (including the author) may submit a book that is eligible.

What is the deadline for entry? The final deadline for all books published in 2010 is October 1.

What if a book will not be published until October, November or December? Books published during the calendar year but after the entry deadline should be submitted in galley or page-proof form by October 1, 2010.

What materials make up a complete entry?
1. A completed entry form, one biography and one photograph of the author. (Author photos may be submitted as prints (not photocopies) or as jpegs on discs. Please do not e-mail photos.)
2. Four copies of the book
3. $50 handling fee payable to Columbia University/Pulitzer Prizes
(Fees for multiple entries should be paid with one check.)

Can books be sent before other materials are ready? Yes, you may send books first and follow up with forms, fees and other materials. However, please be sure to clearly indicate in which category the book should be entered. All entries must be completed by October 1, 2010.

Ariadne · Post by **Ariadne** » Sat March 12th, 2011, 8:57 pm

I don't think the Langum historical fiction prize charges a fee (no reference to one on their website, anyway) and American Library Association's book prizes don't either. Interesting about the Pulitzer!