CALL FOR ENTRIES
MORE THAN $15,000 IN PRIZES!

ENTRY DEADLINE: Thursday, May 01, 2008
The entry deadline for this competition has passed.

Win $3,000 in cash! Gain international exposure for your book! Catch the attention of prospective editors and publishers!

Writer's Digest is searching for the best self-published books of the past few years. Whether you're a professional writer, part-time freelancer, or a self-starting student, here's your chance to enter the only competition exclusively for self-published books!

THE PRIZES:

ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be awarded $3,000 cash and promotion in Writer's Digest andPublishers Weekly, and marketing advice from self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. Plus, the editors of Writer'sDigest will endorse and submit 10 copies of theGrand Prize-Winning book to major review housessuch as The New York Times and The Washington Post. In addition, Book Marketing Works, LLC will provide a one-year membership in Publishers Marketing Association, a customized Book Market Map Directory, guaranteed distribution to bookstores and libraries through Baker & Taylor, six hours of book shepherding from Poynter Book Shepherd Ellen Reid, guaranteed review in Midwest Book Review, and an all-day PublishingGame.com workshop with Fern Reiss.

9 FIRST-PLACE WINNERSwill receive $1000 cash and promotion in Writer'sDigest. In addition, Book Marketing Works, LLC will provide a guaranteed review in Midwest Book Review and a copy of Fern Reiss’s book The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days.

Plus, all Grand Prize and First Place winners will receive book-jacket seals to promote the award-winning status of their book, promotion on the Writer's Digest Web site at writersdigest.com, a copy of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 4th Edition by Tom and Marilyn Ross, $100 worth or Writer’s Digest Books and a Notable Award Certificate.

HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS will receive promotion in Writer's Digest, $50 worth of Writer's Digest Books and a Notable Award Certificate.

All other entrants will receive Certificates of Participation. And, all entrants will receive a brief judge's commentary and a listing with a link on the Writer's Digest Web site, provided an accurate URL is written on the Entry Form.

THE CATEGORIES:

• Mainstream/Literary Fiction
• Genre Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Inspirational (Spiritual, New Age)
• Life Stories (Biographies, Autobiographies, Family Histories, Memoirs)
• Children's Picture books
• Middle-Grade/Young Adult books
• Reference Books (Directories, Encyclopedias, Guide Books)
• Poetry

THE RULES:

1. The competition is open to all English-language self-published books for which the authors have paid the full cost of publication, or the cost of printing has been paid for by a grant or as part of a prize.

2. Entrants must send a printed and bound book. Entries will be evaluated on content, writing quality and overall quality of production and appearance. No handwritten books are accepted.

3. All books published or revised and reprinted between 2003 and 2008 are eligible. ( Writer's Digest may demand proof of eligibility of semifinalists.)

4. All books must be accompanied by an Official Entry Form. Photocopies of the Official Entry Form are acceptable. You may enter more than one book and/or more than one category; however, you must include a separate book, entry form and the additional fee for each entry.

5. Check, money order or credit card payment for the required judging fee of $100 for the first entry, $50 for each additional entry must accompany submissions.

6. All entries must be postmarked no later than Thursday, May 01, 2008. All winners will be notified by October 13, 2008. If you wish to receive confirmation that your entry was received before the deadline, we recommend using certified mail or some other tracking method to send your entry.

7. Judges reserve the right to withhold prizes in any category. Judges reserve the right to recategorize entries.

8. Books which have previously won awards from Writers Digest are not eligible.

9. Employees of F+W Publications, Inc. and Book Marketing Works, LLC and their immediate families are not eligible.

10. Writer's Digest is not responsible for the loss, damage or return of any books submitted to the competition.

ENTRY FEES:

First entry: $100
Additional entries: $50 each

ENTRY DEADLINE: Thursday, May 01, 2008