Self-Published E-book Awards

Contents

PRIZES

• $5,000 in cash
• Featured interview in the July/August 2026 issue of Writer’s Digest and on WritersDigest.com
• A paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, including a special trophy presentation at the keynote
• A coveted pitch opportunity where the winner will receive one-on-one attention from editors or agents
• One year Subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest magazine
• 20% discount off of purchases made at Writer’s Digest University
• A special graphic recognizing their winning status

• $1,000 in cash
• Winner's name and the book's title published in the July/August 2026 issue of Writer’s Digest and on WritersDigest.com
• One year Subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest magazine
• 20% discount off of purchases made at Writer’s Digest University
• A special graphic recognizing their winning status

• $50 off a purchase from the Writer’s Digest Shop
• Winner's name and the book's title listed on WritersDigest.com
• A special graphic recognizing their winning status

CATEGORIES

FICTION

NON-FICTION

• History
• Philosophy and insight
• Politics and Social Science
• True crime books
• Biographies
• Autobiographies
• Memoirs
• Family Histories

• Entertainment
• Self-Help & Personal Development, Inspirational
• Religion & Spirituality, Cultural, and Social Issues
• Health, Fitness, & Dieting 
• Lifestyle
• Politics & Social Sciences 
• Cookbooks, Food, & Wine
• Business & Money 
• Parenting & Relationships 
• Education & Teaching 
• Crafts, Hobbies & Home, Garden & Farm

How to Enter

Preparing Your Entry

Important & Helpful Information Prior to Entering

• Review the specific competition prospectus. Each competitions prospectus is provided as an easy to follow PDF; they can be found on a specific competitions main page. Click here to view all competitions which are currently accepting submissions: https://www.writersdigest.com/wd-competitions
• Have your necessary information available when you are ready to submit your entry.
• All entries must be submitted online through Submittable. If you already have a Submittable account, simply log in!
• Please be sure that the email address that you provide will be valid throughout the competition span. Competition related updates and winner notifications are sent via: email. Please type carefully, and list only one valid email address. Check your spelling carefully including all login information, email addresses etc. Incorrect email addresses may result in the transmission of important information being delayed and/or unsuccessful. Be sure that our email addresses (both Writer’s Digest and Submittable) are not blocked, or you may not receive critical information, receipts, confirmations etc. Check your SPAM folder for any expected but unaccounted for email communications.
• Once an entry has been submitted, no edits, replacements or exchanges will be accepted. If you wish to submit an edited or revised version of a previously submitted entry, you may enter it as a new submission (you may wish to edit the title slightly as well so that you can differentiate them).
• The submitter is who we will refer to as the author, and who we will contact with any questions, updates etc. If the submitter and the author are not the same, please indicate accordingly in parenthesis, on the submitter name line. If you write under a pen name, please indicate.
• Check your spelling carefully including all login information, email addresses etc. Incorrect email addresses may result in transmission of important information being delayed and/or unsuccessful.
• Be sure that neither Writer’s Digest or Submittable email addresses are blocked. Blocking either address, including marking either as Spam or Junk, will prohibit you from receiving competition related updates, critical information, receipts, confirmations, etc.
• If you write under a pen name, or if there are multiple authors, please indicate names on PEN NAME line of the submission form.
• Writer’s Digest assumes all entries are original and are the works and property of the entrant, with all rights granted therein.
• Writer’s Digest is not liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant and will not become involved in copyright disputes.
• Writer's Digest reserves the right to reject work deemed unsuitable for publication or that does not meet all named criteria.
• Winner Notification dates refer to the date that all winners will be notified by.
• Non-Winner Notification: Entrants not selected as winners will not be notified individually; non-winners will be emailed a competition status update in the weeks following the winner notification date. If you enter multiple times, please excuse duplicate emails, as you may receive an email for each separate entry.
• All entries must be submitted online.
• Entry fees must be paid online by credit/debit card (MC, V, AMEX & DISC) or PayPal.
• All deadlines are at 11:59 PM EST, on the specified date. This is the date that all related materials (when applicable) must be submitted by as well.

CATEGORY SELECTION

• Contemporary Fiction: A work of fiction set in modern times with themes and/or subject matter that reflects this specific moment. Typical length: 40,000 to 100,000 words. There are no limits for submissions; novellas to epics are all welcomed.
• Romance: Historical or contemporary, paranormal or suspenseful, chaste or sexy, LGBTQ+, no matter the path you take, don’t forget to deliver a satisfying happy ending. Typical length: 40,000 to 100,000 words. There are no limits for submissions; novellas to epics are all welcomed.
• Fantasy: High or urban, historical or alternate histories, introduce us to new worlds and fantastic ideas that exceed the boundaries of our own reality. Typical length: 40,000 to 100,000 words. There are no limits for submissions; novellas to epics are all welcomed.
• Science Fiction: Space opera or hard science, cyberpunk or steampunk, introduce us to new worlds, alternate histories, or fantastic ideas that push the boundaries of our own reality. Typical length: 40,000 to 100,000 words. There are no limits for submissions; novellas to epics are all welcomed.
• Mystery/Thriller: From the classic whodunits and police procedurals to high stakes conflicts with ever-increasing tension, hook us from the start and keep us guessing until the end. Typical length: 40,000 to 100,000 words. There are no limits for submissions; novellas to epics are all welcomed.
• Young Adult: Your preferred genre(s) but written specifically for readers age 12-18.Typical length: 30,000 to 100,000 words. There are no limits for submissions; novellas to epics are all welcomed.
• Narrative Nonfiction: Journalists and storytellers whose nonfiction work reads like it could be fiction (but isn’t!) should apply to this category which includes memoirs, biographies, historical narratives, popular science, travel writing, essay collections, etc.   Typical length: 40,000 to 100,000 words. 
• Prescriptive/Informative Nonfiction: Subject-matter experts who aim to instruct or inform readers will find a home for their work in this category, which consists primarily of research-based works such as travel guides, cookbooks, how-to guides/reference, self-help, business, etc.  Typical length: 40,000 to 100,000 words.

Entry Method Options/Preparing Your Entry

• Have your necessary information, including your e-book file or gifting code, at hand when you are ready to submit your entry.
• If gifting a copy of your book, please note that gift codes must be valid until through the entire competition-up to the winner notification date. If you choose to gift a copy of your book through iTunes, please note that their codes have a very short time span and you will most likely need to send additional codes at a later date (for this reason, Amazon gift codes are preferred over iTunes gift codes).
• Additional files/books/codes may be requested of semi-finalists.
• Note to foreign entrants: If you do not live in the U.S. and/or if the book is not available on a U.S. Platform (i.e.: [U.S.] Amazon.com vs. [non-U.S.] Amazon.ca), then the book may not be available to us due to copyright restrictions. In these cases, please provide an actual file of your entry at the time of submission, instead of providing a gift code.
• Entry fees can be paid by credit card/debit card (MC, V, AMEX & DISC) or PayPal.  Please be sure that the email address that you provide will be valid throughout the competition span.
• Please write/type carefully and list only one complete and legible email address. Competition related updates are sent via Submittable messaging, and email.

Rules

• All entries must be submitted online; e-books must be provided at time of submission. Entries must be accompanied by the required entry fee by credit/debit card or PayPal.
• All entries must be in English.
• All books published or revised and republished between 2020 and 2025 are eligible. (Writer’s Digest may demand proof of eligibility of semifinalists.) If a book has been revised and republished, the copyright page MUST indicate that the revision occurred and the year it was republished. Any AI-generated or AI-assisted work will NOT be considered. Authors who subvent publication of their e-books via independent publishers who publish fewer than 12 e-books/year are also eligible.
• Authors who have published in print via a traditional publisher but retained their e-book rights and self-published or subvented publication via independent publishers who publish fewer than 12 e-books/year are also eligible. Entries will be evaluated on craft, category relevance, formatting and overall quality of production, including cover image.
• There is no cap as to the number of submissions or categories that can be entered into the competition overall, however each submission is limited to one book and category (per entry).
• Additional entry discounts are only available when using the linked entry form offered during submission of a full price entry. We cannot offer refunds for discounts not redeemed through the linked form.
• All submissions are final. Refunds are not provided for disqualified, withdrawn, or non-winning entries. Once a submission has been checked out, it is entered into the competition and cannot with edited or replaced.
• If the Grand Prize Winner accepts the Writer’s Digest Conference portion of their prize they must agree to travel (flying round-trip from the same city) during the conference dates in 2026. The editors or agents who meet with the Grand Prize Winner are under no obligation to read, buy, or represent the Grand Prize Winner’s work. This prize includes airfare, hotel, and conference registration.
• Winners must fill out and submit the appropriate tax related forms in order to receive their cash awards. If the forms are not submitted within 60 days of the request date, cash awards may be forfeited.
• Writer’s Digest retains one-time nonexclusive publication rights to excerpts from the Grand Prize and top winning entries to be published in a Writer’s Digest publication. Authors retain all ownership of their work.
• Check your spelling carefully including all login information, email addresses etc. Incorrect email addresses may result in the transmission of important information being delayed and/or unsuccessful. Be sure that our email addresses (Writer’s Digest and Submittable) are not blocked, or you may not receive critical information, receipts, confirmations etc. Check your SPAM folder for any expected but unaccounted for email communications.
• The following are not permitted to enter the contest, neither under their legal names nor pen names: employees of Active Interest Media and their immediate family members; Writer’s Digest Books authors; Writer’s Digest contributing editors and columnists; and Writer’s Digest instructors for online courses and live webinars. Grand Prize-winning authors from this and other WD competitions, within the three years of being awarded, are not eligible. Previous top winning books from this and other WD competitions are ineligible except in the case of substantial rewrites. Ineligible entries will be disqualified.
• Writer’s Digest assumes all entries are original and are the works and property of the entrant, with all rights granted therein.
• Writer’s Digest is not liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant and will not become involved in copyright disputes.
• Writer’s Digest reserves the right to reject work deemed unsuitable for publication or that does not meet all named criteria.
• Winner Notification dates refer to the date that all winners will be notified by. Entrants not selected as winners will not be notified at this time.
• Non-winning submissions will receive a competition status update in the weeks following the notification of winners. 
• Writer’s Digest writing competitions are open to U.S. and non-U.S. residents; however, due to U.S. Government restrictions we are unable to accept entries from Syria, Iran, North Korea, or Crimea.

Pricing and Deadlines

• First entry—$100
• Each additional entry—$85

• First entry—$125
• Each additional entry—$110

Judging and Notification

• Every qualified entry will be read by the judges. Judges’ decisions are final. Judges reserve the right to re-categorize entries.
• Entries must be submitted online by September 15, 2025 (11:59 pm EST).
• If the Grand Prize Winner accepts the Writer's Digest Conference portion of their prize they must agree to travel (flying round-trip from the same city) during the conference dates in 2026. This prize includes airfare, hotel and conference registration.
• Winners must provide an appropriate tax form (W9 or W8BEN) in order to receive their cash awards. If the forms are not received within 60 days of the request date, cash awards may be forfeited.
• The following are not permitted to enter the contest, neither under their legal names nor pen names: employees of Active Interest Media and their immediate family members; Writer’s Digest Books authors; Writer’s Digest contributing editors and columnists; and Writer’s Digest instructors for online courses and live webinars. Grand Prize Winners from the previous three years are not eligible. Ineligible entries will be disqualified.
• Top Award Winners will be notified on or before January 12, 2026. Top winners will be recognized in the July/August 2026 issue of Writer’s Digest and at WritersDigest.com after the July/August 2026 issue is published. Commentaries will be sent to entrants by February 16, 2026.

Still have questions?

• FAQ
• Writer's Digest Competitions