More than 48 million Books are available on Amazon.com.
100,000 new titles are added to the Kindle Store every month.
How will you ensure your books stand out to readers in a market with millions of choices?
The best way to move your book ahead of others in your genre(s) is to win an award contest.
The Independent Author Network presents the 11th Annual 2025 IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open to all authors with 75 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes of $6,000 USD.
The 11th Annual IAN Book of the Year Awards is NOW OPEN
An Outstanding Book (category winner) will be awarded in each category with recognition of Finalists.
Six outstanding titles will be named the 2025 Books of the Year.
One Book will be named the 2025 Grand Prize Book of the Year and win $2,500 Cash.
> Winning books will be shared at the IAN Facebook page with over 115,000 fans.
> Winning books will be shared at Instagram and at Threads.net.
> Winning books will be shared with our 575,000 followers at TwitterX.com.
2024 Winners and Finalists
The best way to move your book ahead of others in your genre(s) is to win an award contest.
The Independent Author Network presents the 11th Annual 2025 IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open to all authors with 75 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes of $6,000 USD.
The 11th Annual IAN Book of the Year Awards is NOW OPEN
An Outstanding Book (category winner) will be awarded in each category with recognition of Finalists.
Six outstanding titles will be named the 2025 Books of the Year.
One Book will be named the 2025 Grand Prize Book of the Year and win $2,500 Cash.
> Winning books will be shared at the IAN Facebook page with over 115,000 fans.
> Winning books will be shared at Instagram and at Threads.net.
> Winning books will be shared with our 575,000 followers at TwitterX.com.
2024 Winners and Finalists
2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
The 11th Annual 2025 Book of the Year Awards is NOW OPEN.
Eligibility
The IAN Book of the Year Awards is open to all English language print and eBooks available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors.
We do not have a publication/copyright date requirement or word count restriction. Authors retain all rights. International entries will be accepted as long as the work is in English.
Your entry must be published and available for sale or presale/preorder at Amazon or other online bookstores.
Entrants are not required to forfeit rights to their work.
Judging
Our judges are experienced reviewers, authors, publishers, and editors. Awards are based upon various criteria and the judges’ decisions are final.
Our judges do not return written reviews, comments, or critiques for entered books.
Qualities we are looking for in this year's submissions:
Fiction
Vibrant covers, attention-grabbing openings, memorable characters, crisp dialogue, captivating and original plots, and climactic, memorable endings.
Non-fiction
Eye-catching covers and interior design. A descriptive and inviting title with organized, well-researched material on a subject that is timely and/or timeless, unique, or presented in a unique way that appeals to a wide audience.
How to Enter
1.) Select a category or categories which are most applicable to your book. You may enter as many categories as you like.
Categories Page Click PDF Download here
2.) Fill out and submit the Online Entry Form. A PDF or ePub copy of your book must be uploaded at time of entry, or you may choose to ship a print copy of your book to us.
3.) When we receive your Entry Form, we will Email you a PayPal invoice.
Entry Fee
Enter until the Contest Deadline from September 1, 2024 to August 16, 2025 and pay only $49 for the first category and $35 for each additional category (No limit) Entry fee must be paid via Paypal. Submissions received without the entry fee will not be considered. At our low entrance fee, it is not feasible to provide judge’s reviews, comments, or critiques for entered books.
IAN Member Discounted Entrance Fee> $39 for the first category and $30 for each additional category (No limit)
The IAN Book of the Year Awards is open to all English language print and eBooks available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors.
We do not have a publication/copyright date requirement or word count restriction. Authors retain all rights. International entries will be accepted as long as the work is in English.
Your entry must be published and available for sale or presale/preorder at Amazon or other online bookstores.
Entrants are not required to forfeit rights to their work.
Judging
Our judges are experienced reviewers, authors, publishers, and editors. Awards are based upon various criteria and the judges’ decisions are final.
Our judges do not return written reviews, comments, or critiques for entered books.
Qualities we are looking for in this year's submissions:
Fiction
Vibrant covers, attention-grabbing openings, memorable characters, crisp dialogue, captivating and original plots, and climactic, memorable endings.
Non-fiction
Eye-catching covers and interior design. A descriptive and inviting title with organized, well-researched material on a subject that is timely and/or timeless, unique, or presented in a unique way that appeals to a wide audience.
How to Enter
1.) Select a category or categories which are most applicable to your book. You may enter as many categories as you like.
Categories Page Click PDF Download here
2.) Fill out and submit the Online Entry Form. A PDF or ePub copy of your book must be uploaded at time of entry, or you may choose to ship a print copy of your book to us.
3.) When we receive your Entry Form, we will Email you a PayPal invoice.
Entry Fee
Enter until the Contest Deadline from September 1, 2024 to August 16, 2025 and pay only $49 for the first category and $35 for each additional category (No limit) Entry fee must be paid via Paypal. Submissions received without the entry fee will not be considered. At our low entrance fee, it is not feasible to provide judge’s reviews, comments, or critiques for entered books.
IAN Member Discounted Entrance Fee> $39 for the first category and $30 for each additional category (No limit)
The 2025 Contest Closes August 16, 2025
The 2025 Results will be announced on November 15, 2025
Only Winners and Finalists will be contacted by email.
The 2025 Results will be announced on November 15, 2025
Only Winners and Finalists will be contacted by email.
The 2025 IAN Book of the Year Awards is NOW OPEN
2025 Prizes
Finalists in each Category will receive:
The Outstanding Book in each category will receive:
FICTION: The Book of the Year - First Place will receive:
FICTION: The Book of the Year - Second Place will receive:
FICTION: The Book of the Year - Third Place will receive:
NON-FICTION: The Book of the Year - First Place will receive:
NON-FICTION: The Book of the Year - Second Place will receive:
NON-FICTION: The Book of the Year - Third Place will receive:
The Grand Prize Book of the Year - will receive
The 2025 Contest Closes August 16, 2025
The Finalists, Category Winners, and Book of the Year winners will all be announced in Press Releases after their announcement day.
Only Winners and Finalists will be contacted by email.
The 2025 Book of the Year Awards results will be announced on November 15, 2025
Cash prizes will be delivered via PayPal.
Entry fee is non-refundable.
Our judges do not return written reviews, comments, or critiques for entered books.
Finalists in each Category will receive:
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
The Outstanding Book in each category will receive:
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
FICTION: The Book of the Year - First Place will receive:
- A minimum cash prize of $1,000
- A Platinum membership at the Independent Author Network
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
FICTION: The Book of the Year - Second Place will receive:
- A minimum cash prize of $500
- A Gold membership at the Independent Author Network
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
FICTION: The Book of the Year - Third Place will receive:
- A minimum cash prize of $250
- A Silver membership at the Independent Author Network
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
NON-FICTION: The Book of the Year - First Place will receive:
- A minimum cash prize of $1,000
- A Platinum membership at the Independent Author Network
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
NON-FICTION: The Book of the Year - Second Place will receive:
- A minimum cash prize of $500
- A Gold membership at the Independent Author Network
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
NON-FICTION: The Book of the Year - Third Place will receive:
- A minimum cash prize of $250
- A Silver membership at the Independent Author Network
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
The Grand Prize Book of the Year - will receive
- A minimum cash prize of $2,500
- A Platinum membership at the Independent Author Network
- A digital award seal in a PNG file
- A set of award seal stickers for print copies
The 2025 Contest Closes August 16, 2025
The Finalists, Category Winners, and Book of the Year winners will all be announced in Press Releases after their announcement day.
Only Winners and Finalists will be contacted by email.
The 2025 Book of the Year Awards results will be announced on November 15, 2025
Cash prizes will be delivered via PayPal.
Entry fee is non-refundable.
Our judges do not return written reviews, comments, or critiques for entered books.
$1 from each entry fee will be donated to FirstBook.org
First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 225 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities. First Book now has offices in the U.S. and Canada. See more at: FirstBook.org.
First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 225 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities. First Book now has offices in the U.S. and Canada. See more at: FirstBook.org.