The 2026 IAN Book of the Year Award Categories
Book of the Year Awards 2026 Categories
Fiction Categories
1. Action/Adventure
2. BIPOC Fiction (Black, Indigenous and/or Persons of Color)
3. Christian/Religious Fiction
4. Cross Genre Fiction
5. Fantasy
6. Fantasy: Urban Fantasy
7. First Novel (40,000 TO 70,000 Words)
8. First Novel (70,000 TO 90,000 Words)
9. First Novel (Over 90,000 Words)
10. First Novella (Under 40,000 Words)
11. General Fiction
12. Historical Fiction: Pre-20th Century (Before 1901)
13. Historical Fiction: 20th Century (1901-2000)
14. Holiday Fiction
15. Horror
16. Humor/Comedy/Satire
17. Inspirational Fiction
18. LGBTQ+ Fiction
19. Literary
20. Military/War
21. Multicultural Fiction
22. Mystery: (Cozy/Crime/Detective/Noir/Hardboiled)
23. Novella (Under 40,000 words)
24. Paranormal/Supernatural
25. Political
26. Romance
27. Science Fiction
28. Science Fiction: Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic
29. Short Story Collection (Single Author or Anthology)
30. Social Issues (Fiction)
31. Spiritual Fiction
32. Suspense Fiction
33. Thriller
34. Women's Fiction
Children/Young Adult Categories
35. Fiction: Coming-Of-Age
36. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Young Adult/Teen (Ages 13-18)
37. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Children's Middle Grade (Ages 8-12)
38. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Children's Early Readers (Ages 6-8)
39. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Children’s Pre-School (Ages 0-5)
40. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Children's Illustrated-picture book
41. Fiction/Non-Fiction: New Adult (Ages 18-29)
Non-Fiction Categories
42. Animals/Pets/Nature
43. Arts: Art/Music/Performance Arts
44.Biography/Autobiography
45. Business Leadership/Management
46. Business/Money
47. Career/Occupation
48. Coffee Table Book/Photography
49. Cross Genre NF
50. Education/Reference
51. First Non-fiction *
52. Fitness/Dieting
53. General Non-fiction
54. Grief/Hardship
55. Government/Politics
56. Health/Medicine
57. History
58. How-To
59.Inspirational Non-Fiction
60. LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction
61. Memoir
62. Military/War
63. Mind/Body/Spirit
64. Multicultural Non-Fiction
65. Parenting/Family/Relationships
66. Religion/Christian Non-Fiction
67. Self-Help
68. Social Issues
69. Social Media
70. Spiritual
71. Technology
72. Travel/Travel Guide
73. True Crime
74. True Story
75. Women's Non-Fiction
Poetry
76. Fiction or Non-Fiction Poetry
First Novel and First Non-Fiction Categories
You may have published subsequent books, however, this entry must be your first published Novel or Non-Fiction. All other Fiction or Non-Fiction entries can be any book from your publishing catalogue.
First Novel 40k-70K must be your First Published novel with between 40,000 and 70,000 words.
First Novel 70k-90K must be your First Published novel with between 70,000 and 90,000 words.
First Novel Over 90k must be your First Published novel with over 90,000 words.
First Novella Under 40k must be your first Novella with 40,000 Words or less.
First Non-Fiction must be your first Non-Fiction with any word count.
(All other categories have no word count restriction)
Fiction Categories
1. Action/Adventure
2. BIPOC Fiction (Black, Indigenous and/or Persons of Color)
3. Christian/Religious Fiction
4. Cross Genre Fiction
5. Fantasy
6. Fantasy: Urban Fantasy
7. First Novel (40,000 TO 70,000 Words)
8. First Novel (70,000 TO 90,000 Words)
9. First Novel (Over 90,000 Words)
10. First Novella (Under 40,000 Words)
11. General Fiction
12. Historical Fiction: Pre-20th Century (Before 1901)
13. Historical Fiction: 20th Century (1901-2000)
14. Holiday Fiction
15. Horror
16. Humor/Comedy/Satire
17. Inspirational Fiction
18. LGBTQ+ Fiction
19. Literary
20. Military/War
21. Multicultural Fiction
22. Mystery: (Cozy/Crime/Detective/Noir/Hardboiled)
23. Novella (Under 40,000 words)
24. Paranormal/Supernatural
25. Political
26. Romance
27. Science Fiction
28. Science Fiction: Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic
29. Short Story Collection (Single Author or Anthology)
30. Social Issues (Fiction)
31. Spiritual Fiction
32. Suspense Fiction
33. Thriller
34. Women's Fiction
Children/Young Adult Categories
35. Fiction: Coming-Of-Age
36. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Young Adult/Teen (Ages 13-18)
37. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Children's Middle Grade (Ages 8-12)
38. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Children's Early Readers (Ages 6-8)
39. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Children’s Pre-School (Ages 0-5)
40. Fiction/Non-Fiction: Children's Illustrated-picture book
41. Fiction/Non-Fiction: New Adult (Ages 18-29)
Non-Fiction Categories
42. Animals/Pets/Nature
43. Arts: Art/Music/Performance Arts
44.Biography/Autobiography
45. Business Leadership/Management
46. Business/Money
47. Career/Occupation
48. Coffee Table Book/Photography
49. Cross Genre NF
50. Education/Reference
51. First Non-fiction *
52. Fitness/Dieting
53. General Non-fiction
54. Grief/Hardship
55. Government/Politics
56. Health/Medicine
57. History
58. How-To
59.Inspirational Non-Fiction
60. LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction
61. Memoir
62. Military/War
63. Mind/Body/Spirit
64. Multicultural Non-Fiction
65. Parenting/Family/Relationships
66. Religion/Christian Non-Fiction
67. Self-Help
68. Social Issues
69. Social Media
70. Spiritual
71. Technology
72. Travel/Travel Guide
73. True Crime
74. True Story
75. Women's Non-Fiction
Poetry
76. Fiction or Non-Fiction Poetry
First Novel and First Non-Fiction Categories
You may have published subsequent books, however, this entry must be your first published Novel or Non-Fiction. All other Fiction or Non-Fiction entries can be any book from your publishing catalogue.
First Novel 40k-70K must be your First Published novel with between 40,000 and 70,000 words.
First Novel 70k-90K must be your First Published novel with between 70,000 and 90,000 words.
First Novel Over 90k must be your First Published novel with over 90,000 words.
First Novella Under 40k must be your first Novella with 40,000 Words or less.
First Non-Fiction must be your first Non-Fiction with any word count.
(All other categories have no word count restriction)
