Indie Novel Contests

There are many novel contests out there.  Most are either pointless or scams or both. Very few of them are worth the time or money of a busy author.  To be worthwhile they have to offer the author a return on investment.  Monetary prizes are fine, but most serious writers want credibility and recognition that will boost reputation and lead to sales, and contests that can deliver on this are few and far between.

If you know of other contests or awards that are worthwhile, I'd be interested in hearing about them in the comments section.


IPPY: Independent Publisher Book Awards
Deadline: January 2017
Entry Fee for eLit: $70

Benjamin Franklin Book Awards
They treat ebooks as a completely separate contest: BFDA (Digital Awards)

Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards
Writer's Digest has a list of writing awards and is well-established in the industry.  This one has a grand prize of $8,000 and an entry fee of $110. It also offers a variety of lesser perks as well as very significant notoriety.

National Book Awards
Annual awards for various categories through the National Book Foundation. This is not open to independent novelists, but is open to novels released through independent publishers. Very prestigious.

The Folio Prize
It is theoretically possible for an indie novel to win this, though unlikely.