I love new prizes, especially reporting on new prizes that are open to indie authors. And this week sees a prize that both is open to indies and carries a large prize. The Libraro Prize carries a winning package of £30,000 with a £20,000 marketing budget thrown in for the winning book, which will be self-published by Hachette.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
There are also £10,000 awards for readers, which gives a clue as to the way this works. The shortlist of six will be compiled by readers who champion the books they love over a monthlong phase.
How the Prize Works
The reader prizes are an incentive for readers to get involved (Libraro is a platform that seems to promote this kind of reader-writer connection as its USP). Manuscripts need to be submitted by February 16. Eligibility seems really broadly defined. Provided you are the rights holder, you are eligible whatever your publishing history and wherever you are based. Subject matter should be adult or young adult crossover.
You need to submit a manuscript and blurb, and entry is free. Interestingly, in contrast to the recent Hugos, I couldn't see any conditions relating to an AI policy.
As always, I'd love to report on an ALLi winner.
The Queen on Audiobooks
Talking of reading, an unlikely and high-profile voice has weighed into one of the hot-button topics in our landscape.
That question is whether or not listening to audiobooks counts as “reading.” And the person weighing in is no less than the queen of the UK. It comes after she was featured in the famous Beano comic.
Responses to her appearance prompted her to offer support to reading in all its forms, commenting, “Comics and audiobooks count too!” The comment has been extremely well received, needless to say, in the audiobook industry.
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
If you’re an ALLi member, head over to the SelfPubConnect forum for support from our experienced community of indie authors, advisors, and our own ALLi team. Simply create an account (if you haven’t already) to request to join the forum and get going.
Non-members looking for more information can search our extensive archive of blog posts and podcast episodes packed with tips and advice at ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Center.
