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Guidelines

GUIDELINES

Submissions for the 2nd Annual Self Ink It Awards will begin on November 1, 2022.

We look forward to celebrating your wonderful books!

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All entries must be postmarked by January 31, 2023. Finalists will be announced in April of 2023.

Winners will be announced in May 2023.

Submit My Book
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ENTRY FEES & DEADLINES
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$25 per book entry (2nd category $10)

$20 per entry for illustrations cover only

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  • All payments must be in U.S. Dollars.

  • Titles self-published within the last 3 years (2020 - 2022). 

  • Must be a BIPOC author or illustrator. Under the age of 13 years of age, parent(s) must submit on your behalf.

  • Your book can be submitted in multiple categories.  

  • Must have an ISBN and be available on Amazon.com and/or other online bookstores or authors' websites to purchase. 

  • Must be available for sale by the contest deadline.

  • All entries must be received by January 31, 2023.

  • Finalists will be notified in April 2023. Winners will be announced in May 2023 via live stream.

  • All submissions are final.

  • There are no refunds.

NOTIFICATIONS & DEADLINES OF WINNERS & FINALISTS

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A confirmation email will be sent for your entry once the book has been processed. Self Ink It will announce the winning entries on our website once the panel completes their review, this will happen within a few months from the submission closed date.

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Depending on the volume of entries, it could take up to two weeks to send you a notification that your book was received.

A WORD ABOUT OUR AWARD NOMINATION


Different contests have a variety of nominations. We have structured the Self Ink It Awards (SIIA) so that only one book per category may be selected as the “Winner”, however, there is always more than one book in a category that deserves recognition.  We are committed to celebrating excellence in self-published books so SIIA will also recognize five (5) “Finalists” in each category.

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Books recognized as Finalists are exceptional. Deciding on who the Winner and Finalist are often come down to one small factor that the call might have gone either way. Being recognized as a Finalist is a high honor and very competitive, it is something an author should be extremely proud to promote. The number of Finalists reflects the number of entries in a given category. 

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Our readers will appreciate our Winners and Finalists as worthy of their attention and their book-buying dollars.

AWARD RULES

Books / Illustrations Eligibility

  • The Self Ink It Awards selection panel reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any book or illustration.

  • Must be BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color) author and/or illustrator

  • Must be a children’s picture book, an easy reader, or a middle-grade book. May also include activities and coloring books.

  • Self-published within the last three years (2020-2022).

  • Your book must be available for sale by the submission deadline. 

  • All titles must have an ISBN and be self-published

  • Must be in English and available for sale wherever books are sold both on Amazon.com and/or in bookstores or author websites.

  • Must be at least 13 years of age at the time of submission. Authors under the age of 13 must have parent submit on their behalf.

  • Fiction or non-fiction

 

Not Eligible

  • Non-BIPOC authors 

  • Explicit content or material

  • E-books 

  • Advanced Reader Copies... book must be published

  • Must not be under a Conventional publishing contract with a major publisher such as Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, Random House, or Simon & Schuster. Any big publishing house.

 

Panelist

Unless the panelist gives permission, we do not publish the panelists' names to respect their privacy. Our selection of panelists will consist of authors, teachers, young readers, parents, and librarians. 

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Our Panelist will review all submissions to create a shortlist. The panel will be looking for: 

  • Originality

  • story-telling ability

  • ability to engage the reader

  • transitions, hooks, and pacing

  • movement of the story

  • author’s skill with voice, character, dialogue, narrative, grammar, and punctuation

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Book Submission Requirements

  • Mail one copy of the print version and upload a pdf copy of the published book with your entry.

  • We must receive your physical book by the submission deadline.

  • Put all the categories (limited to 2 per entry) on one Submission Form and be sure to place a copy of the submission form in the book you send in.

  • Unless you receive an email stating you are a finalist or winner, please do not send an email asking for updates. 

  • Self Ink It physical book submissions will not be returned. Each entry must contain the official entry form, including your e-mail address and contact telephone number. 

  • Submitted books will be donated to local libraries, foster homes, shelters, and/or schools for further use, we do not simply discard them.

 

Illustration Submission Requirements

  • Make sure you choose images that convey your work's best qualities and make sure they're optimized for the entry form.

  • Formats: save your file as RGB in either .jpg or  .png 

  • Size: under 4MB and up to 3000px wide.

  • File name: name your files using this format: artistname_title_image1 (or image2, image, etc if your entry is a multiple).

  • Ensure the file name uses only letters and does not contain any special characters (i.e &*£$/. etc).

 

Book Category (Fiction / Non-Fiction)

  • Children's Picture book  (age 2 to 8)

  • Children's Easy Readers (age 5 to 9)

  • Middle-Grade book (age 8 to 12)

**** Coloring Books, Activity Books, and Book Series are welcome. 

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Additional Awards (chosen by panel and public)

  • Self Ink it Readers Choice Award 

  • New Author Award

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Winners

  • Beautiful Award and a certificate mailed directly to you along with 50 seals for your books

  • Digital award badge to display on your website

  • Book featured on Self Ink It award website

  • An announcement in our newsletter

  • Announcements shared on our social media platforms

  • "Award-winning Author" status. Add this to your author's website and bio and your online presence, such as social media, etc...

  • Book Review from the judging panel 

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******* Winners not in the United States may be required to pay a fee for the shipment of their award.

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Finalist

  • The finalist will receive a digital award badge to display on your website

  • Book featured on Self Ink It award website as a finalist

  • An announcement in our newsletter

  • Announcements shared on our social media platforms

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By entering these awards, you agree to our terms of service

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Please include proof of payment (via PayPal) with your entry submission.

Mail to:

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SabWig Enterprise LLC

C/O SIIA - Book
P.O. Box 5822
Capitol Heights, MD 20791

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