The NEW Essentials of Book Awards: Everything You Need to Know Before You Apply
presented by
Carol Abrahamson
July 11, 2026
BAIPA Monthly Meeting
Click HERE for Event Details
There are 10,000-plus book awards offered annually.
Get the best results for the best awards for your book.
Book awards for English-language books have been around since at least 1931, when The Commonwealth Club established the California Book Awards and soon thereafter gave an award to John Steinbeck for his Grapes of Wrath. During the more than 100 subsequent years, book awards have delivered many benefits to authors – some of which you might have already experienced, if you’ve been a winner or runner-up.
What Will a Book Award Do For You?
Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, it’s your first book or your fifteenth, just the process of deciding to pursue awards opens up an author’s thinking about what might be possible for them:
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- • Elevate your profile as an admired author
- • Differentiate your book versus others in your industry, genre or niche
- • Point to your having an important, well-regarded, quality book
- • Attract high-value collaboration invitations and noteworthy opportunities you’d never get without an award
- • Be recognized as an expert about your book’s topic and a leader in your field (if you write nonfiction)
- • Open doors to building an author empire around the strength of your book
- • Attract new readers, fans, followers and influencers
- • Enhance your ROI (return on investment) from your book
- • Receive generous advances from a traditional publisher for your next book, if you choose that route
- • Exponentially boost your impact, influence and income
The most important and far-reaching benefit: the psychological one – perceiving yourself as a winner, especially if you’ve not perceived yourself that way before.
Book awards change authors’ lives. It’s a glorious thing to watch, and I’d be thrilled to spark this happening to you!
Join me on July 11 and bring your questions. Until then, I invite you to download my free PDF 22 Free/Nearly Free Ways to Promote Your Award-Winning Book .
Carol Abrahamson
BookAwardMastery.com
Author
One of my favorite things about BAIPA is its culture of generosity, the willingness — even eagerness — to share what we have each learned in the process of bringing stories to life. We provide educational programs, networking, marketing opportunities, encouragement, and information on industry vendors and services. And lots of one-on-one advice and mentoring.
We welcome all who have an interest in making connections within the world of independent publishing and learning more about how to publish and sell their work successfully. Together we are raising the standard of independent publishing and helping our members thrive.
Do join us!
—Becky Parker Geist, BAIPA Board of Directors, President
Quick Resources
Current BAIPA members do not need to register for our monthly meetings. The night before the meetings, they will receive the Zoom info. For workshop registration, currently, members get in free for all workshops and will receive the Zoom info the night before the meetings, as well as in the confirmation email.