In my book Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace, I state the following:
“Pursuing book awards can be beneficial. Book awards bring exposure for books. Exposure generates sales. Sales mean more money in your pocket.”
There are a growing number of book awards that authors and publishers of Christian books can enter. While Christian Small Publishers Association (CSPA) sponsors one book award, the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award, I believe that authors and publishers can benefit from entering their books into more than one award. Doing so increases the chances of actually winning an award.
The Jenkins Group has just launched a new Christian book awards program. The Illumination Christian Book Awards (ICBA) are designed to honor the year’s best new titles written and published with a Christian worldview. The contest features 16 categories including Bible Study, Christian Living, Devotional, Theology, Ministry/Mission, eBooks, and Catholic. This new award is currently accepting nominations for all Christian-themed books published since January 1, 2012.
I encourage you to head on over to the Illumination Christian Book Awards website and nominate your book. While you are at it, stop by the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award website and also nominate your book for that award. Then consider also submitting to a few of the following awards with Religious categories:
- Independent Publisher Book Awards
- Indie National Excellence Awards
- International Book Awards
- The Next Generation Indie Book Awards
- USA Best Book Awards
If you end up winning an award, make sure you use it to gain publicity for your book (see “Receiving a Coveted Book Award“). If your book wins an award, tell me and my readers know about it by announcing it in the comments section of this blog.