Submissions Open for North Street Book Prize

Northampton, MA

The deadline is June 30 to enter the first annual North Street Book Prize for self-published books, sponsored by Winning Writers. Three top winners will each receive $1,500, a credit towards the high-quality publishing services at BookBaby, free advertising in the Winning Writers email newsletter, and expert marketing advice from Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of The Frugal Book Promoter. Winning Writers is one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers (Writer's Digest, 2015).

Winning Writers editor Jendi Reiter will judge the contest, assisted by Ellen LaFleche. The judges note, "More and more, experienced authors are choosing nontraditional routes to find readers. However, most prizes for published books still exclude the self-published, sticking them with an outdated stigma of amateurism. Through the North Street Book Prize, we hope to boost the visibility of excellent writers whose books simply didn't fit into the big conglomerates' marketing plans.

"We're holding your books to the same standard as the best titles from traditional publishers: polished writing, believability, dramatic tension, a story structure that foregrounds the major plot elements, and characters worth following. The freshness we seek in a story is best described as urgency: a book that convinces us that it had to be written.

"We're committed to running the most transparent and ethical contest possible. Some services marketed to self-published authors are overpriced and make inflated claims. We've vetted our business partners to offer our winners a high-quality marketing support package in addition to the sizable cash prizes."

The contest features three categories: Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction. Entries may contain up to 150,000 words each. Submit online or by mail. The submission fee is $50 per entry. The complete guidelines are available at winningwriters.com/north.

The top winner in each category will receive $1,500 cash, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $300 credit at BookBaby, and 3 free ads in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $450 value). Two honorable mentions in each category will receive $250 each. $6,000 in cash prizes will be awarded in all. Winning Writers will publish online excerpts (1,000-6,000 words) from all entries that win a prize, along with critiques from the judges.

All contestants will receive an electronic copy of The Frugal Book Promoter by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $9.95 value, plus free guides to successful publishing from BookBaby.

About Our Contest Co-Sponsors
Since 2011, BookBaby has made self-publishing easy for writers: from cover design, book printing, eBook conversions, distribution, website creation, and more. BookBaby provides the largest eBook distribution network, including Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and many other popular retailers in over 170 countries around the globe.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is an award-winning author of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Her HowToDoItFrugally series of books has helped writers and retailers worldwide. The Frugal Book Promoter, now in its second edition, provides no-nonsense basics to build a knock-'em-dead media kit and a robust mailing list. It includes dozens of ideas for promotions that have been proven in multiple book campaigns.

About Winning Writers
Winning Writers was founded in 2001 to provide expert literary contest information and resources to the public. We sponsor the North Street Book Prize, the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee), the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, and the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. Learn more at WinningWriters.com and join our 46,000 followers on Twitter at @winningwriters.

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