The BookLife Prize - Australian Self-Publisher
Each Entry Receives a Brief Assessment by a Publishers Weekly Reviewer and a Chance to Win $5,000; Australian Self-Publisher Readers Receive a Special $15 Discount

"Since reaching the finals I have signed with a literary agent and been contacted by a film producer. Most importantly through the process of participating in the Prize, I got very valuable feedback on my work and broadened my author network considerably." T.J. Slee

The BookLife Prize is an annual writing contest sponsored by BookLife and Publishers Weekly that seeks to support independent authors and discover great books.  The BookLife Prize has two Contests:

Fiction Contest

• Entry period April 3, 2023, through August 31, 2023.
• Five categories: Romance/Erotica; Mystery/Thriller; Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror; General Fiction; YA/Middle Grade.

Nonfiction Contest

• Entry period October 2, 2023, through January 31, 2024.
• Four categories: Memoir/Autobiography; Self-Help; Inspirational/Spiritual; and Business/Personal Finance.

Both Contests of the Prize are judged by PW reviewers, editors, acclaimed authors, and publishing veterans, and awards are given to finalists in each category, with a grand prize for each Contest going to the most outstanding finalist.

Prizes

The grand prize winner for both the Fiction and Nonfiction Contest of the BookLife Prize will receive $5,000 as well as an author profile in Publishers Weekly.  

All finalists will receive a blurb from a bestselling/award-winning author or professional editor serving as a guest judge for the contest, as well as mention in Publishers Weekly.

All entrants will receive a Critic’s Report, which includes a score as well as a brief written critical assessment of their book by a Publishers Weekly reviewer.  (Click here to see an example Critic's Report.)

How to Enter

BookLife members enter the BookLife Prize by logging in and going to project page for the book or manuscript they'd like to enter.  Here are detailed instructions.

New users who have no BookLife account enter on this page.

Australians Have Won Two of the Last Three Grand Prizes

There's something about Australian talent that does well in the BookLife Prize!  Here's a profile of 2017 grand prize winner Ian Andrew.  And here's a profile of 2016 winner T.J. Slee.

Complete Information

Click here for complete infomation about the BookLife Prize.