Minnesota Author Project helps promote self-published authors.
Minnesota writers of young adult and adult fiction have a chance at winning $1,000 and bragging rights to the top self-published books in the state through a new contest just announced by East Central Regional Library and libraries statewide.
Along with a $1,000 prize, winners in each category will be included in Indie Minnesota, a statewide digital collection of local indie authors. They also will receive:
- a review in Library Journal, one of the country’s oldest and most renowned trade publications for library news
- honors at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Seattle
- opportunities to promote and have print copies of books available in Minnesota public libraries.
Recent data from 2016 showed that 20 percent of the book market is composed of indie authors. The creation of the Minnesota Author Project combined with MN Writes MN Reads — a suite of resources for writers to use to self-publish their work — gives libraries a chance to encourage new work from this growing group.
Winning authors will reach hundreds if not thousands of new readers via Minnesota’s libraries and can leverage being an award-winning author for additional marketing.
Enter the contest
Each book submitted to the contest must be:
- self-published
- in the genre of young adult fiction or adult fiction
- written by a Minnesota resident
- available in either PDF or ePUB format.
Multiple submissions are welcome.
Writers can enter the contest now until June 30, 2018, at https://indieauthorproject.librariesshare.com/minnesota/ and can check out the free self-publishing resources at mnwritesmnreads.org. A panel of Minnesota librarians, educators, booksellers and local authors will judge the submissions.
The contest is supported by the Minnesota Library Foundation, Library Journal and SELF-e.