When you are a finalist or a winner of a Midwest Book Award,

• You can put that information on your website, on blogs, in your publicity and marketing materials, press releases, announcements, other book sites such as Amazon, etc.

• A book award is a good excuse to resubmit your book to venues that may not have accepted the book before. In a way it is like a new book again, and your sales will experience a boost.

• You can also put the award designation on the cover of reprints.

• Your award will be publicized in press releases, on the MIPA website, in the MIPA book catalog distributed at the annual Midwest Booksellers Association Trade Show (including both winners and finalists), as well as other book festivals and MIPA events.

• MIPA award winners can have their book-availability information posted on the MIPA website.

• Winners and finalists can purchase award stickers (gold for winners and silver for finalists) and use these on their books. Some bookstores may move your book to a better location if it has a book award sticker. You can reproduce that sticker on reprints, posters, and marketing materials.

• MIPA provides those who enter books in the Midwest Book Awards with copies of the judges’ scores and notes. Our judges include a variety of book lovers who are often experts in specific fields and/or genres of writing and design. As a committed audience, these readers take the time to evaluate the merits of your book from several perspectives. Even when your book does not win an award, judge feedback can be extremely valuable. Non-winning authors have sometimes revised their manuscripts and/or book design elements as a result of the critiques and gone on to publish much better, even award-winning, books. Judges’ comments (when used with permission) may even be useful quotes in future promotional materials.

• Give careful consideration when you choose the category or categories in which you submit your book. An advantage of submitting your book in more than one category is that it will be read and evaluated by more judges.

Midwest Book Awards Chair Karen Walhof can answer your questions and provide guidance if you are not sure how to choose the specific categories that could be appropriate for your book in the
Midwest Book Awards program. Contact Karen at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .