THE WINDOW FOR SUBMITTING PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED WORKS IS CURRENTLY CLOSED.
FORMS AVAILABLE ONLY DURING THE SUBMISSION WINDOW

Published Submission Guidelines

The San Diego Book Awards Published Book competition is open to current residents of San Diego County.

  • The submission period for published books began on October 1, 2018, and ended on December 31, 2018. Entries postmarked after December 31 will not be judged.
  • All submissions remain the literary property of the writer.
  • Books submitted for the current competition (awards presented in June of the following year) must have been first published or copyrighted in that year.
  • Incomplete entries or entries received after the deadline will not be judged.
  • A book may be entered only once–in either the published year or copyright year.
  • Books published posthumously will be considered if the deceased author was a resident of San Diego County at the time the book was written and if the work was first published in the current contest year (or bears correct copyright year).
  • Submissions received with postage due will be discarded, not judged.
  • Self-published books are eligible if they have been professionally written, edited, and printed. If self-published entries are not presented in a professional manner, the judges have the option not to judge the entry. The entry fee will not be returned or refunded.
  • E-books are eligible, but they must be submitted in printed form.
  • Ghostwritten books are eligible if the name of the ghostwriter is disclosed and lives in San Diego County.
  • More than one title by the same author may be submitted. Each submission must be accompanied by a separate submission form and submission fee.
  • Anthologies with more than one contributing author are accepted.
  • If a book has multiple authors, at least one must reside within San Diego County. Books by former residents of San Diego County will not be considered.
  • To receive copies of the judges’ score sheets, a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with the name of the entry in the lower left-hand corner should be included. If no SASE is included with the entry, the judging sheets will not be returned.
  • Books will not be returned to the author(s).
  • Send complete entries to San Diego Book Awards, P.O. Box 6487, Oceanside, CA 92052-6487.
  • Entry fee for each Published submission is $25.00.

    Entry fees are payable via check, or you may pay with your credit card using our SDBA STORE option.

    Please include check or payment receipt with your books and form submission.

    Categories

    A book may be submitted only once and judged in only one category. Published book categories include fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Authors (or their representatives) are required to choose a subcategory for their entry, which will serve as the judging category. Authors may note more than one subcategory, if applicable, in case their first subcategory choice is excluded from the contest, but the book will only be judged in only one category. Winners of a category award will be selected from the top finalists from each subcategory. Only finalists and winners will be notified of their status prior to the ceremony.

    Categories (and their subcategories) are listed on the entry form. The final categories and the number of finalists each year is dependent on the number of entries.

    Published Categories:

    FICTION
    General
    Historic
    Mainstream
    Literary
    Children/Young Adult
    Picture Book (Toddler - 2nd Grade)
    Children (3rd-8th Grade)
    Young Adult (High School/College)
    Romance
    Historic Romance
    General Romance
    Mystery/Suspense
    Mystery
    Suspense
    Anthology
    Short Story Collection (single author)
    Anthology (single or multiple authors)
    SciFi/Fantasy
    SciFi
    Fantasy
    Horror    		NONFICTION
    General
    Humor
    Animals
    Other General
    Children/Young Adult
    Picture Book (Toddler - 2nd Grade)
    Children (3rd-8th Grade)
    Young Adult (High School/College)
    Specialized Non-Fiction
    Biography/Autobiography
    Memoir
    Business
    Military
    Politics
    Science
    Local Interest
    History
    Health/Medicine
    Psychology/Social Sciences
    Self-help
    Spiritual/Inspirational
    Travel
    Cookbook
    Arts & Crafts
    Published Poetry

    Submitting Your Published Entry

    Submission Package Must Include:
    * Number of Copies: Authors must submit FOUR copies of each book or printed e-book.
    * Submission form: A completed, signed, and dated submission form must accompany each submission.
    * Fee: A nonrefundable submission fee of $25.00 must accompany each submission. Make checks payable to San Diego Book Awards (four copies, one form, one check).
    * Optional Self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) large enough and with sufficient postage for return of judges’ comments. A #10 should be fine, but entrants sre welcome to send a 8 1/2 X 11 manila envelope to make sure they fit).
    * Optional Self-addressed stamped postcard for us to send to you to verify that we received your entry.

    Finalists in each category will be notified in advance of the awards, in June 2019. All finalists and category winners will be honored at the awards ceremony. Winners and finalists will be promoted on the SDBA website.

    All published books, submission forms, and entry fees must be postmarked by the deadline of the current contest year.
    Entries postmarked after that date WILL NOT BE JUDGED.

    San Diego Book Awards