With age categories, genre categories, and a parallel clean-content subcategory in most of them, choosing where to enter your book takes a little more thought than it might seem, and entering the category that's the closest genuine fit matters more than entering the category with the least competition. The contest is designed to find the best of the best within each specific category, not to hand out awards broadly, so a mismatched entry is unlikely to place regardless of your book's quality.
This is part of The Incipere Book Awards: A Complete Guide for Authors.
If your book is a picture book, or written for young children (6-8) or children (9-12), those categories come first, before genre. Young adult and adult categories then split further by genre.
Within young adult and adult, categories include adventure/action, Christian, fantasy, historical, literary fiction, mystery, paranormal, romance, science fiction/dystopian, and thriller, plus newer categories added since 2022: cookbooks, memoir/biography, motivational/inspirational, history, health & fitness, and self-help/personal development.
If your book doesn't fit neatly into one category, the contest's own guidance is to do your best to assign it where you think it fits, rather than expecting a subcategory for every possible genre blend. The contest deliberately keeps categories broad rather than fragmenting into dozens of narrow subgenres, since an award that's too easy to win means less for readers when they see it on your cover.
If your book genuinely spans two categories, a romantic historical novel, for instance, you can enter it in both Romance and Historical Fiction, as two separate entries. This is a reasonable strategy when a book truly crosses genres, but entering categories where your book is only a loose fit, purely to maximize your odds, generally doesn't help; judges are evaluating fit alongside quality.
Most categories, except picture books, young children, children, and nonfiction categories, have a parallel "clean" subcategory. This exists specifically to recognize high-quality writing without explicit content, and it can be a genuine advantage if your book fits: it's a smaller, more specific pool competing for recognition that speaks directly to a real readership looking for exactly that. See What Does "Clean" Mean in Book Award Categories? for the specific standard used.
If you have more than one eligible book, published within the current award year and the prior three, entering more than one is allowed and can be a reasonable strategy, particularly if your books span different categories or if one is a stronger, more polished entry than another. Each entry is a separate $65 fee, so weigh the cost against your confidence in each specific book's fit and quality.
Entries are scored using an internal rubric covering plot, cover and book design, characters, and other elements specific to the category, and this scoring isn't shared with entrants; it's used only to determine finalists and winners. This means presentation matters alongside the writing itself: a professionally designed cover and a clean, well-formatted book are part of what's being evaluated, not just the text. See What Makes a Good Book Cover? if your cover could use a second look before you enter.
Ready to Choose Your Category and Enter?
Entry is $65 per category. Early-bird pricing is in effect now.
Yes, if it genuinely fits more than one, such as a book that spans two genres. Each category is a separate entry and a separate $65 fee.
Choose the closest genuine fit. The contest deliberately keeps categories broad rather than offering a subcategory for every possible genre blend.
Yes. The scoring rubric includes cover and book design alongside plot and characters, so a professionally designed, well-formatted book is part of what's being evaluated.
Yes, as long as each is individually eligible (published within the current award year and the prior three), with a separate entry fee for each.