Deadline: July 1

$22,000 in Prizes | Final Judge: Jendi Reiter

Submit your self-published or hybrid-published book to this year's North Street contest from Winning Writers. The grand prize winner will receive $10,000.

Choose from eight categories. $22,000 in cash will be awarded in all, and the top nine winners will receive additional benefits to help market their books. Books published on all self-publishing and hybrid-publishing platforms are eligible. Any year of publication is eligible. Entry fee: $85 per book, with free gifts for everyone who enters.

All entrants who submit online can choose to receive a brief commentary from one of the judges (5-10 sentences) at no extra charge.

Winning Writers is one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2024), and this contest is recommended by Reedsy. Click to read about past winners and learn more about our contest.

"Receiving the 2024 North Street Book Prize for Poetry has been a life-altering experience. The twenty poems in Exits took me twenty years to write and edit. This prize represents both the culmination and the validation of that effort. While the generous cash award was greatly appreciated, there is so much more that makes North Street a unique, top-tier competition. It's one of only a tiny number of contests to have earned the coveted rating of Excellent from the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Unlike contests that offer fifty or more categories, North Street offers eight, ensuring that a favorable outcome is a meaningful measure of merit. And finally, the services and benefits that accompany the prize are almost too numerous to list: a consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of The Frugal Book Promoter; a hefty credit for BookBaby; a three-month trial of Book Award Pro; and design of a promotional item by professional graphics designer Laura Duffy. All of this demonstrates that the North Street Book Prize is a contest designed to benefit authors, not the contest itself. It's no wonder that the Prize is regarded by the literary community as one of the most prestigious of all book awards."

"Winning a North Street Book Prize was a thrill. A year earlier I had a fun launch for Aunty Jane Knits Up A Storm. I followed the launch with a promotional campaign but was beginning to lose steam. Winning a North Street Prize has given me a wonderful reason to promote the book I always knew was a winner. The North Street Book Prize cash is helpful but there are other parts to the prize that are also quite valuable. The critiques offered by the judges helped me think about my book in a new light and provided a number of nice quotes that will be very powerful for my new promotional campaign. Carolyn Howard-Johnson has a trove of experiences and knowledge to share. I got a great deal out of our meeting. The North Street Book Prize team made me feel valued as a self-published author."

"The receipt of the North Street Book Prize for Literary Fiction has been an uplifting and mind-altering experience for me. The call from contest administrator Adam Cohen came at a low point, as it was one year after losing my husband of forty-eight years, a writer himself, my muse and chief cheerleader. Poor Adam had to talk me through the receipt of the award, reminding me of my submission, which was a blur coming so soon after my husband's passing. Then I received the award a couple of weeks later, and it was so beautifully presented. Then I had a conference with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, who was wonderful in the information she gave me on marketing, and refocusing me on my prior writing accomplishments. This past week, I took the time to read the credentials of the judges, and was so honored to be chosen as First Prize winner by such an illustrious panel, who took time from their own writing and academic pursuits to judge all of the submissions. I want to thank you all for the time and energy you put into this endeavor. The entire process reminded me of my husband's encouragement to finish Wildflowers and to continue writing—and gave me a much-needed shift in my thinking to my joy in writing."

"My consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson was filled with great conversation, valuable advice, and left me with two pages of notes, inspired and motivated! I'd read her book The Frugal Book Promoter prior to our meeting, and it was a good informative read. Definitely the 'self-publisher's handbook' that I wish I'd read prior to my book venture, as a lot of its content I'd encountered and learned from by going into this blind. Although nothing beats learning from your mistakes than experience, it would've saved me headache! Fortunately, the new tips I've learned from it will help me going forward! It was an absolute pleasure working with Carolyn and I'm happy we connected!"

"As a recent winner, I am highly impressed about how supportive they have been: offering a detailed review of my work, a free ad, a marketing consult...all of this in addition to a significant cash prize. All of this for an indie, self-published book of poetry: a category not served by many other venues. In my opinion, WW not only offers contest info, it also serves as a model of how a contest can serve the individual writer and the writing community."

You may mail your entry and $85 fee to Winning Writers, Attn: North Street Book Prize, 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060-3998, USA. Please postmark your entry by July 1.

Please note that feedback will only be provided for entries submitted online, and not those entries submitted by mail.

If you would like us to return your book at the conclusion of the contest, please request this at the time of your entry and enclose an extra $10 for postage and handling.