There are many grand prix awards for fantasy writers, including the Aurealis Awards, the Australian grand prix awards for fantasy and science fiction, of which I am a finalist this year. There is also the Hugo and Nebula awards, and the Dragon Awards (with their lovely trophies).
Most of the time, as readers, we’re not aware of the various elimination processes of each major award. Plus, all the awards include both indie and traditional published peices of fiction.
The SPFBO (the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off) is different.
As the full name of the contest implies, it is limited to self-published titles only, giving indie authors a rare showcase.
In addition, the contest is completely open: as a reader, you can join the contest’s Discord server, or their Facebook group, or follow the site itself. This lets you watch each round of the contest. The teams of reviewers post their reviews of each book in the contest and vote upon which titles go forward.
It’s a terrific way to find new-to-you authors, and fantastic fantasy reads.
I entered this year with a book written under a different pen name. Entries were open for a mere 24 hours. Then 300 hundred books were drawn at random from the over 500 entries they received. My title wasn’t one of them.
Nevertheless, I will be following the contest, because I like discovering new authors and new series, and the contest gives me curated and reviewed suggestions.
Enjoy.
Taylen.