There are so many awards out there online – for everything from awards for women in business to awards for great use of the internet to awards for the best blogs. Some are free to enter, and some have an entrance fee. Some offer a cash prize, and others the notoriety (and visibility) that comes from winning. All help put your name out there, though, and may be a way to get your product in the hands of major influencers. So, if you’re looking for another way to get your name out there and bring some great positive attention to your work, consider entering your project (or having a friend nominate you) for an award!

This isn’t the time to be shy or lack confidence as there’s little-to-no downside to entering (especially the ones with no entrance fee). And the benefit of being nominated as a finalist or winner is potentially huge.

Since I work on websites for authors and books, I have collected a list of awards that you may not yet know about as an author.

• CYBILS (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) – The Cybils are a series of book awards given in nine categories (Fiction Picture Books, Nonfiction Picture Books, Easy Readers, Middle Grade Fiction, Nonfiction: Middle Grade and Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction, Poetry, Graphic Novels, and Fantasy and Science Fiction). The Cybils were started by Anne Boles Levy and Kelly Herold, and now involve over 100 bloggers. The goal of the Cybils team is to highlight books that, in addition to being well-written, are kid-friendly and engaging.
• Annual Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Awards – Writer’s Digest searches for the best self-published books for their award which covers the genres of Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, Nonfiction, Inspirational (Spiritual, New Age), Life Stories (Biographies, Autobiographies, Family Histories, Memoirs), Children’s Picture books, Middle-Grade/Young Adult books, Reference Books (Directories, Encyclopedias, Guide Books), Poetry, & Humor. You can be a professional writer, a part-time freelancer, or a self-starting student, as long as you are self-published.
• EVVY Awards – The Colorado Independent Publishers Association & CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation offer an award in the following categories: Autobiography, Biography, Business/Finance, Children’s (1), Cookbooks, Diet/Health/Fitness, Fiction (6), History, How To, Humor, Inspirational, Juvenile, Legacy (3), Memoirs, Miscellaneous (5), Non-Fiction/Experiences, Parenting/Family, Poetry, Political/Social, Self-Help, Spirituality, Travel (2) & Workbooks (4).
• TheNextBigWriter.com – if you’re relatively unknown, this website offers a series of awards in various categories.
• Writers of the Future – The Writers & Illustrators of the Future contests are international in scope and creative writing talents from around the world are judged quarterly. The winners are published in the annual Writers of the Future anthology. Each anthology contains the best new science fiction and fantasy short stories as well as award-winning illustrations by budding new artists.
• Indie Book Awards – The Indie Book Awards are open to independent authors and publishers worldwide in 60 categories. They offer cash prizes and other awards, including exposure to leading New York literary agents.
• Mom’s Choice Awards – The Mom’s Choice Awards® program recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products and services.
• USA Book News Best Books Awards – The National Best Books Awards are specifically designed to garner media coverage and book sales for the winners & finalists throughout the holiday retail season and the following year.
• ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award – ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards were established to bring increased attention to librarians and booksellers of the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors. ForeWord is the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to books from independent houses.
• New York Book Festival – The New York Book Festival is an annual program celebrating books that deserve greater recognition from the world’s publishing capital.

And if you don’t happen to live in Colorado or New York, research your own local literary and book festival award programs.