Since its creation in 1998, the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards has served to showcase established university and independent press titles, as well as emerging authors who self-publish. Well aware of the challenges faced by small publishers, our goal is to highlight deserving books—those that not only meet our editorial standards, but also blow our minds—to our audience of librarians, booksellers, industry professionals, and other book lovers, domestically and internationally.

By entering your book into the awards program, you will be offered a free subscription to Foreword Reviews, covering six issues of our print magazine.

	First Category	Additional Categories
Through June 30, 2026	$99	$79
Through September 30, 2026	$109	$89
After September 30, 2026	$119	$99

The Judging Process

The INDIES are distinguished by an intense judging process utilizing professional editors, booksellers, and librarians. Our final judging process sees each book evaluated by a librarian and a bookseller, the decision makers for millions of book buys a year. They carefully appraise finalist titles using the following criteria: editorial excellence, professional production, originality of the narrative, and the value the book adds to its genre. Foreword Reviews reserves the right to withhold awards should any book not meet our criteria of editorial excellence and professional production standards.

What Finalists and Winners Get

Finalists are announced in March; winners follow in June. Honored titles are featured in Foreword Reviews, our weekly eNewsletter Foreword This Week, and on ForewordReviews.com. When available on Bookshop.org, finalist and winner pages include a direct buy link for easy ordering.

Along with two $1,500 Editor’s Choice prizes—one for fiction and one for nonfiction—finalists and winners gain visibility with tens of thousands of librarians, booksellers, and industry professionals who rely on Foreword for discovery. We also distribute press releases highlighting honorees to our media list.

Following the announcements, finalists and winners receive a Foreword INDIES marketing toolkit to support their publicity efforts. Gold, silver, bronze, and honorable mention winners also receive 500 foil seals to accentuate their book covers.

Registering Your Book

We’ve been in a conversation with librarians and booksellers now for over twenty years, and we’ve winnowed down our categories to fifty-six top genres from indie presses.

Check this off your list now, it pays to enter early! We offer a $99 Early Bird entry fee for books registered on or before June 30, 2026. Choose a second (or third, or fourth) category for the same book and the fee drops to $79 for each additional submission. After September 30, 2026, the fee is $119 per entry, and $99 for additional categories. If your 2026 book is published, why not enter today?

Register Your Book

We’ve streamlined the entry process to make it as quick and simple as possible. It is managed through our website, and notifications are sent to your email along the way (be sure to verify your email address). Here’s the timeline you can expect, starting with registration and through the winners announcement:

1. Register your book for the Foreword INDIES by January 15, 2027
2. We’ll send you an email with instructions for claiming your complimentary 1-year subscription to Foreword Reviews
3. Send a PDF of your book(s) to the email address on the receipt by January 22, 2027
   (Optional) Send two physical copies in addition to the PDF for each category a title is entered. Physical books are handled as supplemental materials and do not replace the digital submission record.
4. We’ll send you an email letting you know we’ve received your book
5. Finalists will be announced in March 2027 on our website, Facebook, and Twitter
6. Finalist seals for your book cover, a Foreword INDIES marketing toolkit, and Foreword-exclusive advertising opportunities for finalists will immediately become available to finalists
7. Winners will be announced June 4, 2027 on our website, Facebook, and Twitter
8. Gold, silver, bronze, and honorable mention seals for your book cover and Foreword-exclusive advertising opportunities for winners will immediately become available to winners
9. Winners will be sent a packet containing a winner certificate, 500 seals for your book cover, and marketing tips soon after the announcement

Register Your Book

Book awards are an important way to differentiate among hundreds of thousands of books. It has certainly helped us with foreign rights. So far, his book has sold in Brazil, Poland, Taiwan, China, and Korea. And the Chinese publisher lists several of the awards right on the book cover. L.P.

I think getting the book in the hands of people who will not only read it, but who are also in a position to purchase, order, and/or recommend it is a good use of $100 bucks, irrespective of outcome. A.A.

The gold Finalist seal from Foreword on the front of my book has really helped sales (7500 copies). My rank on Amazon is still high (about 104,000). K.P.

Since my novel was nominated as a finalist in Foreword Reviews’s INDIES Book of the Year Award and after it won Silver in the Thriller/Suspense category, many other companies have recognized it. Your company has also helped me gain exposure in the press. From online sites to mainstream media outlets, there have been several articles written about this book—Walmart is even carrying it online now! I have a few movie producers who are interested in the story—so I just finished writing the screenplay. D.A.

I have the gold Finalist seal on every copy of [my novel]. Many readers have commented that seeing that made a difference to the way they first approached purchasing it. Foreword Reviews’s name is well-established and respected. P.S.

Register Your Book

Do you accept advance reading copies or final copies?

We accept both ARCs and final copies, but final copies are preferred and ARCs will be judged as if they were final copies.

Why do I need to send two copies of my book?

Finalist books are each sent to two different judges: one librarian and one bookseller. Two copies of the book allows us to send each of the judges their own copies of each book.

PDF Required for Processing?

A complete digital PDF is required for all submissions at the time of registration and serves as the official record for intake and tracking. Physical books are optional and supplemental.

What books are eligible to compete?

Any independently published book—including those from self-published authors and university presses—published in 2026, and available for purchase in print or e-book formats. Revised editions of previously issued books are eligible for entry only with newly issued ISBNs. Reissued editions are not eligible for entry.

When do books need to be sent to your offices?

The book arrival deadline is January 22, 2027, please ensure your books have arrived at our offices before then.

Where should I send my books?

Physical books (two copies) should be mailed to the following address accompanied by an entry form, online receipt, or order number and category:

Attn Foreword INDIES
Foreword Reviews
12935 SW Bay Shore Dr., Suite 380
Traverse City MI 49684

PLEASE DO NOT SEND PACKAGES WITH "SIGNATURE REQUIRED" MARKED. Our office operates in a hybrid/remote environment, and we can not guarantee your package will be accepted if a signature is required. We recommend using tracking or delivery confirmation methods without a signature requirement.

Ebooks are only accepted in the PDF format. The file must be downloadable and able to be shared with our judges and editors. Files under 25 MB should be emailed as an attachment. Files 25 MB and larger must be uploaded elsewhere and the link to download it should be emailed to us. Ebooks, along with an order number, should be emailed to (you will be notified by email when we receive your entry):

ebooks+awards@forewordreviews.com

Foreword Reviews will not be held liable for the loss, damage, or return of any books submitted for awards.

PDF Required for Processing
A complete digital PDF is required for all submissions at the time of registration and serves as the official record for intake and tracking. Physical books are optional and supplemental.

FOREWORD'S AI DISCLAIMER
At Foreword, we believe that book publishing is an art form, grounded in the human voice, experience, and imagination. While we recognize artificial intelligence (AI) as an impressive scientific advancement, we do not consider it a substitute for the creative work of writers and illustrators. As such, we do not accept submissions--for reviews, or our INDIES Book of the Year Awards—that contain AI-generated content or illustrations. We are committed to celebrating the work of human authors, editors, illustrators, and designers. We do not offer refunds or return physical materials for submissions found to include AI-generated content or art after they have been received. Thank you for helping us uphold the integrity of independent publishing.

How do I claim my complimentary 1-year subscription to Foreword Reviews?

Once you’ve registered your books and paid, we’ll send you an email with instructions for claiming your complimentary subscription. Alternatively, you can view your available complimentary subscriptions at any time and claim through there.

For additional assistance, please email us at christopher@forewordreviews.com.

Register Your Book

Digital Imprint
Unlimited	Free
Immediate Download

Foil Seals
500+	$0.20 each
1,000+	$0.15 each
5,000+	$0.10 each

Shipping & Handling
	Domestic	International
500+	$10.00	$31.50
5,000+	$12.50	$63.50

We know, you’re fabulous, and you’re here to order a foil INDIES Book of the Year Awards seal for the front of your book. Do you know how much these seals give testimony to your book’s design quality and editorial excellence? No doubt, you do. Plus, they look so damn good!

You should get one because once you’re an INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner, you’re always an INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner. So don’t overlook a great opportunity to buy seals for past award-winning titles too. They’re a marketing-must for book signings, trade shows, and instant street cred with readers, booksellers, and librarians.

How to Purchase

INDIES Book of the Year Awards foil seals and digital imprints can be purchased here. If you have any questions, email christopher@forewordreviews.com.

Order Seals