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​Rubery Book Award ... what's your story?
The International Rubery Prize is a prestigious international book award seeking the best books by indie writers, self published authors and books published by independent presses. It is also judged by reputable judges. Creative writing is a key part of life for those who enjoy writing and reading yet it is increasingly difficult to become traditionally published. We consider a wide genre representation. Winners come from across fiction, non-fiction, short stories, poetry, and children’s writing and more.
All books are Indie / Self-Published: often they are thematic, historically or culturally rich, emotionally complex, or stylistically distinctive. Winning the Rubery Award provides authors with recognition, a platform, and credibility in the literary world.
Our reputation is based on finding quality and outstanding books and therefore helping these authors gain the critical recognition needed to stand out in a crowded market.
The International Rubery Book Award is a well-established name in the publishing world.
Enter for 2026
Closing date is 31 March 2026
Entries received after this deadline will automatically be considered for the 2027 awards.
Entries must be either self-published or published by an independent press. Both authors and publishers are welcome to submit books.
To complete your entry, please fill out the online entry form, send us a copy of your book, and pay the required entry fee. Full details can be found here.
Prizes 2026
Book of the Year
£2000 (approx 2760USD)
Category winners £200 (approx 276USD)
Every winner receives a glass plaque and all winners & shortlisted authors receive a write up.​
2026 ​JUDGES
Dr Paul McDonald, our resident judge, is an author of poetry, fiction and academic articles. We are indeed lucky to have him!
So that there is some variety each year, a different judge will join him in the hunt for some of the best books out there!
Guest Judge
Emma Purshouse​
​Information about our 2026 judges
Entry Fee
We're often asked how much the entry fee is so we thought we'd add it to the Homepage.
Entry fee costs depend on which country you are in. More information on the cost for your country can be found here.
We are completely self-funded and in order for the awards to function we must charge an entry fee. Other mainstream awards work by sponsorship and charging publishers thousands of pounds once their author is shortlisted. They are again charged thousands to have a table at an awards ceremony. Charges easily run into the tens of thousands, if not more, for each book shortlisted.
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We know that indie authors and publishers cannot possibly afford these costs so we charge a much smaller fee for everyone.
