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Rubery Book Award ... what's your story?
The International Rubery Book Award is a globally respected and ethical award recognising excellence in independent publishing and writing across all forms of storytelling. Whether literary or genre-led, each work is judged on its execution, originality, and overall impact.
Open to literary and genre fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, children’s, and illustrated books, the award champions outstanding writing from self-published authors and independent presses worldwide.
Judged by experienced and reputable judges, the Rubery Book Award is open to indie writers, self-published authors, and books published by independent presses.
We believe great writing takes many forms. From literary fiction to compelling genre work, from memoir to children’s books, each entry is considered on its voice, quality, and reader impact.
Winning the Rubery Book Award offers authors recognition, credibility, and the opportunity to stand out in a crowded market. Our reputation is built on fair and thoughtful judging, a commitment to literary excellence, and a belief that quality writing should be recognised wherever it is found.
We do not upsell.
Established in 2010, the Rubery Book Award has become one of the leading international awards for independently published books, honouring writing with integrity, care, and without compromise.
Enter for 2027
Closing date is 31 March 2027. All entries received after this date will be put into the 2028 awards.
The 2027 awards officially opens in September.
We are updating the prize money and now winners will receive a bespoke Rubery trophy.
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
2027 Prize Information Coming Soon
We are updating the prize money for 2027, and winners will now receive a bespoke Rubery Award trophy.
For reference, 2026 prizes are outlined below:
Book of the Year
£2000
Category winners £200
Every winner receives a bespoke Rubery Award trophy and all winners and shortlisted authors receive a review.
Open internationally • No upselling • Judged by named judges
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.
We know that indie authors and publishers cannot possibly afford these costs so we charge a much smaller fee for everyone.
