. . .Dozens of Authors
. . .Thousands of Readers
. . .All Under One Roof

June 8-10, 2012
Houston, Texas
Doubletree Hotel - 400 Dallas St. - Downtown Houston

 
 

At the 2012 National Black Book Festival an author will be presented with the coveted 2nd Annual Best New Author Award.  The award will be presented at the Festival's Sunday Jazz Brunch on June 10, 2012.  This award will be bestowed upon the new author who exhibits superior writing skills and has developed a significant audience based upon online book sales. 

Best New Author Grand Prize
The grand prize for the award includes the following:

  • Free travel arrangements to the Festival, including airfare and hotel, paid for by NBBF
  • An award plaque indicating 2012 NBBF Best New Author, presented at the Sunday Jazz Brunch
  • Special guest featured author appearance on Sunday, June 10, with a specified two-hour signing time
  • Live, on-site radio interview at 2012 NBBF
  • Photo in 2012 NBBF souvenir program

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Criteria for Award Consideration for 2012
Following are the criteria for award consideration:

  • Author's debut book (first published book of any kind) must have a verifiable release date of 2010, 2011 or 2012.  Debut book may be of any genre or category.  Release date of debut book will be verified by our research staff.  Please do NOT submit an essay if your debut book (first published book) has a release date prior to 2010.
  • Author's debut book must be a perfect-bound (paperback or hardcover) book OR an e-book of at least 75 pages.  Spiral bound journals, workbooks, booklets, pamphlets or any work that is not a perfect-bound book OR e-book will not be considered.  Authors of e-books will now be allowed in the competition, as long as their books are at least 75 pages.  The e-book must be available for sale online and must be verifiable.  The book must already be published at the time that the essay is submitted.
  • For self-published books that are subsequently picked up by a major publisher, the release date of the latter book is the one that should be used for qualification purposes.  For example, if a book was self-published in 2008, but was picked up by a major publisher and re-released in 2010, the 2010 date would qualify the author to enter the award process, IF the book is his/her debut book.
  • Author must be a legal citizen of the United States and reside in the contiguous 48 states.
  • Author must be able to travel and attendance at the Festival to accept the award is required
  • Since only one author can win the award, books with co-authors are not eligible for this award.
  • The following individuals are NOT eligible to be nominated:  NBBF employees, affiliates, directors, partners or steering committee members; authors who have been semi-finalists or finalists from a previous NBBF Best New Author Award competition.
  • Author must be at least 18 years of age

Nomination Guidelines
Authors will be self-nominated and must adhere to the following procedure:

  • Nominations will be accepted from Aug. 23, 2011 to January 31, 2012.
  • Information must be submitted all together and at once via e-mail.  Information will NOT be accepted in piecemeal fashion.
  • Author must submit the following information via e-mail at one time, in one document or file:  1) A 200-word essay titled, "Why I Became A Writer."  2) Title, publisher and official release date of debut book.   3) Contact information, including author's name, address, phone number and e-mail address.  Essay should be between 175 and 200 words, not to exceed 200 words.
  • Information must be submitted via e-mail in a Microsoft Word format, as an attached file, to the following e-mail address:  info@nationalblackbookfestival.com


Award Judging Process
Award nominations process will be as follows:

  • All submissions will be read by the selection committee and assessed based upon content, overall presentation, grammar and punctuation, and writing skills.  The twenty (20) most outstanding essays will be determined.  Thus, the most important part of the award process is the essay submission portion.  This list of twenty (20) authors will be the semi-finalists.  The semi-finalists will be announced on Feb. 28, 2012.
  • Next, from the list of semi-finalists, the ten (10) authors with the highest level of online sales from any or all of their books, as shown on three book selling sites (e.g., Amazon.com, BN.com and Cushcity.com), will be determined.  This list of ten (10) authors will be the finalists and the list of finalists will be announced no later than March 15, 2012.
  • A panel of ten (10) book clubs will be selected at random to assess the finalists' essays.  The clubs will rank the essays and will select the 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices for winner.  The clubs' rankings will be compiled and the winner of the Best New Author Award will be selected on that basis.  The winner will be announced no later than April 20, 2012.

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If there are any questions about the award or the award process, please send them via e-mail to info@nationalblackbookfestival.com.

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