How much does it cost to enter the Realm Awards?
All categories are $49 to enter.
Why are they all the same? Didn’t short fiction and cover art used to be less?
Yes, we did have varying price points for the categories in the past, but we have made the fee the same across the board because:
Every winner of a category gets the same, beautiful piece of art glass, gold seals for book covers, and exposure via the announcements/press releases/social media, and so the cost to provide these things is the same across the board.
Why should I enter the Realm Awards when there are other free contests out there?
The entry fee for the Realm Awards, in short, is an investment in ensuring Realm Makers can continue to serve our community of Christian authors. In addition to the direct perks of winning mentioned above, the contest incurs a lot of “invisible expenses,” like the cost of hosting the awards ceremony at a hotel or convention center, the cost to livestream the ceremony, the software licenses needed to receive entries and judge them, and so much more. We are very grateful to each author who enters the contest for consideration and the part they play in making the Realm Awards available this year and in the future.
I would like to enter more than one work into the awards. Do I have to fill out a new form for each?
We are in the process of redeveloping the platform for the awards entry process, so stay tuned, and we’ll make everyone aware of the system for how to enter multiple works.
I co-wrote a book with some other authors. Is it eligible for the Realm Awards?
Co-authored works are allowed, but the author entering the book must affirm our statement of faith. We will give the physical award to the person who entered the book. Duplicate awards can be ordered for a fee after the awards ceremony.
If I sell my book direct on my website only, not through a distributer or retailer, does it still qualify?
The awards committee needs to be able to verify the publication date of the work, but if the author can provide confirmation of that date, the work will be eligible to enter.
How do I evaluate whether my book has sex, violence, or intense scenes for the checkboxes on the entry form? How much of these types of content warrants checking the box?
Because most of our judges are Christian readers, we want to make sure we don’t give books with gritty content to people who will score the book lower due to their desire to avoid that type of content. If sexual content of the book is “on the page” rather than a fade to black/closed door, you need to flag it. Same goes for descriptive kissing/arousal. For violence, if the violence would fit an R rated movie, you should flag it. If your book contains mature topics (trafficking, sexual assault, torture, detailed war or battle) you should mark it.
When in doubt, check the box. It’s better for you to warn the judges too much than too little.
What format should I use to submit an audio book?
The easiest way for our judges to access audio is for the submitter to include 3 promotional codes per round so our judges can access the project without paying.
Alternately, if the work is available at a URL, the submitter can provide that.
What are the qualifications for the Debut category?
The Debut category applies to an author’s first published novel. If they have been published in shorter formats or nonfiction, they still qualify.
Is there a minimum age for an author to submit to the awards?
No, any age author may enter.
My publisher is only willing to submit my book through NetGalley. Can you accept an entry that way, rather than a .mobi or PDF?
We can work with NetGalley for judges copies for your book, but to do so, we will need whoever enters the book to put us in touch with the correct individual at the publisher to get the NetGalley access. Our committee will handle that outreach after the submission period closes.
Do you need to be a subscriber to the RealmSphere to enter the Realm Awards?
No, you don’t need to be a subscriber to enter the awards.
Do cover design entries need to be for novels only, or can short story, anthology, or audio be entered?
The cover art you submit can be for all story lengths or formats, but if the book is an anthology, the authors in the anthology all need to affirm the contest statement of faith.