Readers’ Choice

Readers! We want to hear from you

RealmSphere Subscribers--It's Your Privilege to Nominate the Best

NOMINATIONS OPEN: March 15

Nominate your favorite reads from the previous calendar year for the Realm Makers Readers’ Choice Award! The Realm Award: Readers’ Choice will celebrate the best speculative fiction novel published in the previous calendar year. Not a RealmSphere subscriber yet?  Join today so you can nominate and vote!

  • Between March 15- April 15, we’re taking nominations, so enter your three (3) favorites.
  • That’s three DIFFERENT books, folks. Not the same book three times…
  • And don’t try to game the system by nominating books under different names or email addresses. We appreciate your fervor, but that’s a good way to get your nominations disqualified!
  • Fill out one form per book you wish to nominate.

VOTING FOR FINALISTS: Vote April 18-May 3

Anyone in the RealmSphere can vote from our list of nominated books (our semifinalists). The five books with the most votes will become Readers’ Choice finalists. Here’s what you need to know:

  • You can only vote once. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Please don’t try to game the system by using multiple names and email addresses so you can vote more than once. While we appreciate your zeal for your favorite books, if we suspect you’re trying to cheat, those votes will be disqualified.
  • You can only vote for books you’ve actually read.
  • Tell us your TOP 3 favorites from the list.
  • Be thoughtful. The authors deserve that.

VOTING FOR THE WINNER: May 7-31

The finalist voting round chooses the winner!

Finalist voting will take place ONLY in the RealmSphere.

We’ll announce the winner at the Realm Awards Banquet on July 18, 2025 at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids. (Tickets available as part of your registration to the Realm Makers Writers Conference, or as an add-on to your ticket to the Realm Makers Expo.)

The winner will receive a one-of-a-kind glass art award created by Leah Nietz.

Contest Rules

To qualify for the Readers’ Choice Award, books must be:

  • Published in the previous calendar year (Jan 1, 2024-Dec 31, 2024)
  • Be written by a Christian author (if you’re unsure, do not nominate their book)
  • Be the first publication of the title (no reprints, subsequent editions, books revived under a new publisher, etc.)
  • Be novel length: no short stories, novellas, anthologies/compilations of fiction previously offered in a serial format
  • Be for Young Adult or Adult audiences
  • Fall under a speculative genre such as science fiction, fantasy, supernatural/paranormal, steampunk, alternate history, etc. 
  • Contain no erotica

ONLY READERS may nominate books, no self-nominations or nominations from anyone involved in the book’s production (editors, illustrators, publishing house representatives etc.)

AUTHORS: please don’t offer any compensation or incentive to readers for nominating or voting. This includes prize drawings or swag in exchange for proof of participation. We welcome you to connect with your readers to make them aware of the contest, but please limit these communications to awareness campaigns only