Book Blogger Novel of the Year 2021

Last year, just before the holidays, the winners of the first annual Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award were announced. Now, the signups for this year are opening up, and I wanted to talk a bit about my experience on last year’s panel.

For Panelists

I knew when I first heard about BBNYA, I wanted to be a panelist. I love reading indie books, and I’m always looking for new authors. This is a great way to find them. Last year over a hundred books took part, and over a hundred panelists, all with their own preferences in genre. I’ve really enjoyed meeting new people, new authors, and new books. Some of my favourites from the earlier rounds didn’t make it through, but I still want to read the full books. Most other panelists feel the same way. They’ve discovered new favourite books and authors. We picked up books we otherwise wouldn’t.

The panel group is absolutely amazing. We’re all supportive bloggers and it’s a great way to connect with like-minded readers. If you feel like you’re alone in the book blogging world, I highly recommend you sign up. You’ll meet so many amazing people. Going through something like this together, sharing your experiences and excitement, creates a bond.

For Authors

The award is for indie/self-published books or books published by independent presses. BBNYA is focused to find the gems that don’t have the support of major publishing houses. If you’re a hybrid author, you can still take part with a self-published book. It doesn’t have to be a recent one either. As long as it’s published after January 2013, it’s eligible. There are three rounds before the book bloggers will read your whole book, with the first round looking at the cover + blurb and the first two thousand words, and the second round judging the first 10.000 words. All books will be matched up to bloggers who like the genre, so you don’t have to worry to get low marks because a blogger isn’t into your genre. Check the full requirements on the website. Or sign up immediately by following this link.

Foliosociety has joined us again which means both panelists and authors can win awesome prices. I really love their gorgeous editions, and can’t wait to receive my copy soon (which I won in one of the panelist giveaways). Expect more about it later once I received it.

February also kicks off the long list of blog tours for all the winners. I’ve signed up to take part in the tours for all the books I’ve read for the third round, and a few more which caught my interest but I didn’t get to read yet. So expect more reviews for awesome indie and small press books!

I hope you’ll join us this year as a panelist or an author! Sign up now!