About the Next Generation Indie Book Awards
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards ("Indie Book Awards") is the most exciting and rewarding book awards program open to independent publishers and authors worldwide. The Indie Book Awards program was established by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group to recognize and honor the best independently published books of the year in more than 80 categories. Visit the Indie Book Awards website .
To help indie publishers and authors make important connections, the top 80+ books in the Indie Book Awards will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency (formerly the Allen O'Shea Literary Agency) for possible representation to publishers or one of Ms. Allen's co-agents for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights (unless an entrant prefers not to have the book forwarded to an agent).
To help indie publishers and authors make important connections, the top 80+ books in the Indie Book Awards will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency (formerly the Allen O'Shea Literary Agency) for possible representation to publishers or one of Ms. Allen's co-agents for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights (unless an entrant prefers not to have the book forwarded to an agent).
Who Is Marilyn Allen?
Ms. Allen has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience, including serving as Senior Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Director of Marketing for Harper Collins and directing sales and marketing teams for Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins and many divisions of the Penguin Random House Publishing Group. Ms. Allen has had the pleasure of working with many best-selling authors including Stephen King, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, John Gray, Mary Higgins Clark, and many more.
The judges of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards are all actively involved in the indie book publishing industry, and range from literary agents to editors. The judges also include publishing executives, book reviewers, writing teachers, successful published authors, and experts in the various areas of judging including book design.
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards have a wide variety of key personnel.
Read about them here
Entries are now being accepted for the 2026 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
2025 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS
FICTION
FIRST PLACE WINNER ($1,500 PRIZE)
Boy With Wings
by Mark Mustian
(Koehler Books)
SECOND PLACE WINNER ($750 PRIZE)
Gentle Hugs
by Lily Guzman, Illustrated by Dorota Rewerenda
(Self-Published)
THIRD PLACE WINNER ($500 PRIZE)
Told Ya! Stories
by Peta-Gaye Nash
(Tamarind Tree Books)
NON-FICTION
FIRST PLACE WINNER ($1,500 PRIZE)
The Warehouse: A Visual Primer on Mass Incarceration
by James Kilgore and Vic Liu, Illustrated by Vic Liu
(PM Press)
SECOND PLACE WINNER ($750 PRIZE)
Cherokee History and the Spirit Family
by James Barnes
(University of North Georgia Press)
THIRD PLACE WINNER ($500 PRIZE)
It's Not (All) Your Fault: Self-Help and the Individualization of Oppression
by Sharon Podobnik
(Manuscripts LLC)
Thank you to our sponsors FabJob Inc. and IAP Career College for providing financial support for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and to Author Connections for their ongoing marketing support and for sponsoring the flowers at our annual awards gala.
We are currently looking for sponsors who will help cover costs for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. If your company is willing to provide financial support or donations of staff or materials for the awards, please contact info@IndieBookAwards.com. Sponsors for the awards will receive numerous benefits depending on their level of sponsorship.
Any support or assistance is greatly appreciated. What a wonderful way to give back to the independent publishing community by working at honoring the most exceptional independently published books of the year.
How else can you can support the Next Generation Indie Book Awards?
- obtaining shared booth space at book conferences held in the USA
- printing of the catalog of Winners
- acting as a judge of a particular category
- paying for the trophies and/or medals
- paying for advertising
- providing marketing services
- press release distribution
Our valued sponsors
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
With Support From
What do people have to say about the Next Generation Indie Book Awards? Read our testimonials
ANNOUNCING: The Next Generation Short Story Awards!
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is pleased to introduce a not-for-profit international awards program for authors of short stories. This program is designed to celebrate the best short story writing and the creative minds behind the words. The Next Generation Short Story Awards is open to all authors, even first time authors, in the U.S., Canada, or internationally who have an original short story (5,000 words or less) written in English that has not been previously published. Entries are now being accepted for the 2025 awards year. Learn more and enter online at shortstoryawards.com