MINNESOTA AUTHOR PROJECT CONTEST
Thank you for volunteering your time as a judge. Your evaluations help us discover great indie books and get them into libraries across the U.S. and Canada.
Everything you need is on this page. Stuck on anything? Just email Nash Steele at nash.steele@lyrasis.org.
About the Contests
Minnesota Author Project Contest
For the best adult and young adult books by Minnesota authors.
Communities Create Contest
For the best collaborative work created by Minnesota groups and organizations.
Your number of assigned books depends on total submissions. Here’s the whole process, start to finish.
Step 1: Find your assigned books
Your books, ratings, and BiblioBoard login are all on one spreadsheet in the shared Google Drive folder. It’s updated regularly as new books come in.
Already have a personal BiblioBoard account through your library? Use the login username noted on the spreadsheet.
Step 2: Read each book on BiblioBoard
All assigned titles are hosted on BiblioBoard Library. Read at your own pace. One book a week keeps you comfortably on schedule.
Need help using BiblioBoard? Check out this how-to video.
Step 3: Score using the official rubric
Each contest has its own rubric. You don’t have to finish a book that’s clearly not a contender, just note that you didn’t finish the book in your feedback.
Step 4: Submit a form for every book
One quick Google Form per title, with your rubric scores and comments. Comments may be shared with other judges and authors, so keep feedback constructive and kind.
Step 5: Move to the final round
Top-scoring books advance. If your genre has finalists, you’ll read and score those too before winners are chosen.
What if I find a book unreadable or poorly formatted?
Please note this in the comment section of the form. That feedback is helpful for our team.
Are my comments shared with authors?
Your comments will be shared with the other judges and may be passed along to the authors as well, especially if they provide helpful critique or praise. Please be constructive and kind.
Can I skip a book if I don’t like it?
If you start reading a book and can tell that it won’t be a contender for the final round, you are not required to finish it. Please note your feedback on the submission form.
What happens after I submit my feedback?
We’ll tally all scores and hold a meeting with all judges in each genre to determine which submissions will continue to the final round. Meeting dates and times will be communicated via email. While attendance is not mandatory, it is highly encouraged that you participate if you can.
Have a question? Experiencing technical issues? Want to double-check something?
Email Nash Steele at nash.steele@lyrasis.org
We’re so grateful for your time and support, and are always happy to help!
Be Proud to Be a Judge!
Feel free to tell your community that you’re an Indie Author Project Contest Judge! You can even download a digital badge to share on social media or your website:
Tag us @IndieAuthorProject if you post on social media!
Google Folder with all available resources