For the 7th Annual Indie Author Project contest, we made some exciting changes by switching from a region-based format to a genre-based format, allowing us to award winners and runners-up across seven genres: Romance, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Historical Fiction, General Fiction, Memoir, and Young Adult Fiction. This allowed us to open the contest up internationally, making it even more inclusive than before and leading to over 2,000 submissions—double last year’s!

Librarian-led judging panels selected the winners from those submissions, showcasing the best indie ebooks in each genre. We were also able to increase the prize money this year, and each winner will receive $2500 with each runner up receiving $500. These books— and many more top indie titles— are available with unlimited, multi-user access in the Indie Author Project Select collections on BiblioBoard Library, The Palace Project, OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Boundless, and more.

We would also like to take a moment and celebrate two statewide contests: the Minnesota Author Project contest and the Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project contest (winners announced soon!).

Missed the live announcement of the winners during Indie Author Day? You can view the recording here.

From these regional winners, one overall Indie Author of the Year will be chosen by a panel of industry experts in 2025. Along with the prizes that come with their regional award, the Indie Author of the Year will also receive an additional $5,000, professional audiobook production, and a myriad of marketing and promotional opportunities. 

“Now that I’m in a place where I’m working in the profession, I can see how formative libraries have been for me, in ways I didn’t even consider until I found myself providing them to others. The public library is a really important community space.”

Bobe Headshot

Melissa Bobe
2024 Indie Author of the Year

INDIE AUTHOR PROJECT

2024 Indie Author Project Annual Contest Winners

Tex Miller is Dead Cover
WINNER

Tex Miller Is Dead

Kelly Elizabeth Huston

Gwinnett County Public Library System, GA
The Reporters UNLIKELY Reunion Cover
RUNNER UP

The Reporter’s UNLIKELY Reunion

MaryAnn Clarke

Vancouver Island Regional Library, BC
Last Surrender Cover
RUNNER UP

Last Surrender

Suzie O’Connell

Dillon Public Library, MT
Anyone But Her Cover
WINNER

Anyone But Her

Cynthia Swanson

Denver Public Library, CO
The Reluctant Coroner Cover
RUNNER UP

The Reluctant Coroner

Paul Austin Ardoin

Wauwatosa Public Library, WI
Conclusive Evidence Cover
RUNNER UP

Conclusive Evidence

Al Macy

Humboldt County Library, CA

Umbra Cover
WINNER

Umbra

Amber Toro

Orem Public Library, UT
Death by Miss Adventure Cover
RUNNER UP

Death by Miss Adventure

S.G. Tasz

Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, NV
Utopia PR Cover
RUNNER UP

Utopia PR

Adam Bender

Free Library of Philadelphia, PA
Loving Modigliani Cover
WINNER

Loving Modigliani

Linda Lappin

Centro Studi Americani Roma, Italy
Ama Cover
RUNNER UP

Ama, A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade

Manu Herbstein

Central Library, Accra, Ghana
Her Own Legacy Cover
RUNNER UP

Her Own Legacy

Debra Borchert

King County Library System, WA
This Place is Magic Cover
Winner

This Place is Magic

Irene Te

Manvel Library, TX
Resting Places Cover
RUNNER UP

Resting Places

Michael C. White

St. Louis Public Library, MO
Feral Maril and Her Little Brother Carol Cover
RUNNER UP

Feral Maril & Her Little Brother Carol

Leslie Tall Manning

Craven-Pamlico Regional Library, NC
The Block Manager Cover
WINNER

The Block Manager

Judy Mundle

St. Louis Public Library, MO
Shelter of the Monument Cover
RUNNER UP

Shelter of the Monument

Yvonne deSousa

Brooks Free Library, MA
Raising Wrenns Cover
RUNNER UP

Raising Wrenns

Mal Wrenn Corbin

Duxbury Free Library, MA
Keeper of Scales Cover
WINNER

Keeper of Scales

Anne Mollova

Shaler North Hills Library, PA
The Gatekeeper's Staff Cover
RUNNER UP

The Gatekeeper’s Staff

Antoine Bandele

Los Angeles Public Library, CA
Tracker220 Cover
RUNNER UP

Tracker220

Jamie Krakover

St. Louis County Library, MO
Up There Cover
ADULT WINNER

Up There

Sherry Roberts

Dakota County Library
Fetching Dreams Cover
YA WINNER

Fetching Dreams

Mary Bleckwehl

Northfield Public Library
Rondo Cover
COMMUNITIES CREATE WINNER

Rondo: History and Values

Edited by Dr. Artika Tyner of Planting People Growing Justice

Saint Paul Public Library
IL Author Project
The Fallen Woman's Daughter Cover
WINNER

The Fallen Woman’s Daughter

Michelle Cox

Grayslake Area Public Library
Abigail's Song Cover
FINALIST

Abigail’s Song

Alina Rubin

Niles Public Library District
FINALIST

The Crimson Court

Brendan Noble

Rockford Public Library
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  1. […] I’m so delighted to announce that This Place is Magic received the award for Best in General & Contemporary Fiction at the 2024 Indie Author Project Annual Contest! […]

  2. […] Click here to read IAP’s blog post about the contest. IAP connects indie authors with public libraries and their patrons across the U.S. I’ve personally used their service, formerly known as SELF-e, to submit eBooks and audiobooks of my novels to join a growing collection of high-quality, self-published books at libraries. IAP ensures the quality of the books by vetting submissions through industry editors and librarian editorial boards. […]

  3. […] ★★★ WINNER: Best in Contemporary & General Fiction ★★★Indie Author Project Annual Contest […]

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