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Explore Our Award Categories

The Independent Publisher Book Awards feature over 100 categories, celebrating excellence in a wide array of publishing genres and formats. From general and regional categories to specialized eBook awards, the IPPYs recognize outstanding works in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and more. With a category for everyone, we encourage you to submit your book and showcase your talent within the independent publishing community.

general categories

1. Fine Art

2. Performing Arts (Music/Dance/Cinema/Theater)

3. Photography

4. Architecture

5. Coffee Table Books

6. Popular Fiction

7. Literary Fiction

8. Short Story Fiction

9. Poetry – Standard

10. Poetry – Specialty

11. Anthologies

12. Juvenile Fiction

13. Young Adult Fiction – General

14. Young Adult Fiction – Fantasy

15. Fantasy

16. Science Fiction

17. LGBTQ+ Fiction

18. Erotica

19. Historical Fiction

20. Military/Wartime Fiction

21. Horror

22. Multicultural Fiction

23. Multicultural Fiction – Juv-Young Adult

24. Mystery

25. Suspense/Thriller

26. Religious Fiction

27. Romance

28. Novella/Short Fiction

29. Visionary/New Age Fiction

30. True Crime

31. Graphic Novel/Drawn Book

32. Humor

33. Children’s Picture Books (7 & Under)

34. Children’s Picture Books (All Ages)

35. Children’s Interactive

36. Juvenile-Young Adult Non-Fiction

37. Multicultural Non-Fiction – Juv-Young Adult

38. Multicultural Non-Fiction – Adult

39. Essay

40. Creative Non-Fiction

41. Autobiography/Memoir I (Celebrity/Political/Romance)

42. Autobiography/Memoir II (Coming of Age/Family Legacy)

43. Autobiography/Memoir III (Personal Struggle/Health Issues)

44. Biography

45. Aging/Death & Dying

46. Animals/Pets

47. Business/Career/Sales

48. Cookbooks- General

49. Cookbooks – Specialty

50. Current Events I (Political/Economic/Foreign Affairs)

51. Current Events II (Social Issues/Humanitarian)

52. Education I (Workbook/Resources)

53. Education II (Commentary/Theory)

54. Nature

55. Environment/Ecology

56. Finance/Investment/Economics

57. LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction

58. Gift/Specialty/Journal

59. Holiday

60. Health/Medicine

61. History (U.S.)

62. History (World)

63. History (Oversized/Coffee Table)

64. Inspirational/Spiritual

65. New Age / Mind-Body-Spirit

66. Parenting

67. Popular Culture

68. Psychology/Mental Health

69. Sports/Fitness/Recreation

70. Reference

71. Religion (Eastern/Western)

72. Science

73. Self Help

74. Sexuality/Relationships

75. Transportation (Auto/Aviation/Railroad)

76. Travel – Essay

77. Travel – Guidebook

78. Women’s Issues

79. Writing/Publishing

80. Book/Author/Publisher Website

81. Cover Design – Fiction

82. Cover Design – Non-Fiction

83. Cover Design – Non-Fiction Oversize

84. Best First Book – Fiction

85. Best First Book – Juv/YA

86. Best First Book – Non-Fiction

87. Book Series – Fiction

88. Book Series – Non-Fiction

89. Audiobook – Fiction*

90. Audiobook – Non-Fiction*

91. Audiobook – N-F – Personal

91. Audiobook – N-F – Informational

regional categories

Our Regional Categories honor books where location plays a significant role. The entire book doesn’t need to take place in one setting, but the location should be a notable feature of the story or subject. These categories include awards for “Best Fiction” and “Best Non-Fiction” in each region.

Books with general topics or no identifiable location aren’t ideal for these categories. Remember, choose your category based on the book’s setting, not the author’s residence.

Northeast

Mid-Atlantic

Southeast

South

Great Lakes

Australia/New Zealand-Aotearoa/Pacific Rim

Plains

West-Mountain

West-Pacific

Canada–East

Canada-West

Europe

ebook categories

E1. Best Adult Fiction eBook

E2. Best Romance/Erotica eBook

E3. Best Mystery/Thriller eBook

E4. Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror eBook

E5. Best Adult Non-Fiction Personal eBook

E6. Best Adult Non-Fiction Informational Ebook

E7. Best Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction eBook

E8. Best Children’s Illustrated eBook

E9. Best Regional eBook – Fiction

E10. Best Regional eBook – Non-Fiction

Our winning of a gold medal in the 2008 competition has greatly helped book sales. We sold nearly 2500 copies of Wild Alberta at the Crossroads last year and had to order a reprint of 1500. When we show retailers the gold medal they are always impressed and invariably order some books.