Selfies 2020 shortlists revealed

News - Prizes Wednesday, 26th February 2020

Children's books included for the first time this year; 12 books shortlisted in total


BookBrunch is this morning announcing the shortlists for the second Selfies Awards, the prize for the best self-published adult fiction and – for the first time in 2020 – children’s book published in the UK in 2019.

Launched by BookBrunch in 2018, the Selfies are sponsored by Ingram’s award-winning self-publishing platform, IngramSpark®, and supported by the London Book Fair and Nielsen Book.

The shortlist for the 2020 adult fiction Selfies Award is:
- Notes from the Lost by Cathy Hartigan
- Secrets at St. Brides by Debbie Young
- Going Up by AE Radley
- Jaffle Inc. by Heide Goody and Iain Grant
- The Pearl of Penang by Clare Flynn
- Katharina Fortitude by Margaret Skea

The shortlist for the 2020 children’s Selfies Award is:
- The Christmas Tree Wish by Karen Inglis, illustrated by Anne Swift
- Grandad’s Fish-pond by John Carter, illustrated by Keith Phelpstead
- Vlad and the Space Race by Kate Cunningham, illustrated by Sam Cunningham
- The Wonder Girls by Jan Carr
- The Adventurers and the Cursed Castle by Jemma Hatt
- The Little Cockroach by Susie Violet, illustrated by Alex Patrick

The Selfies Awards are judged on the quality of the writing; the production values of the book; an enticing cover and blurb that successfully addresses the target audience; and an effective and creative marketing and publicity strategy that has the potential for great sales. The winner in both categories will receive £1,000 cash and a copy of Scott Pack’s new book Tips from a Publisher: A Guide to Writing, Editing, Submitting and Publishing Your Book, while all shortlisted authors will receive free entry to the 2020 London Book Fair and Authors’ HQ, where a series of events aimed at indie authors have been programmed.

The winners will be announced in the Authors’ HQ at 5.15 on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, with best-selling author LJ Ross.

Jo Henry, managing director of BookBrunch, said: "We were delighted with the number of submissions this year and the overall standard of the titles submitted. Over the past two months a team have been reading their way through a tremendously diverse selection of books from writers up and down the country. We’ve been amazed yet again by the fantastic work that is being done by indie authors in the UK and are so pleased that we’re able to recognise this excellence through these Awards."

Robin Cutler, director of IngramSpark, said: "It is a privilege for IngramSpark to sponsor the Selfies Awards for the second year. We applaud BookBrunch, the team of judges and London Book Fair for giving self-publishers such a great platform to showcase their work. The finalists represent some of the best work among all books published in the UK last year. They just happen to be Indie."

Following the success of The Selfies Awards in the UK, a similar awards programme is being launched in the US this year, and will also be sponsored by IngramSpark. The closing date for US entries is February 29, and self-published authors living in the US who would like to enter should go to: www.selfiesbookawards.com. For further details about the UK Selfies awards please see www.theselfies.co.uk.