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Winners will be announced at the 2022 Women's Fiction Writers Association Awards Gala & Keynote

September 23, 2022

9pm ET/8pm CT/7pm MT/6pm PT

General Information

Important Dates

Submission Details

Entry Fee

Guidelines

The STAR Award is designed exclusively for the published women's fiction author. 

The STAR Award has two categories. 

• A general category for all full-length published women's fiction, regardless of time period of the premise or additional plot element.*
• The second category is ‘Outstanding Debut'.To be eligible, the entry must be the author’s first ever published work in any genre.

*Not sure if your novel is eligible? See below.

The STAR Award Contest is limited to the first 50 entries in each of the two categories. 

First round judging is by readers of women's fiction, the final round by librarians with an interest in women's fiction.

Entries with the top three scores in each category (General and Debut) will be declared finalists and advance to the final round.


Important Dates

Entry Opens: January 9, 2022 (9:00 am EST) for WFWA members; January 23, 2022 (9:00 am EST) for non-WFWA members, space permitting.

Entry Closes: February 6, 2022, midnight, EST.

Deadline for Entered Books to be Received by the Award Coordinator:  February 6, 2022 *Note: first round judging is electronic*

Preliminary Judge’s Scores in: May 1, 2022

Finalists Announced: May 8, 2022

Deadline for Finalists' Books to be Received by the Award Coordinator:  May 15, 2022

Final scores due: August 21, 2022

Winners Announced: September 23, 2022, at the Albuquerque Annual WFWA Retreat

Submission Details

Preliminary Round: Submission has two parts. First, complete the registration form and pay the registration fee. Your confirmation email will direct you to our submission portal, where you will complete the second step. A complete submission will include either: An uploaded .mobi file of your novel OR three (3) unredeemed Amazon Kindle gift links. Kindle gift links will be provided to the judges in order for them to download a copy of your submission.

Final Round: Mail three (3) copies of the professionally printed book to the STAR Award Contest Coordinator. Finalists' books must be received by the coordinator by May 15, 2022.

Entries will be disqualified and fees forfeited if not received by the award coordinator by the specified deadlines.

Scoring Criteria for Judges: Scoring Guidelines can be viewed here.

Entry Fee

Paid electronically only – no mailed checks.

Guidelines

Eligibility

Definition

Format

Frequently Asked Questions

Eligibility

Open to all authors of book-length women's fiction (60k words or more). Books must be written in English but do not need to follow standard American English spelling and grammar rules. All work must have an ISBN and copyright page with an original copyright date in the calendar year 2021. If an entry doesn’t meet these requirements, it will be disqualified and entry fees forfeited. No novellas or short story collections are accepted.

My book is available online as an eBook only. May I enter?
Yes. But for the final round, all entries must be submitted as printed books.

I’ve self-published my book. Can I still enter?
Yes. Providing it has an ISBN and is available at retailers, either physical stores or online.

I’m published in another genre, but this is my first work of women's fiction. Can I enter as a debut author?
No. The novel entered in this category must be a true debut – your first published in any genre, including memoir and non-fiction. Novellas and short stories collections count as being published.

Definition

How do I determine if my novel is Women's Fiction?

Women's fiction is defined as a story where the emotional journey of the protagonist is the driving force of the story. The protagonist’s journey must lead to a more fulfilled self.

Women’s fiction is a flexible genre in that it may include romance, or it may not. It could be contemporary or historical and have magical, mystery, thriller, suspense, or other elements.

The driving force of a romance novel is a love story, a mystery's is the exposure of an event, a thriller's is a fear-inducing chase or escape, etc. If your manuscript's driving force best fits another genre, such as romance, science fiction, thriller, etc., it is not eligible for the STAR Award.

PLEASE NOTE: A book can have a protagonist of any gender, he, she, or they. It's the genre, not the gender that matters. 

Format

The STAR Award accepts published .mobi format entries only. If your novel is only available in e-book format, you must submit a physical book (Traditionally bound as a hardcover, trade or paperback. No unprofessionally printed manuscripts will be accepted.)

Additional Questions? Contact the STAR Award coordinator at [email protected].