Guidelines
THE 25TH ANNUAL MASSACHUSETTS BOOK AWARDS WILL OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS IN SEPTEMBER 2024
The Massachusetts Book Awards recognize compelling works of Massachusetts (1) fiction, (2) nonfiction, (3) poetry, (4) translated literature, (5) children’s picture books/early readers, and (6) middle-grade/young adult literature.
No entry fee is required. Authors, illustrators, or translators must be current residents of Massachusetts. All submissions must bear a 2024 copyright date.
The program develops longlists for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s picture books/early reader, and middle-grade/young adult. Once it assesses the strength of submissions in the new category of translated literature, the program will determine how best to promote achievements in this field.
The long-listed titles are promoted throughout the Commonwealth and at selected regional and/or national conferences and meetings (whether virtual or in-person).
From the long lists, ONE award winner and TWO honors titles will be named in each category. Those authors/books will be celebrated in an awards event at the Massachusetts State House. All award, honors, and long-listed books are added to Special Collections at the State Library of Massachusetts, promoted throughout the Commonwealth, and featured at National Book Festival.
Submitting a Book:
Complete the online entry form. Then send TWO copies of each book nominated to the address below. If a book is long-listed, Mass Center for the Book will call for additional reading copies.
Deadline: THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 15, 2024.
Mailing Address for awards submissions:
Mass Center for the Book
17 New South Street, Ste 302,
Northampton, MA 01060
Attn: Book Awards
Please DO NOT require a signature as that will delay delivery.
Categories and Eligibility
Award Categories
Fiction: Full-length novels & collections of short stories by a single author are eligible. Collaborations are eligible if both (all) authors are current residents of Massachusetts.
Nonfiction: Full-length works of general nonfiction and collections of essays by a single author are eligible. Anthologies/collaborations are eligible if ALL authors are Massachusetts-based. At present, the MassBook Awards program does not review advice, self-help, cookbooks, textbooks, or how-to books.
Poetry: Collections of poetry by a single author are eligible. A collection may consist entirely of new poems or of a new selection of work from throughout a writer’s career. Chapbooks are eligible. Anthologies/collaborations are eligible if ALL poets are current residents of Massachusetts.
Children’s / Young Adult Literature: Picture, early-reader, middle-grade, and young-adult books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are eligible. Guidelines for topic, collaboration, and originality are the same as those for adult books in each category, with the following NEW exception: titles are eligible if either the author OR the illustrator is a resident of Massachusetts.
Translated Literature: Mass Center for the Book invites submission of works that were translated by Massachusetts permanent residents (adult and younger reader audiences welcome) and published in the year 2024. See above categories for general eligibility.
General Eligibility Guidelines
1. Books must have been written, illustrated, or translated by permanent residents of Massachusetts. Those on temporary placement or those who are regular vacationers to the Commonwealth but who maintain residency elsewhere are not considered permanent residents. Writers must be living in Massachusetts at the time their books are submitted and must continue as permanent residents at the time the awards are announced.
2. Any individual, organization, or company may enter a book in any appropriate category.
3. Anthologies or collaborations are eligible if ALL authors are Massachusetts-based.
4. Self-published books are not eligible. Should a self-published author have created a press/imprint, that press must have published at least one additional author for the book to not be considered self-published for the purpose of this award.
5. Books must have been copyrighted in their original format during the calendar year 2024.
6. An author may be recognized for more than one book per year. Books by authors who have previously won a MassBook award are eligible.
7. All books become property of the MassBook Awards program. Note: Mass Center for the Book cannot be responsible for returning any submissions deemed ineligible; nor can it return extra copies of any submission.
8. Submission of a title confirms the following: Massachusetts Center for the Book has permission to use the book cover, excerpts from the text, and publicity notices in any promotion of the Awards.
9. Each category has its own judging panel which draws from a variety of reading communities. The Massachusetts Center for the Book and the MassBook judges resolve all questions about eligibility; the judges determine the award winners. The decisions of the panels are final.
10. The MassBook Medal: From time to time, the Massachusetts Center for the Book will award the Massachusetts Book Medal to a person or organization in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the Massachusetts community of the book. The committee does not accept formal application for this award. Past recipients of the Medal have included Stanley Kunitz, Eric Carle, PEN New England, and Reach Out and Read.