The Chrysalis BREW Project

Books, Reviews, and Everything Written (BREW) for you

The BREW Book Excellence Award

There are gazillions of books out there. Many (if not all) of which deserve recognition. The Chrysalis BREW Project works to make that spot-in-the-limelight a reality for as many read-worthy and notable books as possible.

The BREW Book Excellence Award is an annual award to books that deserve the utmost acclaim based on predetermined judging parameters. Unlike the monthly BREW Readers’ Choice Award which is driven by the book’s popularity, the former is judged by a panel of book critiques considered professionals in a relevant field.

Click here to nominate your book

Note: You will be taken to the secured payment processing facility of our partner, Store with a Heart, for your order. Fees start from 60 AUD only (approximately 40 USD as of 2 November 2022) per category nomination without a book review or 100 AUD (approximately 67 USD as of 1 March 2023) for a nomination with a book review.

Important Dates

Note: A limited number of free and discounted slots are available for early nominations. Thus, we recommend that you complete your book’s nomination as soon as you can if you’d like to get more bang for your buck.

  • 1 March – Nominations start
  • 31 December – Nominations end
  • 1 April 2024 – The list of Winners is completed and announced

The prizes

For the years 2021 to 2024, multi-award-winning sustainable online shop, Store with a Heart has committed to sponsoring the prizes for all winners.

Additional prizes may be given to winning entries as time goes by. For now, the following are the minimum guaranteed prizes for the winners.

All Entries

Our multi-award-winning partner – Store with a Heart (“Best Ecommerce Platform 2023”, “Best Sustainable Online Gift Store 2022 – Australia”, and “South Australia Prestige Awards 2020/21 Gift Store of the Year“) – has committed to contribute a portion of the nomination fees you pay to help feed the hungry via Pledge.

Every virtual (and physical) product or service you pay for at Store with a Heart is 100% carbon-neutral.

Thus, you are not only giving your masterpiece the chance to get into the limelight. You are also making that greatness in you shine more, as you make a difference with your nomination. You are doing a heroic deed for others and our planet, too!

To recognize your good deed, you’d get the following:

Shortlists, Finalists, and Runner-ups

Shortlisted entries, finalists, and runner-ups will receive the following entitlements:

  • Copyright to use the specific award title for the year on your book’s promotional materials
  • A digital award logo file
  • Award announced on the BREW website and other channels
  • A permanent 10% discount on all products and services offered on our partner site, Store with a Heart

Category Winners

The winner for each book award category will receive the following entitlements:

  • Copyright to use the specific award category title for the year on your book’s promotional materials
  • A digital award logo file
  • Award announced on the BREW website and other channels
  • A permanent 10% discount on all products and services offered on our partner site, Store with a Heart

Book of the Year

This is the award given to the best book, chosen from among the winners of the different award categories.

The winner will receive the following entitlements:

  • A winner’s digital certificate
  • Copyright to use the specific award title for the year on your book’s promotional materials
  • A digital award logo file
  • Award announced on the BREW website and other channels
  • A permanent 10% discount on all products and services offered on our partner site, Store with a Heart

More details will be provided to the winners via email.

Note: Prizes for all BREW awards are neither convertible to cash. Digital logos provided to the winners can be used on the winning book’s cover and other promotional materials, provided that all internet or web posts will contain a link redirecting to the specific BREW page for the award received. Award winners can only redeem a maximum of 10% discount for every order even if they won multiple awards.

BREW Book Excellence Award Categories

You can choose to nominate your book for 1 or more of the following categories:

  1. New Book (for books published from 1 January to 31 December of the nomination year)
  2. Non-fiction
  3. Poetry (10 000 words or longer)
  4. Short Story (5 000 to 7 500 words)
  5. Novelette (7 700 to 17 500 words)
  6. Novella (17 500 to 40 000 words)
  7. Children’s (Illustrated)
  8. Children’s (10 000 words or longer)
  9. Young Adult
  10. Coming-of-age
  11. Epic
  12. Folklore
  13. Historical Fiction
  14. Realist
  15. Inspirational
  16. Suspense
  17. Urban
  18. Western
  19. Australian
  20. Action and Adventure
  21. Comedy
  22. Fantasy
  23. Science Fiction
  24. Romance
  25. Biography, Autobiography, or Memoir
  26. Creative Non-fiction
  27. Diversity and Inclusion
  28. Sustainability
  29. Multicultural
  30. Christian
  31. Other

Nomination costs

There are free as well as paid nominations. More details about up-to-date cost amounts are discussed on the Nomination Confirmation page.

Visit the Nomination Confirmation page

Winners may wish to purchase optional extras for a fee. However, such items are optional and not required in any way. More details are on this page.

View the optional paid extras for award winners

Award Parameters

  • All published books on or before the award year are eligible for nomination. Books published before 1 April of the following year may be considered if the manuscripts had been completed during the award year AND the books’ corresponding nominations had been lodged and confirmed within the award year’s cut-off date.
  • Anyone can nominate a book for the awards. However, a book’s entry will only progress to the next stage if the nominated book’s copyright owner or duly-authorized representative completes the formal nomination process on or before the set deadline.
  • A book can be nominated for multiple categories provided that the corresponding entry fee is paid for every category nomination per book.
  • An author can have multiple book nominations provided that the corresponding entry fee is paid for every category nomination per book.
  • The entry fee per category for each book and other applicable fees for post-judging feedback, if requested, must be paid before a nomination can progress to the next stage.
  • Judges’ decisions are final. No feedback will be provided for entries. If you need feedback for your entry, you need to pay an extra fee per category for each book.
  • All fees paid are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
  • We reserve the right not to confer an award for categories with insufficient entries or if there are no entries that meet the minimum requirements to receive an award.
  • Nominated books must still be available via the sales channel or book site indicated on the nomination form at least 2 years after the nomination date. We reserve the right to retract an award if we find sufficient reasons to do so – e.g. if the book should have not received the award or if the book no longer appears on any reputable book site other than BREW.
  • All entries must be completed by the book’s copyright owner or duly-authorized representative using the required form. If you are the copyright owner and experiencing internet problems or technical issues at your location, you can authorize a person you trust to complete the required form, provided that such is being done for and on your behalf including but not limited to your understanding of and agreement to abide with the terms and conditions of the awards, BREW Privacy Policy, general BREW website and service terms of use, and all other relevant BREW policies and procedures.
  • Completed nominations must be received on or before the 31st of December to qualify for the year’s award.
  • Winners will be announced on the 1st of April of the award year. For example, 2023 winners will be announced on 1 April 2023.
  • These terms and conditions may be updated without prior notice.

The Judging Process

Judging will be based on predetermined benchmarks, best practices, and standards. Obvious or potential conflicts of interest will be avoided in selecting judges and during the entire pre- to post-judging stages, as far as possible.

General criteria

For 2023, the following are the general core judging criteria:

For all nominated books:

  • Content
  • Writing Style
  • Appeal to Target Audience
  • Uniqueness
  • Editing
  • Other factors (including marketability)

For children’s books, in addition to the above criteria, the following may also be considered for extra points if and as applicable:

  • Good role models for younger ones
  • Moral values
  • Good social manners
  • Age-appropriate language and topics
  • Age-appropriate illustrations
  • Gained the approval of a licensed educator or professional in a relevant field
  • Based on scientifically-proven data or similar information
  • Produced through industry-standard research processes
  • Other relevant information – e.g. the author’s profession, exposures, or expertise relevant to the field or theme

Additional source of points

We reserve the right to determine additional sources of points in case of a tie or determining the final list of the winners.

The panel

The judging panel shall be composed of readers, writers, or professionals from a relevant field.

Judges’ identities are not disclosed to preserve the impartiality and fairness of the awards.

Nominees or their authorized representatives are discouraged from contacting BREW reviewers, staff, or anyone else that could influence the award results at any point in time. Questions or clarifications must be coursed through only the BREW Contact Form or via email (info@thechrysalisbrewproject.com).

The judges’ decisions are final.

Post-judging feedback

Generally, except for the free review(s) for certain paid nominations, no judges’ feedback report will be provided to entries. If you need post-judging feedback for your entry, you need to pay an extra fee per book per category nomination at the time of nomination form lodgement. Late requests for post-judging feedback will not be entertained.

Other matters

We reserve the right not to confer an award for a category where there are no entries that meet the minimum requirements to receive an award.

Additional Terms and Conditions

The above terms and conditions are generally applicable. For other relevant information, resources, terms, and conditions, visit the following links:

Nominate a book

If you are ready for your next big opportunity, then click the button below to begin.

Click here to complete your own book’s nomination

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