From thousands of entries, six books have been shortlisted across a range of genres, from non-fiction and crime thriller, to historical fiction and lesbian romance

Winning author to receive a £20,000 cash prize, a dedicated marketing campaign, access to mentoring and the chance to have his or her book translated for readers around the world

Luxembourg - 4th July 2017- The Kindle Storyteller Award today announced its shortlist of six books across a range of genres, from crime thriller, to historical fiction, to non-fiction, to lesbian romance.  The shortlist, narrowed down from thousands of entries, has been compiled based on a number of factors that reveal customer interest in the titles, shining a light on the independently published books that appeal most to a UK audience. 

The winning author will receive a £20,000 cash prize, a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon.co.uk, access to a mentor and the opportunity to have their book translated. The full shortlist below:

• Long Standing Ambition: the first solo round Britain windsurf by Jono Dunnett - Non-fiction
• The Relic Hunters by David Leadbeater – Crime, Thrillers & Mystery
• Wyvern Awakening by Joanna Mazurkiewicz – Young Adult - Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Henry Book Three of the Tudor Trilogy by Tony Riches – Historical Fiction
• Tombyards & Butterflies by Orlando A. Sanchez – Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Lost In You by Jade Winters – Lesbian Romance

The Kindle Storyteller Award is in its inaugural year and was established to recognise newly published work in the English language across any genre.  The prize was open to all authors who published their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk between 20th February and 19th May 2017.   

“The Kindle Storyteller Award was created to celebrate great stories that resonate with readers,” said Alessio Santarelli, EU Kindle Content Director, Amazon.  “It is great to see that readers have chosen books across such a range of genres and we are excited to see which book our judges select as the winner of the inaugural English language Award.”   

The shortlist will now be brought to a panel of judges who will decide upon the winning book, which will be announced at an exclusive invite-only ceremony at the Ned in London in late July.  The panel of judges includes actress and literacy campaigner, Lily Cole; best-selling author Rachel Abbott; Irish author, former literary agent and founder of the The Alliance of Independent Authors, Orna Ross; the Metro’s Books Editor Claire Allfree; as well as members of the Amazon Books team - UK Head of Kindle Singles and Chair of Judges, Andrew Rosenheim; UK Kindle Content Director, Amy Worth; and UK Editorial Director for Amazon Publishing, Emilie Marneur.

Andrew Rosenheim, Chair of Judges, Kindle UK Storyteller Award, said: “It is a remarkably diverse shortlist, ranging from a non-fiction chronicle of one man windsurfing around Britain’s coast to historical fiction that provides an intimate view of a little known king, Henry VII. I look forward to reading all the shortlisted books, though I imagine it will be no easy task to select the winner of this year’s Kindle Storyteller Award.”

The shortlisted authors on their work:

Jono Dunnett, author of Long Standing Ambition: the first solo round Britain windsurf, said: "The book was written primarily for my mother. I considered it to be a letter that explained ‘who I am’."

David Leadbeater, author of The Relic Hunters, said: “I was sitting at my desk thinking that someone should write an archaeological mystery mixed heavily with the adventure genre, combining the clues with the thrills, the puzzle with the added spectacle of blockbuster action, and then my brain said: 'let's do it.'”

Joanna Mazurkiewicz, author of Wyvern Awakening, said: “I submitted the book to the contest with no expectations at all, but had a feeling that this kind of book might do well. I was stunned when I received a phone call and was told I had been shortlisted for the prize.”

Tony Riches, author of Henry Book Three of the Tudor Trilogy, said: “I was born in Pembroke within sight of the castle, birthplace of Henry Tudor, so I’ve always been intrigued by the story of Henry’s return to Pembrokeshire with a small army to take the English crown from Richard III.”

Orlando Sanchez, author of Tombyards & Butterflies, said: “I wanted to depict a mix of cultures - American and English - and that was the inception of what became Tombyards & Butterflies.”

Jade Winters, author of Lost In You, said: “I am thrilled to be shortlisted for the Kindle UK Storyteller Award, not only because my work has been recognised, but also because I’ve been given the opportunity to showcase a genre that isn’t mainstream.”

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a fast, free and easy way for authors to publish their books in print and digital to a global audience, and receive up to 70 per cent royalties on their work.  On any given day, up to 25 per cent of  the Top 100 books on the UK Kindle store are published by authors who have decided to keep control by going it alone through KDP.  Readers can access the shortlisted titles on the Kindle Store on any device with the free Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, PC and Mac, and on Kindle e-readers and Fire Tablets. 

For more information visit www.amazon.co.uk/storyteller

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For more information please contact the Amazon press office at Shine Communications on 020 7100 7100 / 07736 473 462 or kindle@shinecom.com.

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