From wards to awards: Bestselling author Adam Kay joins judging panel for Amazon's Kindle Storyteller Award
The Award seeks to find the best story published through Kindle Direct Publishing and offers a £20,000 winning prize fund
Adam joins last year’s Kindle Storyteller winner Rachel McLean, along with best-selling and self-published author Mel Sherratt
Entries are open until 31st August 2022, accepting all submissions in English newly published through Kindle Direct Publishing
London, 13th June 2022 — Amazon has today announced that Adam Kay – author of the multimillion bestselling This Is Going To Hurt – has joined the judging panel for the 2022 Kindle Storyteller Award.
The literary prize celebrates the best self-published story published in the UK, offering recognition and celebration for new and established writers, with the winning author receiving a £20,000 prize fund and a marketing campaign for their title on Amazon.co.uk.
Commenting on his appointment to the judging panel, Adam said: “I am absolutely delighted to join the judging panel of the Kindle Storyteller Award. I know how daunting it can be diving into the world of writing - it wasn't long ago that I swapped wards for words and theatres for... another sort of theatre. The award is a brilliant opportunity for budding authors, and I can't wait to read and celebrate this year's entries.”
The Kindle Storyteller award is open to authors who publish their story via Kindle Direct Publishing between 1st May – 31st August 2022. Readers play a pivotal role in helping to choose the shortlisted stories, with a panel of judges, including top figures from the world of publishing and Amazon Books, choosing a winning book based on a number of factors including originality, creativity of content, and the quality and style of writing.
Others on this year’s judging panel alongside Adam Kay include last year’s winner Rachel McLean, best-selling and self-published author Mel Sherratt, Organisation Member Manager for ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) Melissa Addey, Darren Hardy, Author and Editorial Programmes Manager at Amazon.co.uk, and Jen Barrett, Books Editorial at Amazon.co.uk.
Commenting on winning the Kindle Storyteller Award in 2021, Rachel said: “Even now I am still in some disbelief that out of thousands of entries, my book The Corfe Castle Murders was chosen as the winner in 2021. The Kindle Storyteller Award helped give me further confidence in my own writing and since last year I have released five more books in the Dorset Crime Book series.
Deep down, I do believe that everyone has a story to tell, whether thrillers set in the South West like myself, or recounting a diary of a junior doctor. No matter what age or stage you are in your writing career, the Kindle Storyteller Award seeks entries from both new and established authors. I would urge anyone to have a go and submit for this year’s award!”
According to the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), reading worldwide is growing rather than declining, with the global books market due to reach $159.3 billion by 2028. Within this, ebook and audiobook sales have increased by more than 30 per cent since 2020, which is positive news for independent authors.
Since winning the award in 2021, The Corfe Castle Murders and a number of other novels by Rachel McLean have gone on to become Kindle bestsellers, with The Corfe Castle Murders amassing 13,000 customer reviews to an average of 4.2 out of 5 stars.
Darren Hardy, Author and Editorial Programmes Manager at amazon.co.uk said: “Following a record-breaking number of entries in 2021, we are looking forward to seeing what 2022 has in store for The Kindle Storyteller Award.
It is an honour to have Adam Kay join our panel of expert judges this year, as we head into our sixth year celebrating the compelling and diverse storytelling of self published authors. Adam is a true advocate for the notion that it is possible to turn your hand to writing and see success as an author.”
The Kindle Storyteller Award is open for entries from now until 31st August 2022. All titles must be enrolled in Kindle Direct Publishing Select while they are in the competition. For further information, visit www.amazon.co.uk/storyteller.
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Notes to Editors:
The Kindle Storyteller Award accepts submissions of new books in the English language, published using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Titles must be previously unpublished, with a minimum of 24 pages in paperback, and they must be enrolled in KDP Select while they are in the competition. Readers can access all titles entered into the prize in print or on the Kindle eReader or on the free Kindle app for iOS, Android and Fire devices. Print copies will also be available to buy on the Amazon.co.uk store. The winner will be announced in autumn this year.
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. Hundreds of thousands of authors use KDP to sell their books around the world and thousands of them earn more than $50,000, with more than a thousand passing $100,000 in royalties. Authors who made their books available through Kindle Unlimited earned their share of a fund worth more than $474 million over the last 12 months.
About Amazon
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