INVITATION

You are invited to enter the 22nd Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards® competition for excellence in publishing throughout the year 2009.

The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, which includes fifty plus categories recognizing excellence in both editorial and design, is regarded as one of the highest national honors in small and independent book publishing. Ever since 1987, when the awards competition was established by Jan Nathan, founder of IBPA, winners have been announced at IBPA’s Publishing University, just prior to Book Expo America.

The award is administered by IBPA, Independent Book Publishers Association (formerly PMA) with the help of publishing professionals coming from the library, bookstore, reviewer, designer, publicity and editorial industry segments. The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards program is the only one that allows entrants to receive direct comments from the people who will make the buying and/or review decisions on their product.

Prestige as a publisher is one of the many benefits of winning this distinguished award. Recipients are chosen by an independent board of industry professionals and recognized at a gala event celebrating all of the finalists. All finalists are displayed at the Awards ceremony. Winners are displayed in a designated location in the IBPA booth at BEA on a space available basis. Finalists are featured on the IBPA website prior to the event, and the winners and finalists will remain on the IBPA website.

To assist our judges and to ensure that they have enough time to review each book, we have separate calls for entries in August and December.

— Terry Nathan
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

— Carlene Sippola
PRESIDENT

PHILOSOPHY

"When we first began the awards, it was both to honor the publishers who produce quality titles and to teach publishers how they can compete in the world of book publishing. We recognize that when people purchase a product they do not purchase it because a specific named publisher publishes it, they purchase a book because it fulfills a need and is well designed and edited. Each and every day all houses compete for shelf space and consumer recognition. By providing feedback on your entries into the awards, you hear what the buyers and reviewers think about your product and learn that you can compete. Sometimes the major houses do win. Other times, the smaller publishers win out because they do a better job and provide a better product.

As you can see by the wording of our awards, it is open to all. We decided to parallel the universe of book publishing that doesn't discriminate between large and small."

— Jan Nathan

ELIGIBILITY AND DEADLINES

WHO MAY ENTER
Publishers of books copyrighted in 2009 may enter the competition. Any books submitted with copyright dates other than 2009 must be accompanied with proof of initial distribution in the year 2009. Authors are able to enter on behalf of their publishers only if accompanied by a letter of approval from the publisher. The entity to which the ISBN was issued by R.R. Bowker is the publisher. If you have questions about who owns the ISBN on your book, please contact your publisher or the IBPA office

DEADLINES
September 30, 2009
FIRST CALL – For titles published January 1 – August 31, 2009

December 31, 2009
SECOND CALL – Primarily for titles published September 1 – December 31, 2009
All titles carrying a 2009 copyright date will be accepted in this round of entries.

CONTACT INFO
627 Aviation Way • Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Tel: 310/372-2732 • Fax: 310/374-3342
info@ibpa-online.org

AWARD PRESENTATION
All finalists will be notified in April 2010. All publishers are invited to celebrate with us as we announce the winners at the 2010 gala awards ceremony. We look forward to recognizing and cheering on the publishers who set the standards of excellence within the publishing community.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS

ENTRY FEES
IBPA member – $80 per title, per category
Non-IBPA member – $180 for first title, which includes one year’s membership in IBPA; $80 per title, per category for second and subsequent entries.

Make check payable to IBPA or bill my VISA / Master Card / AMEX

Amount $ ___________________________

WHAT TO SEND
Submit five (5) copies of each title for the initial category entered. If you are entering the same title in multiple categories, you need to submit three (3) additional books for each additional category entered. Example: If you enter the same title in Categories 14 and 40, a total of eight (8) books needs to be sent with the entry.

For Category 50, Most Improved Redesign, please submit five (5) copies of the newly designed book and five (5) copies of the old book. If you wish to have the old book returned, please indicate that on the entry form and we will request that of our judges. Insert the entry label (download here) inside the front cover of each book. Double-check to be sure you have filled in the label completely and have entered the title in the most appropriate category.

For E-Books, Category 51, please download your E-Book to a CD in PDF format and submit five (5 copies) of the CD. If unavailable as a PDF, then provide instructions on how to access the proper reader for your E-Book.

Send a check made payable to IBPA for the total amount of entry fees or fill out the credit card section on the entry label (download here) and include with entries. All copies of books entered become the property of IBPA and will not be returned to you, except in the case of Category 50, Most Improved Redesign.

MARKETING AWARDS (Categories 55 & 56 only)
IBPA is seeking the title that received the most creative, innovative and aggressive marketing approaches in 2008 and/or 2009. Submit press releases, catalogs, reviews, and other promotional documentation in a binder or folder to be reviewed by judges. Supply print run documentation and sales corroboration. We are looking for both success and innovation in marketing, with the stress on the latter word. One title submission per company only, please. No copyright date limitations in this category.

HOW TO SEND
Ship books and payment for entry fees in the same package via a shipping service, such as UPS, to insure on-time delivery to the IBPA offices. DO NOT SEND FOURTH CLASS BOOK RATE. Place the payment for entry fees in an envelope on top of the entries in the package. Please do not include the payment in an envelope on the outside of the package. Please use the package mailing label (download here) to identify your submission.

WHERE TO SEND
IBPA BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AWARDS 2010
Independent Book Publishers Association
627 Aviation Way
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Telephone: 310/372-2732
Fax: 310/374-3342

CATEGORIES

BOOKS (No E-books, see Category 51)
Titles are judged in both design and editorial content.

1. Animals/Pets
2. Arts (Art/Music/Photography)
3. Audio book–Adult Fiction
4. Audio book–Adult Nonfiction
5. Audio book–Children’s
6. Autobiography/Memoirs
7. Biography
8. Business
9. Career
10. Children’s Picture Book
11. Children’s Book & Audio book Set
12. Coffee Table–Large Format
13. Cookbooks
14. Crafts/Hobby/How-To
15. Education/Teaching/Academic
16. Gift Books–Small Format
17. Graphic Novel
18. Popular Fiction
19. Historical Fiction
20. Mystery/Suspense
21. Poetry/Literary Criticism
22. Gay/Lesbian
23. Gardening/Agriculture
24. Health/Wellness/Nutrition
25. History
26. Humor/Comedy/Satire
27. Juvenile/Young Adult–Fiction
28. Juvenile/Young Adult–Nonfiction
29. Multicultural
30. Nature/Environment
31. New Age/Metaphysics/Spirituality
32. Parenting/Family Issues
33. Political / Current Events
34. Professional/Technical
35. Psychology
36. Recreation/Sports
37. Reference/Directories
38. Regional
39. Religion
40. Science
41. Self-Help
42. Travel

DESIGN AND OTHER AWARDS

43. Cover Design–Small Format – Fiction (6” x 9” or smaller)
44. Cover Design–Small Format – Nonfiction (6” x 9” or smaller)
45. Cover Design–Large Format (larger than 6” x 9”)
46. Cover Design–Children’s/Young Adult
47. Interior Design–1-2 color
48. Interior Design–3 or more color–Adult
49. Interior Design–3 or more color–Children’s/Young Adult
50. Most Improved Redesign (send copies of before and after book)
51. E-Books
52. The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book–Fiction (initial title from a new publisher)
53. The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book–Nonfiction (initial title from a new publisher)
54. The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book–Children’s/Young Adult
(initial title from a new publisher)
55. The PMA Award for Excellence and Innovation in Marketing – Budgets under $25,000 (See Guidelines for more info)
56. The PMA Award for Excellence and Innovation in Marketing – Budgets more than $25,000 (See Guidelines for more info)

ENTRY FORM LABEL

THE ENTRY FORM LABEL MUST BE INCLUDED WITH EACH TITLE YOU SUBMIT
Duplicate it as often as necessary. Insert the entry form label inside the front cover of each book submitted (if you enter one book in one category, you must insert this entry form label into each of the five books sent).

Please be sure that you have completely filled in the entry form label and entered the title in the most appropriate category.

Here you can download a PDF of the official entry form label for the 22nd Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards 2010 book publishers competition.

DOWNLOAD PDF OF ENTRY FORM LABEL HERE