Are ebooks eligible?
Yes.  Electronic books (ebooks) are eligible, but the authors must submit a printed copy to each of the jurors and one to our office.

Are self-published books eligible?
Yes.  Self-published books, such as those published by CreateSpace are eligible for competition. As long as your book has a copyright date which falls within the submission year, an ISBN number, and meets the criteria for the submission category. One of our past winners was a novel published by CreateSpace.

Are posthumously published books eligible?
Yes. As long as the book meets all the submission criteria for the category to which it is being submitted.

My book has a copyright date of last year, but was not published until this year; is it eligible?
Books with a copyright date of 2024 and a publish date between December 14, 2024 and December 31, 2024 will be eligible for the 2025 competition.

Do books entered into all categories of the contest need to be about written about Florida?
No. The only categories that require that the book is about Florida are the Florida Nonfiction and Visual Arts categories.

Does the illustrator of a Children’s Literature book need to be a Florida resident?
No. The Florida Book Awards honors authors. The illustrator need not be a Florida resident, but the illustrator also will not receive an award should the book win.

Must the author be a full-time resident of Florida?
Yes, with the exception of the Florida Nonfiction, Visual Arts, and Cooking categories, which welcome submissions from non-Florida residents, as well as Florida residents.

How do you define full-time Florida resident?
You are considered a full-time Florida resident if the address you list on your federal income tax return is a Florida address and if your voter registration is in Florida.

May only the author submit the book?
No.  Books may be submitted by anyone (e.g., publisher, author, or literary agent) who pays the entry fee, completes the entry form, and provides the number of required copies.

I co-authored a book.  Can I submit it?
Yes, as long as all authors are full-time Florida residents (Florida Nonfiction, Visual Arts, and Cooking authors excepted).

A new edition of my book has been published this year.  May I submit it?
Only if at least one-half the content has changed from the previous edition.

Can I enter the same book in multiple categories?
You may enter the same book into separate categories, but for each entry, you need to fill out a separate entry form for that category, send an entry fee payment for each entry, and submit 1 copy of your book to our office and 1 copy to each member of each category's jury.

Can I use a pen name?
You may certainly submit the author's pen name on the submission form. However, only the administrators have access to this form. The jurors receive only the copies of the book that you will send them, so even if you do choose to use the author's legal name, the jurors will not see it.

I am currently writing a serial; the first three books have been published this year under separate titles. May I enter all 3 books as one story? I am willing to pay the entry fee for all three.
If the books were published separately, the three books have different ISBN numbers, in which case they are separate books and need to be entered as such (which means 3 submission forms and 3 entry fees). You may, however, enter each book separately and they would all still stand a chance to win (we typically award a Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal in each category).

Can I submit a book that was written with AI?
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Model (LLM) programs such as ChatGPT are creating uncertainty regarding the present and future of books and publication. A chief concern is the possibility of copyright violations and the inability to provide proper attribution to content created from AI platforms. Due to these circumstances, books that are written with AI platforms are not eligible for the Florida Book Awards. In the event that a book is submitted and it is believed to be authored or generated by an AI platform, that book will be disqualified from the competition.