What’s the best non-fiction award to win? 

To answer this question, one of the best things to do is figure out your overall goals.

If you’ve written a book on mental health, as opposed to the construction industry, then the best non-fiction award will be different. That said, they could be the same if you’re covering the number of suicides within the construction industry.

If your book’s genre, target audience, and personal goals are aligned with awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, then you would need to be an American author. In addition to being an American author, your book needs to address American issues. It is not worth having this as an award goal if you’re a British author writing about Scotland.

The National Book Award, is again, an American award and requires the book to be published in America. It doesn’t require the author to be American, or the subject to be of a specific genre about American life.

For authors based in Ireland and the UK, consider The Booker Prize or the Costa Book Awards. Both are for all genres of literature, but the Costa Book Awards tends to lean more towards fiction; where as The Booker Prize recognises a more evenly spread of titles from fiction and non-fiction.

Knowing what the specifics are for each award matters. Some are based on sales achieved rather than the quality of the writing. Some awards require many nominations, whilst others require you to pay an entry fee. Most awards require a promise of attendance at the awards dinner – which can be quite pricey when tickets are upwards of £200 / $300 per ticket.

To plan out your vision for awards and accolades, make sure you dive deep into Module Six of the DBI 7-Week Author Course – More Than Just Money