Previous Finalists

Choosing a Category

There will be four categories open to both fiction and non-fiction children's books, plus two categories for adult books. Oh, and this year, for the first time, we are having a separate Poetry Category and Short Story / Novelette Category.

Category 1

Pre-school picture books

Category 2

Books for 6 – 8 year olds

Category 3

Books for 9 - 12 year olds

Category 4

Books for Teenagers

Category 5

Books for Adults (fiction)

Category 6

Book for Adults (non-fiction)

The books can be hardback, paperbacks or ebooks. If your book is an e-book, no problem, send us a digital file (preferably PDF) and we can print it off this end.

Category 7 & 8 (AUDIOBOOKS)

Category 7 (Children/Young Adult), Category 8 (Adult)

You can enter this category as an 'add on' category e.g. enter your book in, say, Category 4 (YA) plus, if you have produced an audio version of the book, also enter it in Category 7. Or, if you wish, you can solely enter Category 7 or 8 with the AUDIOBOOK and no other category.

Category 9 & 10 (Best Book Cover)

Category 9 (Children/Young Adult), Category 10 (Adult)

You can enter this category as an 'add on' category e.g. enter your book in, say, Category 4 (YA) plus, also enter it in Category 9. Or, if you wish, you can solely enter Category 9 with the book cover of your book and no other category. The cost for the Best Book Cover Category is only £5 ($7).

Category 11

Adult/Children's Poetry

The cost for entering this category is £59 WITHOUT feedback and £109 WITH feedback.

Category 12

Short Story (for adults): 1,000–7,500 words / Novelette (for adults): 7,500–19,000 words

The entry fee for this category is ONLY £39 ($50).

Category 13

Film Screenplay

If you wish to submit a film screenplay to a literary agent, a film producer and/or director or even a film festival, this award is for you. This category will be judged by 'film buffs', not 'industry experts'. So, if you end up being a Red Ribbon Winner, a Finalist, and/or a Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal Winner, when you submit, you can say, 'The 'film buffs' at The Wishing Shelf Award LOVED my screenplay.' They will be judged on concept, originality, writing style, impact, structure/plot, atmosphere/mood, and marketability. You can enter WITH feedback from the judging (£109) or WITHOUT (£59). Every screenplay entered will be judged by a minimum of FIFTEEN of our film buffs!