2009 London Book Festival Call for Entries

LONDON, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2009 London Book Festival has issued a call for entries to its annual competition honoring the best of international publishing.

The 2009 London Book Festival will consider entries in general non-fiction; fiction; biography/autobiography; children's books; cookbooks; compilations/anthologies; e-books; genre-based; how-to; photography/art; spiritual; music; teenage/young adult; unpublished stories and the wild card (anything goes!) categories published on or before Jan. 1, 2005.

All entries must be in English and can be published, self-published or issued by an independent publishing house.

Our grand prize for the 2009 London Book Festival is $1500 cash and a flight to London for our gala awards ceremony.

Submitted works will be judged by a panel of publishing industry experts using the following criteria:

1. General excellence and the author's passion for telling a good story.
2. The potential of the work to gain a wider audience in the worldwide market.

ENTRIES: Please classify your book and enter it in the following categories. Multiple entries must be accompanied by a separate fee for each book.

    1)  General Non-fiction
    2)  General Fiction
    3)  Children's books
    4)  How-to
    5)  E-books (word or .pdf file acceptable)
    6)  Photography/Art
    7)  Poetry
    8)  Audio/Spoken Word
    9)  Teenage/Young Adult
    10) Biography/Autobiography
    11) Best Unpublished Short Story (all manuscripts welcome)
    12) Cookbooks
    13) Compilations/Anthologies
    14) Spiritual
    15) Wild Card
    16) Music

In addition to honoring the top selections in the above categories, The London Book Festival will award the following chosen from submissions:

1. London Book Festival Author of the Year - Honors the outstanding book of the competition.
2. London Book Festival Book Design of the Year - Honors outstanding and innovative design.
3. London Book Festival Publisher of the Year - Honors the top publisher based on materials displaying excellence in marketing and promotional materials, as determined by our judges.

FESTIVAL RULES: London Book Festival submissions cannot be returned. Each entry must contain the official entry form, including your e-mail address and contact telephone number. All shipping and handling costs must be borne by entrants.

NOTIFICATION AND DEADLINES: We will notify each entry of the receipt of their package via e-mail and will announce the winning entries on our web site (www.diyconvention.com). Because of the anticipated high volume of entries, we can only respond to e-mail inquiries.

Deadline submissions in each category must be postmarked by the close of business on Nov. 25, 2009. Winners in each category will be notified by e-mail shortly after the final entry deadline and the results will be posted at www.Londonbookfestival.com. Please note that judges read and consider submissions on an ongoing basis, comparing early entries with later submissions at our meetings.

TO ENTER: Entry forms are available online at www.Londonbookfestival.com or www.diyconvention.com or may be faxed/e-mailed to you. Applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable entry fee via check, money order or PayPal online payment of $50 in U.S. dollars for each submission. Multiple submissions are permitted but each entry must be accompanied by a separate form and entry fee.

Entry fee checks should be made payable to JM Northern Media LLC. We're sorry, but entries must be mailed and cannot be delivered in person or by messenger services to the JM Northern Media offices.

Entry packages should include one copy of the book; any relevant marketing material; your official entry form or a copy; and the entry fee or receipt. Entries should be mailed to:

    JM Northern Media LLC
    attn: London Book Festival
    7095 Hollywood Boulevard
    Suite 864
    Hollywood, CA 90028-0893
    Phone: 323-665-8080

AWARDS: Winners of the London Book Festival will be honored at a gala ceremony held in London this Fall You do not need to be present to accept your award or accompanying prizes.

The 2009 London Book Festival is part of the JM Northern Media family of festivals, which includes the DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music & Books, New York Book Festival and Hollywood Book Festival. The 2009 London Book Festival is sponsored by eDivvy, the Larimar St. Croix Writers Colony, Shopanista; Westside Websites and the DIY Reporter.com.