Requirements to Enter Competition
These are the requirements, for both the novel and author, to enter the contest. Make sure you, the author, and your novel meet all these requirements before entering.
The novel has to be published on or before January 31st 2023 and be currently available for sale.
The novel must be book 1 in a series or a standalone.
The novel has to be fiction, written in English prose and a full novel. Anthologies, short story bundles and similar collections will be declined.
The novel must be independently/self-published or published by a small independent press. Our definition of small independent press means at most 25 books published per year with turnover not exceeding 500K. It cannot be an imprint of a large publishing company. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure publisher and author are in agreement about entry and that all terms and conditions can be met. Any necessary final decisions about your eligibility will be made at our discretion.
The novel has to be over 25,000 words.
The author must be aged 18 or older at the time of entering.
The author may only submit their own work, and not that of another author, and only if they have the correct rights and/or permissions to do so. We are not responsible for any legal consequences. Posthumous submissions are not accepted.
The author is to provide any and all trigger and content warnings for any potentially sensitive content. These are used for both the judging process and the safety of panel members. Sensitive conte2nt can be, but is not limited to: racism, discrimination, disrespect towards any member of the LGBTQIA+ community or the community as a whole, misandry/misogyny, disrespect to disabled people, or any minority group, abuse be it sexual, physical, mental, animal cruelty etc. We are not responsible for low scoring from our panel if you fail to provide any and all trigger warnings. (This site is a great references to double-check: https://trigger-warnings.tumblr.com/tags/ )
The author is to provide all info asked for in the sign-up form, excerpts of the novel and the novel itself when asked for. The author is to provide the excerpts when their entry is confirmed via email prior to the start of the contest. The author is to provide the full novel if they proceed to the final round. The novel and excerpts are to be available in different formats, such as, but not limited to, PDF and ePUB. The digital copies should be formatted to industry standards.
Authors currently serving a custodial prison sentence are not eligible to submit.
Any novels that were part of the Finals (the last round) in any previous BBNYA are not eligible to enter.
A novel previously submitted and entered in BBNYA that did not make it to the Finals (the last round) is allowed to enter again.
If participating in the cover competition, the novel's cover art can not have been produced with AI technology.
The author agrees to provide the 20 euro non-refundable administration fee when requested. BBNYA prizes and running costs for the competition are self-funded using entry fees.
Please remember that this competition is for authors and publishers who traditionally do not have the amount of resources that bigger names possess. We ask that you do not entire your title if you are a well-known author who has published under other names and/or with bigger publishers.