Does your fantasy or sci-fi story have what it takes to "hook" a $100 grand prize and the title of October Indie Author of the Month?

Starry Ink Press is looking for the catchiest, most thrilling openings in our October Indie Author of the Month "Opening Hook" Contest. 

There is no cost to enter, and the winner will receive:

-A $100.00 USD cash prize (paid via PayPal)
-A free beta read for your entire story (up to 150,000 words) from one of our Professional Beta Readers, including in-line comments and a summary report
-A written interview on the Starry Ink Press Blog
-Entry into the 2021 Starry Reader Awards in December

The rules to this contest are simple:

-Submit the opening paragraph of your story (up to 50 words)
-Stories MUST be fantasy or sci-fi for consideration (any sub-genre)
-Stories MUST be written in English (US, UK, CA, AU, or NZ preferred)
-Openings of short stories, novellas, and full novels will all be considered
-Contest submissions will CLOSE on October 1st 2021 at 11:00pm CST

Judging: 

Our judging team will screen all entries and select our top ten choices.

The top ten openings will be shared with our readers for a popular vote, which will open on October 5th 2021 and will close October 15th 2021.

The winner will be announced via e-mail to our newsletter subscribers on October 17th 2021, and then on social media/our blog on October 18th 2021.

​Ready to submit your hook? 

Voting is now CLOSED for the September Indie Author of the Month Award Cover Contest, hosted by Starry Ink Press and sponsored by MiblArt.

While the judging panel has begun their deliberations for the award winner, authors and readers are welcome to place their votes for their favorite cover here. Reader's Favorite voting closed September 15th 2021 at 11:59pm CST. 

The winner of the Reader's Favorite will receive a $50 USD cash prize sent to them via PayPal.

The judging panel will also announce our Indie Author of the Month, with prizes including:

-A professional ebook cover design by our sponsoring partner, MiblArt
-A written interview on the Starry Ink Press blog
-Entry into the 2021 Starry Reader Awards in December 2021

Winners will be announced to our e-mail subscribers on September 17th 2021.
Winners will be announced on our social media pages on September 18th 2021.

Cast your vote for the Reader's Favorite cover below.

You can find out more at her website HERE, and follow her on Instagram HERE.

Nominations for the September Indie Author of the Month Award - Cover Contest open August 27th 2021!

This month's indie author award is being presented in partnership with MIBLart, who will present the winning author with a free ebook cover for 1 novel of their choice. 

To keep our awards as fair as possible, we have assembled a panel of experienced and objective judges who LOVE indie authors and their books to judge for the final award, which will include:

-1 professional ebook cover with commercial use rights, sponsored by our partners at MIBLart
-A written interview on the Starry Ink Press Blog
-Entry into the 2021 Starry Reader Awards in December

Additionally, Starry Ink Press will present a separate reader's choice award cash prize of $50 USD payed via PayPal to the cover with the most popular votes during the voting phase, which begins September 1st 2021. 

 Nominations for the September Indie Author of the Month Awards - Cover Contest open August 27th 2021 and close on August 30th 2021 at 11:59pm CST. 

Please keep the following notes in mind when nominating a cover:

-This contest is for Sci-Fi or Fantasy Book Covers Only (Romantic subplot is fine, but Sci-Fi or Fantasy must be the main plot.

-Indie and Hybrid (some self-published books while traditionally publishing others at the same time) are all welcome, but the cover nominated MUST be an indie published book (no traditionally-published books will be considered).

-Not-yet-published covers are welcome IF the book is up for pre-order and has a link we can use for the judges to verify that it is on the market at the time of voting.

-Each nominated author will be contacted to give us permission to include their cover in our contest.

-Single-author books only; anthologies/collections/co-authored pieces will not be considered.

-Judges cannot submit/judge their own books for consideration, but authors/designers who are not on the judge's panel are welcome to submit their own books for consideration (ie: you can nominate yourself if you're not a judge).

-You do not need to know the author's designer to nominate a book; we can ask the author. 

**Nominations are now closed. Please come back for the voting period on September 5th 2021.**

Good luck all!

Starry Ink Press congratulates Carol Beth Anderson: August indie author of the month! 

Carol Beth Anderson was born and raised in the Arizona desert, where she played make-believe games with her twin sister and older brother, transforming blankets into princess capes and her mother’s dresses into fine gowns. Almost as soon as she learned to write words, she began turning them into stories.

Beth is the author of the Sun-Blessed Trilogy and The Magic Eaters Trilogy, as well as The Curio Cabinet: A Collection of Miniature Stories and Early Readers Catch the Worms: How Alpha, Beta, and ARC Readers Can Help You Publish a Better Novel. Her next book is Faerie Fallen, a YA romantic fantasy novel.

In addition to writing, Beth enjoys baking sourdough bread, acting in community theater productions, hanging out with her teenage kids, husband, and miniature schnauzer, and hosting high-school exchange students.

----Thank you to everyone who nominated and voted for authors for the August 2021 indie author of the month award, the theme of which was to recognize authors who truly pay it forward to the author community.

Starry Ink Press thanks all of the other authors who participated in our first author of the month awards. Each of you were more than deserving of a win yourselves, and it has been an honor to spotlight you and the good you give back to the writing community this month.----

Want to learn more about Carol Beth Anderson: August indie author of the month? Click HERE to check out Carol Beth's Instagram.

Want to stay in the loop for September's Author of the month award? 
-Sign up for the Starry Ink Press newsletter on our home page HERE.
-Follow Starry Ink Press on Instagram HERE for first-alert news.
-Like/follow Starr Ink Press on Facebook HERE for first-alert news.

The August 2021 Indie Author of the Month Voting Poll is now open, and will remain open thru August 15th 2021 at 11:59pm CST.

Thank you to all the amazing indie authors who participated in our first nomination period for the Moving Stars Indie Author of the Month Award! 

Our theme for the August Author of the Month awards was recognizing and celebrating indie authors who lift up others and pay it forward to the indie author community. The prize for the August winner will be:

-$100 cash (sent to the winner via PayPal)
-1 round of technical editing for 1 book of the author's choice (choice of 1 line edit, 1 copy edit, or 1 proofread)
-Entry into the "Starry Reader" Awards (held in December)

We have tallied your nominations, and listed all nominated authors in the voting poll below. Your nominations (and bonuses) will be added to the final vote count for each author before results are announced on August 17th 2021.

Before you cast your vote, take a minute to scroll through the slideshow and meet the authors, as well. You may find some new favorites to follow.

Voting has now closed. Please check our new blog on 8/17 to see the winner announcements.