Ever judge a historical fiction book by its cover? Of course you have!

And why not? The cover tells you so much about what’s in the book, where the book is set, the tone of the story, and even what the author/publisher thinks of the book.

Since most books are judged by their covers anyway, if you’re an author or a cover artist, why not submit your cover for formal judgment? This month—as PLW blogs about Book Covers—I list links for thirteen Book Cover Contests.

No matter what you write, it looks like there’s an opportunity for you to see how your cover compares to others!

• All Author hosts a monthly cover contest.
• The Association of Illustrators hosts a Judging a Book By Its Cover contest.
• The BIBA® Book Cover Contest is limited to indie published books.
• The British Book Design and Production Awards has a Best Jacket/Cover Design category.
• The Eric Hoffer Award offers the da Vinci Eye to “books with superior cover artwork.”
• The Golden Crown Literary Society celebrates the entire cover book jacket with a Tee Corinne Award for Outstanding Cover Art.
• The Independent Book Publishers Association Cover Design Contest has four different categories for Cover Design.
• The Independent Publisher Book Awards (the IPPYs) has three Cover Design awards.
• The Innovation Center for Design Excellence hosts many design competitions, including one for book covers.
• The Kindle Book Review Awards has a Book Covers category.
• The KWL Indie Cover Contest is for members of the global KWL community.
• The V&A Illustration Awards (for students only) are “the UK’s most prestigious annual illustration competition” and include a book cover design category.

• If you write romance, you’re in luck! Because at least two romance writers groups have their own Book Cover Design contests:
  • Alaska Romance Writers of America
  • Colorado Romance Writers

 

And finally, some miscellania:

Gone but not forgotten: For about nine years, Joel Friedlander hosted monthly e-Book Cover Design Awards. No entry fee; no pub date restriction, no prize, just excellent analysis of what makes an e-book cover work. Check out his archive for some stunning (and not-so) examples.

Not quite a contest, but every month Literary Hub Editor Emily Temple shares her view of the best covers of books published that month.

And finally, here’s a book cover contest you never want to win, All About Romance’s Worst Covers contest. Whether you cherish or spurn romance novels, I think you’ll “enjoy” these failed covers.

Hope this short link list to Book Cover Contests is helpful. Or at least a little entertaining. If you know of more contests, please share in the comments below!