Terms & Conditions

Welcome to the Open Book Awards (the "Awards"). By submitting an entry or using this website, you agree to the following Terms & Conditions. Please read them carefully before entering. We run these awards with absolutely the best intentions.

1. Eligibility

• The Awards are open to authors, publishers, and self-published writers unless otherwise stated.

• Book can be published on any date in the past, or in the future, as long as you can supply the cover and a sample.

• Entrants must be aged 18 or over.

• We are sorry, we do not accept erotica or pornography.

• By entering, you confirm you hold all rights to submit the work.

2. Entries

• All entries must be submitted via the official website with full payment of the entry fee.

• Entry fees are non-refundable, unless outlined in the website (we occasionally offer to refund the entry fee if you don't win an award, but this is completely at our discretion and a good will gesture).

• You maintain all of the rights and responsibility to your work.

3. Judging

• All books will be judged against a set list of criteria.

• We will not make the individual scores, or the total score available, just if you are successful or not successful in winning an award.

• The judging panel's decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into with regards to the decision.

• There will be no refunds if the entrant is not happy with their award / not being awarded a prize.

• Awards may be given at the discretion of the organizers, and no challenges are available.

4. Intellectual property

• You retain all rights to your work.

• By entering, you grant the Open Book Awards the right to use your book cover, title, and your name for promotional purposes in relation to the Awards.

5. Prizes

• Winners will be notified by email.

• No cash alternatives are available.

• The Awards reserve the right to change or substitute prizes if necessary.

• The Awards may offer different entry prices at any time.

6. Website use

• You agree not to misuse this website or attempt to interfere with its operation.

• We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access to the site.

7. Liability

• The Awards accept no liability for technical failures, incomplete entries, or events beyond our reasonable control.

• Participation is at your own risk and please get in touch with contact@openbookawards.com if you have any issues.

• At any point, the openbookawards.com may stop operating, and we reserve the right to do this at any time at our own discretion. Please download everything you need at any point in case we stop operating the website. We may stop operating without notice. If we do, your award will still be valid. We will try to give people notice when we are going to stop operating.

• We follow the Online and distance selling regulations in the UK. Please be familiar with the rules in your country.

8. Privacy

• Personal information will be collected for the purposes of administering the Awards only.

• We will never sell or share your personal data without your consent, except as required by law.

• Advertising measurement: we use Google Ads to measure whether our adverts lead to award entries. When allowed, Google receives details of your visit (pages viewed, ad click identifiers, device and browser information) and, when you pay for an entry, the amount and an order reference. We do not send your name or email to Google. Visitors in the UK, EU, EEA and Switzerland are asked first and nothing is sent unless they accept; elsewhere this measurement is on by default. You can accept, reject or withdraw at any time using "Cookie settings" at the bottom of every page. Learn how Google uses data at business.safety.google/privacy.

• Please see our Privacy Policy for more details.

9. Changes to terms

• We reserve the right to amend these Terms & Conditions at any time.

• Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.

• We will communicate to everyone as much as possible, but there is no obligation to communicate.

10. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms & Conditions, please contact us at contact@openbookawards.com.

11. Judging criteria

Entering the awards, and accepting these terms and conditions is also confirmation that you are happy with the following judging criteria, which will be applied to each entry. We will not communicate individual scores to an entrant concerning the individual categories, or the total that leads to an award (or not).

Writing & Style (0–10 points)

• Clarity, flow, and readability

• Consistency of tone and voice

• Grammar, punctuation, and polish

Storytelling / Structure (0–10 points)

• Strength of plot, pacing, or overall structure

• Originality and creativity

• Ability to hold reader engagement

Characters / People (0–10 points)

• Depth and development of characters

• Believability and relatability

• Dialogue / authenticity of voices

Themes & Ideas (0–10 points)

• Depth of message or subject matter

• Relevance and resonance with readers

• Freshness of perspective

Emotional impact (0–10 points)

• Does the book move, inspire, entertain, or provoke thought?

• Lasting impression

Presentation (0–10 points)

• Professional quality of cover design

• Formatting, layout, readability

• Appropriateness for target audience

Commercial appeal (0–10 points)

• Marketability / genre fit

• Clear audience and reach potential

• Blurb, title, and hook strength

Originality (0–10 points)

• Uniqueness of concept or execution

• Innovation in storytelling / presentation

Book cover (0–10 points)

• Does the book have a good quality book cover that is in its genre?

12. Final decisions

Any decision that is made by openbookawards.com is final and we will not change the decision on a book once the final result is communicated. By entering your book, and accepting these conditions you agree that if you are given the award, the entry fee is non-refundable for any reason.

13. Promotions

We often run promotions on pricing, and will not offer refunds if you pay a higher price then see a discounted price.

14. Refunds and your award

If for any reason the entry fee is refunded, you are no longer entitled to refer to the book as an openbookawards.com winner, or use any of the materials.

15. Refund decisions

It is completely the choice of openbookawards.com as to whether your entry fee is returned for any reason. If your entry fee is refunded for any reason, it will be the decision of the Awards to do so. In this event, you will not be able to use the awards branding or any materials from our website, and you won't be able to refer to the awards in any future marketing/communications. Any use of the branding up to the point of refund does not need to be redacted. The Awards can decide to return your fee and request that you no longer refer to the award as its own decision, even if you are in disagreement. If for any reason we offer a refund we will refund the fee minus the transaction fee imposed on us by whichever payment method you used, which will normally be 10%.

16. Using your badge

Having entered the awards, if you win an award, you have complete commercial rights to use your award badge in publications.

17. Press releases

We will publish a press release once a month, or when we have enough award winners to include.

Our press releases are professionally published and submitted to over 200 news outlets. The press release will contain winners of our 'Five Star' award and our 'Highly Recommended' awards. If there is room in the press release, we may include others, but this is completely at our discretion.

We reserve the right to change our press release supplier, to try and get the best quality service. This means that the outlets the press release will be submitted to may change, and may not match the outlets on our website, but we will always strive to find a supplier who provides the same outlets. The press release should be viewed as a bonus for our award winners, and not part of the entry fee. We will always try to promote our award winning books however we can, and the press release may be stopped if we don't think it's working for our authors.

18. Suitability

If at any time the Awards thinks that our award is no longer suited to your publication we will offer a refund and ask that you do not refer to the awards at any point in the future (following clause 15).

19. Associate Programme

Associate Programme Terms and Conditions — The Open Book Awards. Last updated: 10 October 2026.

These terms apply to everyone who joins or takes part in the Associate Programme (an "Associate"). By ticking the acceptance box and creating an account, you agree to them. If you do not agree, do not create an account or use a code.

In these terms, "we", "us" and "our" mean The Open Book Awards ("OBA"), including its operators, successors and assigned parties. "Programme" means the Associate Programme. "Services" means our book awards, Book of the Year entries, Verni Books promotions and any other paid service we offer. "Code" means the unique referral code issued to an Associate. "Author" means a person who pays for Services using a Code.

These terms sit alongside our general terms and conditions at openbookawards.com/terms. If the two conflict on a Programme matter, these terms prevail.

1. The Programme

1.1 The Programme lets Associates share a Code with Authors. An Author who uses a valid Code when paying for Services receives a discount on the entry price, and the Associate may earn a royalty on that order, as set out below.

1.2 Joining the Programme does not make you our employee, worker, agent, partner, franchisee or joint venturer. You are an independent promoter. You have no authority to make promises, representations or contracts on our behalf.

1.3 Acceptance into the Programme, and continued participation, is at our discretion. We may decline any application without giving a reason.

2. Eligibility and your account

2.1 You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a legally binding agreement.

2.2 You must give accurate information, including a valid PayPal email address, and keep it up to date. You are responsible for all activity on your account and for keeping your login details secure.

2.3 Each person may hold one Associate account. Duplicate or linked accounts may be closed and any royalties on them forfeited.

3. Codes and discounts

3.1 Each Associate receives a unique Code. Codes are personal to you and may not be sold, transferred, or shared in a way that suggests anyone else is the Associate.

3.2 A valid Code entitles an Author to the discount advertised on our website at the time of order (currently 25% of the entry price). We may change the discount, or withdraw or suspend any Code, at any time. Changes apply to orders placed after the change.

3.3 Codes cannot be combined with other offers unless we say so, and cannot be applied after an order has been paid.

3.4 You may not use your own Code, or a Code belonging to a person connected to you, for your own entries or promotions, or for entries by your own business, family members, household members or anyone you control. We may treat such use as a breach of these terms.

4. Royalty

4.1 We may pay a royalty on a Qualifying Order. A "Qualifying Order" is an order for Services that: (a) is placed by an Author who correctly applies your valid Code at the time of order; (b) is paid for in full in cleared funds; (c) is not refunded, reversed, charged back, cancelled or disputed; and (d) in our sole opinion complies with these terms.

4.2 The royalty rate is the rate shown on our website when the order is placed (currently 25% of the amount the Author actually pays, after the discount, less PayPal or other payment processing fees). We may change the rate, the way it is calculated, or the types of Services that qualify at any time. Changes apply to orders placed after the change. Examples or averages shown on our website are illustrations only, not guarantees of earnings.

4.3 Royalties are calculated on the amount we actually receive, excluding VAT and any other taxes, refunds and payment fees.

4.4 No royalty is earned, or owed, until we have confirmed an order as a Qualifying Order and the royalty has been paid to you. Having a Code, seeing a use of it in your account, or a pending balance showing in your account does not create a right to payment. Account figures are provisional and may be corrected at any time.

4.5 Right to withhold. We may decline to pay, withhold, delay, reverse or reclaim any royalty if we suspect, in our sole discretion, fraud, abuse, self-referral, misuse of Codes, breach of these terms, or any other irregularity. We are not required to give reasons, evidence or explanation for that decision, and our decision is final. We are not obliged to investigate or to tell you that an investigation is taking place.

4.6 If a royalty has been paid on an order that is later refunded, charged back, found to be non-qualifying, or paid in error, you must repay it on request, and we may deduct it from future royalties.

4.7 We may set a minimum balance before royalties are paid, and may pay royalties at times and intervals we choose, including after the Author's award result or service has been delivered.

5. Payment

5.1 Royalties are paid by PayPal to the email address on your account, in pounds sterling or another currency we choose. You are responsible for ensuring the details are correct. We are not responsible for payments sent to an incorrect address you supplied, or for delays or failures caused by PayPal or your account.

5.2 If we cannot pay you because your PayPal details are missing or invalid, or you do not claim a royalty within 12 months of it becoming payable, we may treat it as forfeited.

5.3 PayPal fees, currency conversion costs and any charges made by your own bank or payment provider are for your account, and we may deduct our own payment costs before paying you.

5.4 We may set off against any royalty any amount you owe us.

6. Tax

6.1 You are solely responsible for declaring and paying any tax due on royalties you receive, including income tax, National Insurance and VAT, wherever you are resident. We do not withhold tax and give no tax advice.

6.2 We may request information we reasonably need for tax or legal compliance and may withhold payment until it is provided.

7. Your conduct

7.1 When promoting the Services you must:

• be honest, accurate and fair, and not make any claim about us, our awards or our judging that is false, misleading or not authorised by us (including any promise or guarantee of a win, a place or a particular result);

• clearly disclose that you earn a commission or reward, in line with applicable advertising law and guidance (including the UK Advertising Standards Authority and CMA rules on identifying advertising and endorsements), for example by using a clear label such as "ad" or "affiliate link / I earn a commission";

• comply with all applicable laws, platform rules and codes of practice.

7.2 You must not:

• send unsolicited or bulk messages (spam), or contact people in breach of data protection or marketing law;

• bid on, or buy advertising keywords or domain names that include our name or brand, or imitate our website;

• use our name, logo or branding in a way that suggests we endorse you, other than materials we supply for the Programme;

• post Codes on public coupon, discount or deal sites without our written permission;

• create fake entries, fake accounts or artificial orders, or pay or reimburse an Author for placing an order;

• promote the Services using content that is unlawful, defamatory, offensive, discriminatory, sexually explicit, misleading or that infringes anyone's rights;

• misrepresent yourself or your audience, or inflate your audience, rankings or earnings in any way;

• do anything that damages, or could damage, our reputation or goodwill.

7.3 You must give us any information we reasonably request about how you promote the Services, and you must co-operate with any review of your account.

8. Recognition, badges and rankings

8.1 We may offer rankings, awards, badges (such as a "Book Influencer" badge) or other benefits to Associates. These are optional extras, are offered at our discretion, and may be changed, awarded on criteria we choose, or withdrawn at any time.

8.2 Any badge may be used only in the form we supply and only for as long as you remain an Associate in good standing. You must stop using it immediately if we ask or if your account ends.

8.3 Rankings are decided by us and our decisions are final. We do not guarantee that any particular ranking, badge or award will be offered.

9. Our right to change, suspend or end the Programme

9.1 Ending the Programme. We may suspend, change or discontinue the Programme (or any part of it) at any time, for any reason or none, with or without notice. We have no liability to you for doing so.

9.2 Removing an Associate. We may suspend, restrict or delete any Associate's account or Code at any time, for any reason or none, with or without notice, and without giving an explanation.

9.3 Changes to these terms. We may update these terms at any time by posting the updated version on our website, and the new terms apply from the date posted unless we say otherwise. By continuing to use your Code or account after that, you accept the updated terms. It is your responsibility to check the terms from time to time.

9.4 What happens on ending. On suspension, deletion or the Programme ending: (a) your Code stops working and you must stop promoting the Services as an Associate; (b) we will pay royalties on Qualifying Orders placed before the date of ending that are confirmed as qualifying and cleared, subject always to clauses 4.5 and 4.6; and (c) any royalties that are unconfirmed, pending or in dispute at that date are not owed. Where we end your participation because of suspected breach, fraud or misuse, we may withhold all royalties.

9.5 You may leave. You may close your account at any time by emailing contact@openbookawards.com. Clauses 4.5, 4.6, 5.4, 6, 10, 11, 12 and 13 continue to apply after you leave.

10. Intellectual property

10.1 All rights in our name, brand, logos, website, awards and content belong to us or our licensors. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable licence to use materials we supply for the purpose of promoting the Services under the Programme, and for no other purpose.

10.2 You must not register or use any domain name, social media handle or trade mark that includes or is confusingly similar to our brands.

11. Data protection

11.1 We will process your personal data (including your name, email, PayPal email and Code activity) to run the Programme, make payments, prevent fraud and meet legal obligations, in line with our privacy policy and applicable data protection law.

11.2 If you collect or handle personal data of Authors or others in the course of promoting the Services, you are responsible for complying with data protection and marketing law, including UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

11.3 We may share Code and account information with payment providers, advisers and authorities where needed for payment, fraud prevention or legal compliance.

12. Liability

12.1 The Programme and our website are provided "as is" and "as available". We do not promise that you will earn any particular amount, or anything at all, or that the Programme, your account, the website or the Code system will be uninterrupted, accurate or error-free.

12.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable to you for any loss or damage arising from or connected with the Programme, including lost earnings, lost opportunity or profit, loss of business, goodwill or reputation, loss from suspension, deletion or the ending of the Programme, loss from withheld or reversed royalties, errors in tracking or reporting, or any indirect or consequential loss, however caused and whether or not foreseeable.

12.3 To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to you in connection with the Programme, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise, will not exceed the total royalties we have actually paid you in the 12 months before the claim arose, or £100 if lower.

12.4 Nothing in these terms limits or excludes liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded under the law of England and Wales.

12.5 Indemnity. You will indemnify us, and keep us indemnified, against all claims, losses, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your breach of these terms, your promotional activity, or your breach of any law.

13. General

13.1 Entire agreement. These terms (with our general terms and privacy policy) are the whole agreement between you and us about the Programme. You have not relied on anything not set out here.

13.2 No waiver. If we do not enforce a right immediately, we do not lose it.

13.3 Severability. If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in force.

13.4 Assignment. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to any person. You may not transfer yours.

13.5 Third parties. No one other than you and us has any right to enforce these terms.

13.6 Notices. We may contact you by email or by posting on your account. You may contact us at contact@openbookawards.com.

13.7 Governing law. These terms and any dispute connected with them are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except that we may bring proceedings to enforce our rights in any court.

13.8 Our decisions. Where these terms give us discretion or a right to decide, we may exercise it in our sole discretion, and our decision is final.

Terms

Last updated: October 2026. These terms apply to your use of Authorly (authorly.me).

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