2008 DIY BOOK FESTIVAL CALL FOR ENTRIES

LOS ANGELES _ The 2008 DIY Book Festival has issued a call for entries for its seventh annual program celebrating the success of independent authors and publishers.

The DIY Book Festival will consider self-published or independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, biography/autobiography, children’s books, teenage, how-to, cookbooks, science fiction, audio/spoken word, photography, art, comics, ‘zines, fan fiction, poetry and e-books published on or after Jan. 1, 2006. All entries must be in English and have been self-published or issued by an independent publishing house.

*** Please note that print-on-demand (POD) authors with iUniverse, PublishAmerica, Infinity Publishing and other outlets are eligible for the competition.

Our grand prize for the 2008 DIYBF Book of the Year is $1500 cash and a flight to the awards ceremony, held in February, 2009 as part of the annual DIY Convention in Los Angeles.

Genre category winners will receive a combination of books, software and other prizes.

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

1) General excellence and the author’s passion for telling a good story.

2) The unique use of guerilla marketing tactics to reach a wider audience. This includes innovative marketing, merchandising, publicity tactics and other innovative methods of reaching an independent audience..

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) Comics

7) ‘zines

8) Photography

9) Fan Fiction

10) Poetry

11) Art

12) Teenage

13) Biography/Autobiography

14) Audio/spoken word

15) Compilations/Anthologies

16) Best Unpublished Short Story

17) Cookbooks

18) Science Fiction

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

1) DIY Author of the Year-Honors the outstanding book of the competition.

2) DIY Book Design of the Year — Honors outstanding and innovative design.

3) DIY Independent 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: DIY 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 October 25, 2008. Winners in each category will be notified by e-mail. 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.diyconvention.com or may be faxed/e-mailed to you. Please contact our office for fax requests. Applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable entry fee of $10-$50 (see entry form drop-down menu for specific category prices) in the form of a check, money order or PayPal online payment in U.S. dollars for each submission. Multiple submissions are permitted but each entry must be accompanied by a separate form and entry fee.

You can also enter the contest by phone by calling 323-665-8080 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific time.

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:

1) One copy of the book;

2) Your official entry form or a copy;

3) The entry fee or receipt for online payment;

4) Any marketing materials you wish to send. Marketing is used as a tie-breaking consideration by our judges.

Entries should be mailed to:
JM Northern Media LLC
attn: DIY Book Festival
7095 Hollywood Boulevard
Suite 864
Hollywood, CA 90028-0893
Phone: 323-665-8080

AWARDS: The DIY Book Festival selection committee reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any project.

The 2008 DIY Book Festival is part of the DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music & Books, which also produces the DIY Film Festival and the DIY Music Festival. The 2008 DIY Book Festival is sponsored by the Larimar St. Croix Writer’s Retreat, The Hollywood Creative Directory; eDivvy, Shopanista, Westside Websites and The DIY Reporter.com.