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Contemporary fiction book awards
Recognition for novels set in the present, written for readers living in it. Every book is read in full and measured against our published Standard of Excellence.
What this category recognizes
Contemporary fiction is the broadest category in the fiction list. It covers novels set in the present day where the subject is ordinary life: family, work, love, ambition, illness, community, and the situations most readers recognize.
It is the right home for realistic fiction that does not sit inside a genre. Novels where the writing is the main event fit Literary Fiction; novels centering women’s interior lives fit Women’s Fiction; either may also be entered here.
The particular difficulty is currency. Books set in the present date quickly, and the strongest entries write about now in a way that will still make sense later.
What the standard looks like here
The ten pillars apply to every category. This is how each one is read when the book is contemporary fiction.
The Writing
Voice, Tone and Style
Whether the voice sounds like a person rather than a demographic.
Craft and Technical Execution
Whether the ordinary is rendered specifically enough to be interesting.
Structure and Organization
Whether the novel has a shape when life itself does not.
The Substance
Originality and Concept Strength
Whether the book finds something in familiar material that others have not.
Depth of Content and Insight
Whether it understands the situation it depicts rather than reporting it.
The Reader
Audience Impact and Purpose Fulfillment
Whether a reader living something similar would recognize it.
Emotional and Psychological Impact
Whether the recognition produces feeling.
Overall Impact and Distinction
Whether the book will still land in ten years.
The Finished Book
Production Quality and Presentation
Trade-standard editing, typesetting, and cover design.
Category Relevance
Whether the present-day setting is genuinely the book’s world.
Questions about entering a contemporary fiction book
Is this the right category if my novel does not fit a genre?
Usually, yes. Contemporary Fiction is the home for present-day realistic fiction without a genre.
My novel is set in 2015. Is that contemporary?
Yes. Anything within recent memory is assessed here rather than as historical.
Can I enter Contemporary and Literary Fiction?
Yes, and many novels legitimately sit across both.
Related categories
Submit your contemporary fiction book
Entry is $79 for your first category. Your complete manuscript is read in full and measured against the ten pillars.