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Grief and loss book awards
Recognition for books written for the reader who is grieving, rather than about the author who grieved. Every book is read in full and measured against our published Standard of Excellence.
What this category recognizes
The distinction that defines this category is who the book is for. If the author’s life is the book, it is a memoir. If the reader’s loss is the subject, it belongs here. This category covers companions, guides, and reflections written to be handed to someone in the weeks after a death, as well as books on anticipatory grief, the loss of a child, pet loss, ambiguous loss, and grief that does not follow a death. Books here are assessed with particular attention to whether they meet the reader where they actually are rather than where the author thinks they should be.
What the standard looks like in grief and loss
The ten pillars apply to every category. This is how each one is read when the book is a grief and loss book.
The Writing
Voice, Tone and Style
Whether the voice is one a grieving reader could tolerate. Excellence here is warmth without insistence.
Craft and Technical Execution
Whether the writing is clear enough to be absorbed by someone reading in short, distracted pieces.
Structure and Organization
Whether the book can be opened anywhere, since grieving readers rarely read in order.
The Substance
Originality and Concept Strength
Whether the book brings something beyond the stages, the platitudes, and the familiar framings.
Depth of Content and Insight
Whether the book sits with the difficulty rather than moving the reader toward resolution.
The Reader
Audience Impact and Purpose Fulfillment
Whether the book serves the specific loss it addresses rather than grief in general.
Emotional and Psychological Impact
Whether a grieving reader would feel accompanied rather than instructed.
Overall Impact and Distinction
Whether the book is one a reader would give to someone else.
The Finished Book
Production Quality and Presentation
Trade-standard production, with design that is legible and unhurried.
Category Relevance
Whether the book is written for the grieving reader rather than about the author’s grief.
Questions about entering a grief and loss book
My book is my own story of loss. Where does it go?
Memoir, if the life is the book. Here, if your experience is being used to accompany another reader through theirs. Many authors enter both.
Does this include loss other than death?
Yes. Divorce, estrangement, diagnosis, and other losses are assessed within this category.
Do I need clinical credentials?
No. Books written from experience are assessed alongside books written from practice.
Related categories
Submit your grief and loss book
Entry is $79 for your first category. Your complete manuscript is read in full and measured against the ten pillars.