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Recovery and addiction book awards
Recognition for books about addiction, recovery, and the long work that comes after. Every book is read in full and measured against our published Standard of Excellence.
What this category recognizes
This category covers books about substance addiction and behavioral addiction, the process of recovery, and life afterwards. Guides, programmes, accounts written to help others, books for families and partners, and writing about relapse and the parts of recovery that are not linear. Books here are assessed on honesty above almost everything else. A book that presents recovery as cleaner than it is fails its reader, and the strongest entries are the ones willing to describe what does not resolve.
What the standard looks like in recovery and addiction
The ten pillars apply to every category. This is how each one is read when the book is a recovery and addiction book.
The Writing
Voice, Tone and Style
Whether the author sounds like someone who has been near this, without performing hard-won wisdom.
Craft and Technical Execution
Whether difficult material is handled with control rather than either flinching or dwelling.
Structure and Organization
Whether the book supports a reader who may be returning to it in difficult conditions.
The Substance
Originality and Concept Strength
Whether the book adds to a field with strong established frameworks.
Depth of Content and Insight
Whether relapse, ambivalence, and the parts that do not resolve are given honest weight.
The Reader
Audience Impact and Purpose Fulfillment
Whether the book serves the reader it names, whether that is the person in recovery, a family member, or a professional.
Emotional and Psychological Impact
Whether a reader in the middle of this would feel recognized rather than lectured.
Overall Impact and Distinction
Whether the book is one a reader would keep and return to.
The Finished Book
Production Quality and Presentation
Trade-standard production, and where the book offers a programme, formatting that supports use.
Category Relevance
Whether the book is genuinely about addiction and recovery rather than using it as one example among many.
Questions about entering a recovery and addiction book
My book is my own recovery story. Where does it go?
Memoir, if the life is the book. Here, if your experience is being offered as something another person can use. Many authors enter both.
Are books about a family member's addiction eligible?
Yes. Books written for families and partners are assessed within this category.
Does my book need to endorse a particular programme?
No. Books from any framework, or none, are assessed on the same ten pillars.
Related categories
Submit your recovery and addiction book
Entry is $79 for your first category. Your complete manuscript is read in full and measured against the ten pillars.