CHANTICLEER INT’L BOOK AWARDS – The CIBAs

How it All Works:

So you want to win the $1,000 cash prize for the Chanticleer International Book Awards Book Overall Grand Prize Best Book Award!

We offer 25 Divisions of the CIBAs! 18 fiction divisions and 7 non-fiction divisions

First, select the genre. Then select the category within the genre. Each genre book award has at least five categories in which you can win a 1st Place Category Ribbon package

  1. The Chatelaine Awards for Romance and Romantic Fiction
  2. The Somerset Awards for Contemporary, Literary & General Fiction including adventure, magic realism, and women’s fiction
  3. The Laramie Awards for Western, Pioneer & Civil War, North American Western Fiction
  4. The Chaucer Awards for Early Period Historical Fiction: Pre-historic, Ancient, Dark Ages, Medieval, Renaissance, and World History
  5. The Goethe Awards for Late Period Historical Fiction: Regency, Victorian, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, turn of the century, and World History
  6. The Hemingway Awards for 20th c. Wartime Fiction.
  7. The Mystery & Mayhem Awards (M&Ms) for Cozy Mystery Novels including amateur sleuth, adventure, caper, romantic suspense, and more
  8. The Clue Awards for Thriller and Suspense Novels: Crime, Police Procedural, Medical Procedural, Legal Procedural, detective, private eye, spy, espionage
  9. Global Thriller Awards for Lab Lit, Extreme Global Suspense, and James Bond type “end of the world” fiction.
  10. The Little Peeps Awards for children’s literature and storybooks
  11. The Gertrude Warner Fiction Awards – Middle-Grade Fiction books, early chapter books
  12. The Dante Rossetti Awards for Young Adult Fiction including contemporary, historical, dystopian, edgy, urban, and multiple sub-genres
  13. The Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Time Travel Novels, Space Opera, and more
  14. The Ozma Awards for Fantasy, Steampunk, Alternate World/History, Myth, Magic, Heroes, Villains, Fables, Fairy Tales, Legends
  15. The Paranormal Awards for Supernatural Powers, Vampire, Werewolf, superpowers, occult, and extrasensory perception
  16. The Mark Twain Awards for the best books featuring satire, humor, and allegory themes.
  17. The Journey Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction, Memoirs, and Biographies
  18. The Hearten Awards for Uplifting and Inspiring Narrative Non-Fiction, Memoirs, and Biographies
  19. The Insight and Instruction Awards for How-To, Guidebooks, & Insight non-fiction
  20. The Nellie Bly Awards for Long form Journalistic work
  21. The Harvey Chute Awards for Business, Enterprise, and Finance
  22. The Mind & Spirit Awards for books featuring Spirituality, Enlightenment, Self-Help, Mindfulness, Well-being, Meditation, Energy, and more
  23. The Military & Front Line Awards for Service to Others
  24. The Short Story Awards for Short Story Collections, Anthologies, Novelette Collections, Novella Collections, and solo works in these forms.
  25. The Book Series Awards for the best book series in all of its sixteen fiction divisions: Mysteries, Suspense Thrillers, Espionage/High Stakes, Young Adult, Middle-Grade Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Supernatural and Paranormal, Romance, Historical, Literary & Contemporary, Satire & Allegory, Americana, and Early Readers.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Novels may be Manuscripts, Self-published, Indie Published, or Traditionally Published.
  • E-pub accepted.
  • All published novels must have ISBN/ASIN designation, manuscripts are not required to have this designation at the time of submission.
  • Entries must be in the English language.
  • No erotica. No graphic violence, please.
  • Published works more than 3 years before the Contest Year will not be accepted.
  • Novels must be 50,000 plus words UNLESS they are Middle-Grade chapter books or Little Peeps Children’s books.
  • You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.
  • You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.
  • Default winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft.
  • Digital Files must be submitted in PDF or Word DOC format.
  • Fees and Digital files must be received before midnight on the day of the deadline.
  • Please read our Terms and Conditions page aka The Fine Print.

Each work entered will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Is the Story Compelling?
  • The professionalism of Editing and Formatting
  • Characterization
  • Continuity of Story-line
  • Satisfying Ending (not necessarily “happy”)
  • Intriguing Opening
  • Uniqueness of Story
  • Writing Craft
  • Story Arc

Each work submitted will make its way through our rounds of competitions.

Contest Entry Rounds:

Round 1: competition for Slush Pile Survivors

Consider Round 1 to be the slush pile for the readers. Your work will be read by the “slush pile” readers of CBR. Readers will evaluate the first chapter of your work. Each reader will vote yes or no on whether or not your work moves forward to Round 2.

Round 2: LONG LIST

If your work moves forward to Round 2, then the next sixty to eighty pages of it will be evaluated by the readers. If your work has been found to have merit at this stage by the reader, it will move forward to Round 3.

Round 3: SHORTLIST

Works that have moved forward to Round 4 will be read by CBR book reviewers and editors.

Round 4:  Semi-Finalists are determined from the SHORT LISTERS.

Round 5: The FINALISTS one step closer to the coveted First Place Category positions and the Grand Prize announcements!

Round 6: More judging rounds continue to determine the First Place Category winners & Honorable Mentions from the Finalists

ROUND 7:  FIRST PLACE CATEGORY POSITIONS are determined and are to be announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony and Banquet at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference.

First Place Category award winners will be notified and awarded ribbons and promotional opportunities.  The reviewers, judges, and editors of Chanticleer Book Reviews will select the first place category winners.

Round 8: Overall Competition between the FIRST PLACE CATEGORY POSITIONS to determine the division’s grand prize winner. Division Grand Prize Winners will be announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony and Banquet at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference.

Round 9:  The OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER from the 25 DIVISIONS GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be chosen and announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony and Banquet at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference.

Only First Place Category winners may compete for the Overall Winner of the Chanticleer International Book Awards. There will be only one Grand Prize Division award winner for each of the twenty-two divisions. There will be only one Grand Prize Winner award winner for each division whether or not it is a manuscript or a published book. 

The CIBA Grand Prize Award Winners will compete for the Overall Grand Prize Award Winner Best Book and the one $1,000 USD grand prize (for the OVERALL BEST BOOK  only).

Chanticleer Book Reviews Overall Best Book

The Overall Best Book winner will receive $ 1,000 plus prizes and promotion. The winner will be announced at the April awards gala held at the Chanticleer Authors Conference. There will be only one Overall Best Book Winner. Only Grand Prize Genre award winners compete for Best Book.

2022 Winners

2021 Winners

2020 Winners

2019 Winners

2018 Winners

2017 Winners

2016 Winners

2015 Winners

2014 Winners

2013 Winners

2012 Winners

Chanticleer Book Reviews retains the right to not declare “default winners.”  Winning works are decided upon merit only and not empty slots.

We may limit the number of entries so that judging is fair and consistent.

Please visit this website often for updates! Please do not hesitate to contact info@ChantiReviews.com for any concerns, questions, or suggestions about CBR writing competitions. Your input is important to us.

Don’t delay. Enter today!