Each year, the EVVY Awards recognize excellence in independently published books. Sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, the EVVY Awards are judged by a 3rd-party panel of professionals on a qualitative scale of merit in nineteen different categories.

All Colorado publishers are eligible to enter their books for recognition and awards. In the past, first, second, and third place winners in each category have received a framed award recognizing their accomplishment, along with award-winning stickers to affix to their book covers.

For the past several years, Outskirts Press has officially nominated approximately 5% of the books they publish each year for submission to the annual EVVY Awards. These Official Outskirts Press nominations represent the very best of our publications as determined by Outskirts Press executives, members of the production teams, and marketing department.  As such, only books published with the Diamond and full-color Pearl packages are considered.

Potential nominees are notified via email in the fall of each year. There is no obligation to accept the nomination; just being recognized is a great accomplishment. Outskirts Press official nominees and winners typically receive additional exposure of their books on the Outskirts Press email newsletters and blogs. 

Select nominees and winners in the past have also been invited to be featured in full-page ads within the pages of national writing magazines like Writer’s Digest, Poets & Writers, and The Writer. These invitations are sent to select authors at Outskirts Press’s sole discretion and there is no additional cost to participate in the advertisement (nor is there any obligation to).

If a nominated author accepts the nomination, Outskirts Press submits the nominated book to the annual EVVY Awards contest.  Outskirts Press takes care of all the details. Winners are announced each spring
during a ceremonial banquet dinner celebration in Denver, Colorado, which in the past has been hosted by Dom Testa of Denver’s #1-rated Dom & Jane Morning Show.

Like all book contests, the EVVY Awards are very competitive and only the highest-caliber books are recognized from the publisher’s submissions across the state. Unlike other book contests, fewer than 500 total entries are submitted, increasing the statistical odds that an Outskirts Press Official Nominee will be recognized as an award-winning publication. For the past several years, Outskirts Press has received the most awards among all participating publishers.

HOW DO YOU GET NOMINATED?

1. Publish your book with Outskirts Press
2. Publish with either the Diamond package (for b/w books) or the Pearl package (for full-color)
3. Strongly consider the optional copyediting and custom cover options.  With over 2,000 published books each year, competition to be nominated is fierce. These optional services will help your book meet the highest quality standards.
4. Keep an eye on your copyright date. For example, books with a 2007 copyright date were nominated in the fall of 2007. Books with a copyright date of 2008 will be nominated in the fall of 2008. Books with a copyright date of 2009 will be nominated in the fall of 2009, etc. Once the calendar year has expired, books featuring that year’s copyright date are no longer eligible for nomination.
5. Market, market, market. Promote, promote, promote. Bring your successes to the attention of the Outskirts Press Author Support department. Winning awards in other contests helps tremendously; we like nominating award-winning books!

Are you ready to publish an award-winning book?

To see past winners from 2005, 2006, and 2007, click here.