In the year 2024, I think we can safely say that self-publishing is here to stay. What was once seen as just a forum on the internet to publish niche genre work by lesser-known authors, self-publishing is now big business with many aspiring authors forgoing the traditional model completely and taking things into their own hands. If you are interested in self-publishing your novel, we’ve written about the process here, and we’ve also talked about the best ways to market your book. (You can also reach out to Technica here to find out about our Author Services if you really want to start the self-publishing journey!)
Self-publishing has become such an integral part of the greater publishing community that significant publishing websites now have their own annual awards to celebrate self-published works. Both Publishers Weekly and Writer’s Digest have their own awards. Writer’s Digest announced the 2024 winners of their Self-Published Book Awards in April. Publishers Weekly announced the fiction finalists for the 2024 BookLife Prize in October with entry for their nonfiction prize remaining open until January of 2025. Both contests have been ongoing for many years now with the number of entrants seemingly growing each other.
With 2024 almost over, it seems only fitting that we highlight a few of the award-winning and award-nominated books on both lists.
- The Cruel Dark by Bea Northwick. The grand-prize winner for the 11th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Award is a gothic romance in the most classical way. The book tells the story of Millicent Foxboro, a woman struggling with mental issues in the 1920s, who takes a job with a mysterious professor living in a sprawling gothic estate. Rumors of ghosts and a potential romance abound as Millicent discovers the secrets within the home. The book can be downloaded at NorthwickBooks.com. (And if you want more gothic literature, check out our blog post highlighting the genre.)
- Secret of the Hindu Kush by Anthony Stone. The contemporary fiction prize winner from Writer’s Digest takes readers on an adventure complete with kidnappings, political conspiracies, and the sprawling landscapes of the Hindu Kush mountains as the setting. Omar, the prodigal son of an Afghan warlord, returns home after being exiled to America. There he must confront his family and discover secrets that will likely change his worldview and perhaps change the very future of humankind. The book is an adventure and mystery complete with a healthy dose of magical realism. The book can be downloaded at AnthonyStone-Author.com.
- Into the Black by Brian Work. The young adult prize winner falls firmly in the fantasy genre that has dominated the young adult market over the last two decades. Set in a magical world with martial arts and fighting as a key element, Sydney is the daughter of a bandit-turned-sheriff who is roped into serving as a spy at the Petrichor Martial Academy. While there, she crosses paths with an aspiring knight, becomes wrapped up in a murder investigation, and must uncover a conspiracy involving powerful magical users using their powers for evil. The book can be downloaded here.
- Helen Bonaparte by Sarah D’Staire. The BookLife Prize finalist for general fiction tells a familiar but effective story. Middle-aged professor Helen Bonaparte decides to leave her husband and kids behind for a week-long getaway vacation to Italy. While on vacation, she begins to fantasize about her tour guide, Marieke, as her vacation becomes a mirage of sexual fantasies and obsession with getting closer to exotic focus of her fantasies. Like the TV show The White Lotus, the book works with lushly described visuals and sexual fantasies on full display. The book can be purchased at https://www.sarahdstair.net/.
- Death of the Ice Angel by J.C. Ceron. With true crime and investigating cold cases, more popular than ever the BookLife Prize finalist in the myster/thriller category takes full advantage with a book that serves as the first in a new series. Death of the Ice Angel follows detective Miles Jordan who, while on vacation in the Catskills, becomes wrapped up in a cold case investigation of the death of a state trooper’s wife, whose murder remains unsolved after 25 years. Delving into an icy setting filled with small-town mysteries, the book serves as a well-received first entry in a new detective series. The book can be purchased at https://www.jcceron.com/.
- Eat and Get Gas by J.A. Wright. The young adult finalist for the BookLife Prize sets its story in the 1970s and focuses on 13-year-old Evan Hanson. With the Vietnam War serving as the driving force of the novel, Evan’s older brother and mother escape to Canada to dodge the draft, leaving Evan and his younger brother to stay with his Vietnam veteran father and his loving, but no-nonsense grandma working at her gas station/restaurant. The book is a coming-of-age story that also tackles the horrors of war, particularly the PTSD suffered by so many Vietnam veterans. The book can be purchased at https://www.jawright.net/.
These are just a few of the prize-winning self-published books of 2024. If you are a self-published author, you can enter your book in the Writer’s Digest contest here. What was your favorite self-published book of 2024? Let us know in the comments below.
By: Chris Moffitt
Chris is a Managing Editor at Technica Editorial
