TV presenter Claudia Winkleman has joined the judging panel for this year’s £20,000 Kindle Storyteller Award.
The judges for the 2020 award will also include last year’s winner Ian W Sainsbury, together with best-selling self-published authors LJ Ross and Mark Dawson, who were both judges last year, and Amazon EU Books Director Simon Johnson.
Claudia Winkleman is probably best known for her hosting role on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing but she is also the author of the non-fiction book, Quite, which is due to be published in October 2020.
This is the fourth year for the Kindle Storyteller Award which offers the winning author a £20,000 cash prize, a marketing promotion for their title on Amazon.co.uk, and a mentorship to help them learn and grow as a writer.
The award is open to authors who publish their story via Kindle Direct Publishing between May 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020. Readers play a pivotal role in helping to choose the short list of stories, with the panel of judges choosing a winning book based on a number of factors including originality, creativity of content, and the quality and style of writing.
Claudia Winkleman says, “I’m incredibly excited to join the judging panel for the Kindle Storyteller Award. It’s so important that initiatives like this exist, giving new authors the chance to share their stories and be recognised on their own merit.
“As a keen reader, I have always admired skilful storytellers and I love being part of an endeavour that celebrates the writers who have seized the opportunity to create their own work and have it read by millions.”
Since winning the award last October with his first-ever psychological thriller, Ian W Sainsbury has seen his novel The Picture on the Fridge hit the number two spot on the Kindle bestseller list in the run-up to Christmas. Ian has since written another thriller and created an Audible Original story.
Commenting on his year since winning the Kindle Storyteller Award, Ian says, ‘I’m still pinching myself that The Picture on The Fridge was chosen as the winner out of thousands of entries. It was such an incredible feeling and I am excited to join this year’s judging panel. Whatever genre you write in, this award is all about recognising compelling stories. If that sounds like you, I’d urge you to enter. This could be your year.’
Simon Johnson, Director, Amazon EU Books says, ‘We’re always incredibly impressed with the level of talent among the authors that publish their books through Kindle Direct Publishing and, as we receive entries for the fourth year of the Kindle Storyteller Award, it’s clear that the quality is as strong as ever.
‘We’re thrilled to have Claudia on board as a judge for this year’s Kindle Storyteller Award. Her passion and enthusiasm for reading is contagious and she’s a real champion of the literary world.’
You can get further details on the Kindle Storyteller Award through this link on the Amazon website.
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