Adam Kay, author of the multi-million best-selling medic memoir This Is Going To Hurt − Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, has joined the judging panel for the 2022 Kindle Storyteller UK Award.
The winning author of the Storyteller UK contest will get £20,000 and a marketing campaign for their title on Amazon.co.uk.
Adam Kay says, ‘I know how daunting it can be diving into the world of writing. It wasn’t long ago that I swapped wards for words and theatres for another sort of theatre. The award is a brilliant opportunity for budding authors, and I can’t wait to read and celebrate this year’s entries.’
The contest is open to authors who publish their story through Kindle Direct Publishing in ebook and print formats. It is currently open for entries until August 31, 2022.
Readers play a pivotal role in helping to choose the shortlisted stories, with a 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.
Other judges on this year’s panel include last year’s winner Rachel McLean; self-published best-selling author Mel Sherratt; Melissa Addey, Organisation Member Manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors; Darren Hardy, Author and Editorial Programmes Manager at Amazon.co.uk; and Jen Barrett, Books Editorial at Amazon.co.uk.
Rachel McClean says, ‘Even now I am still in some disbelief that out of thousands of entries, my book The Corfe Castle Murders was chosen as the winner in 2021. The Kindle Storyteller Award helped give me further confidence in my own writing and since last year I have released five more books in the Dorset Crime Book series.
‘Deep down, I do believe that everyone has a story to tell, whether thrillers set in the South West like myself, or recounting a diary of a junior doctor. No matter what age or stage you are in your writing career, the Kindle Storyteller Award seeks entries from both new and established authors. I would urge anyone to have a go and submit for this year’s award!’
Since winning the award, The Corfe Castle Murders and a number of other novels by Rachel McLean have gone on to become Kindle bestsellers, with The Corfe Castle Murders amassing 13,000 customer reviews with an average of 4.2 out of 5 stars.
Darren Hardy, Author and Editorial Programmes Manager at amazon.co.uk, says, ‘Following a record-breaking number of entries in 2021, we are looking forward to seeing what 2022 has in store for The Kindle Storyteller Award.
‘It is an honour to have Adam Kay join our panel of expert judges this year, as we head into our sixth year celebrating the compelling and diverse storytelling of self-published authors. Adam is a true advocate for the notion that it is possible to turn your hand to writing and see success as an author.’
Last year, there were five novels on the shortlist for the award, but there has previously been a non-fiction winner with Anna McNuff’s Llama Drama, a travel memoir which took the £20,000 top prize in 2020, so the choice of a non-fiction author as a judge is interesting.
The Kindle Storyteller Award accepts submissions of new books in the English language, published using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Titles must be previously unpublished, with a minimum of 24 pages in paperback, and they must be enrolled in KDP Select while they are in the competition and be available in ebook and print formats.
To enter the contest you will need to enter StorytellerUK2022 in the keywords metadata field when you publish your book on kdp.amazon.co.uk
You will find the keywords metadata section on the book Details page when you are publishing through KDP, as shown in the screenshot here. Amazon has also added a reminder on the keywords section for Storyteller entrants.
The Kindle Storyteller Award is open for entries until August 31, 2022. For further information, visit amazon.co.uk/storyteller