35TH ANNUAL AWARD DETAILS & DEADLINES

Click the button at the bottom of the page to nominate titles now!

Titles must be originally published in 2024.
Books must be predominantly set in/or about the MPIBA Region, and/or the work of authors or illustrators who live in one of the states of the MPIBA region:
- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming
Books must be available through mainstream distribution or wholesale channels at standard retail terms:
- 40% wholesale discount or better
- Fully returnable.
- Wholesale distributors include publisher distributors, Ingram, IPG, Bookazine, and others -- Amazon and B&N are NOT wholesale distributors.

Nominations open: October 16, 2024 – January 12, 2025
Nomination fee is $150 per title; due upon receipt of invoice.
Nominator must send, at their own expense, reading copies of the nominated title to the appropriate award reading committee members (up to 15 copies depending on the category).
- After titles are nominated, you’ll receive a list of booksellers and mailing addresses for shipping the books.
- Books must be shipped to arrive no later than January 31.

Titles are nominated by publishers and authors, beginning 10/16/24.
- Books are also recommended for nomination by indie booksellers. We will follow-up with publishers/authors to see if they'd like to pay the nomination fee and ship reading copies.
A long-list is created from all nominated titles.
Reading committees, made up of regional indie booksellers, read the nominated titles (long-list) to curate shortlists in each award category.
The shortlists are announced to the public on May 1, and voting begins with promotion to bookstores and booksellers and the reading public.
Award winners are determined by bookseller and public voting.
Winners are notified, and will provide recorded acceptance speeches.
Winners are announced to the public via a pre-recorded awards event shown on YouTube and ReadingTheWest.com.