Amazon launches £20,000 KDP prize

Amazon has launched a £20,000 cash prize for authors who self-publish their work on its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform.

The Kindle Storyteller Award will be given to an English language title published through KDP between 20th February and 19th May this year.

Amazon said readers will play a hand in selecting the shortlist, compiled using “a number of factors which measure customer interest in the titles” along with a panel of judges made of up Amazon executives and literary figures.

Along with being awarded a £20,000 cash prize at a central London ceremony in July, the winning author will be given a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon.co.uk and the opportunity to have it translated for international sales.

Alessio Santarelli, EU Kindle content director at Amazon said: “We hope to encourage aspiring authors and those who have already been published, to get writing and make their new stories available to readers across the world.  Publishing a book has never been easier, and the Kindle Storyteller Award will reward the author whose story resonates most with both readers and literary experts."

It is the second time in recent months Amazon has launched a literary competition in the UK, in a bid to boost interest in its KDP platform.

In November the retailer launched a writing competition to reinvent “Twas Night Before Christmas”, won by Lucy Banks.

This prize is open to submissions for previously unpublished English Language books from all authors and genres and be a minimum of 5,000 words with no upper word limit. More information can be found here.