Perkins and Benjamin join judges' panel for £20k Kindle Storyteller Award

Sue Perkins and Floella Benjamin have joined the judging panel for the 2023 Kindle Storyteller Award. 

The prize celebrates the UK’s best self-published story, championing and offering recognition for the nation’s best new and established independent writers. The winning author receives a £20,000 prize fund and a marketing campaign for their title on Amazon.co.uk.  

The prize is open to authors who publish their story via Kindle Direct Publishing between 1st May and 31st August 2023. Readers help to choose the initial shortlist of stories, with a panel of judges — including figures from the publishing industry and Amazon Books — then choosing the winner.  

Presenter and writer Perkins said: “Writing a book is a huge accomplishment; it takes a lot of passion, effort and talent to bring words to life. This award gives budding authors a huge opportunity to continue doing what they love. I can’t wait to delve into this year’s entries.” 
Benjamin, who is a broadcaster, writer and House of Lords member, commented: “Self-publishing provides a space for more diverse voices in the books we read, and now more than ever, we must celebrate the power of storytelling by championing those who share their perspectives with us through writing. I’m very much looking forward to seeing this year’s shortlisted books, all of which will have been submitted by self-published authors.”

Others on this year’s judging panel include the 2022 winner Peter Gibbons, author and Alliance of Independent Authors representative Roz Morris, Amazon UK Books country manager Lisa de Meyer, as well as author and editorial programmes manager at Amazon Darren Hardy. 

Gibbons, who won the award for his fourth book King of War after only one year of writing, has since been able to retire from his corporate job and start writing full-time.  

He commented: “Since my win, the past year has been surreal; being able to write full time is a dream come true and I feel truly grateful to be able to call this my job. Kindle Direct Publishing allows everybody with this dream to publish their work for readers, and stories which otherwise would remain hidden in desk drawers or locked in our imaginations can find their way to Kindle e-readers and bedside tables across the world. As someone who was in that position myself last year, I’m looking forward to reading this year’s entries from the best of the UK’s self-published authors.”

All titles must be enrolled in Kindle Direct Publishing Select while they are in the competition. For further information, visit amazon.co.uk/storyteller.