From thousands of entries, five books have been shortlisted across a range of genres, from an autobiography and crime thriller, to romance and fantasy

Winning author to receive a £20,000 cash prize, a dedicated marketing campaign, access to mentoring and the chance to have his or her book translated for readers around the world

London — September 2018 — The UK Kindle Storyteller Award today announced its shortlist of 5 books across a range of genres, from crime thriller, to a musical autobiography, to fantasy, to romance. The shortlist, narrowed down from thousands of entries, has been compiled based on a number of factors that reveal customer interest in the titles, shining a light on the independently published books that appeal most to a UK audience.

The winning author will receive a £20,000 cash prize, a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon.co.uk, access to a mentor and the opportunity to have their book translated. The full shortlist below:

 

The UK Kindle Storyteller Award is in its second year and was established to recognise newly published work in the English language across any genre. The prize was open to all authors who published their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk between 1st May and 31st August 2018.

“We’re delighted to bring back the Kindle Storyteller Award and continue to celebrate stories readers want to read,” said Alessio Santarelli, EU Kindle Content Director, Amazon. “Once again, we have had an extraordinary range of entries and the shortlist is impressive. I’m excited to see which book our judges select as our winner for 2018.”

The shortlist will now be brought to a panel of judges who will decide upon the winning book, which will be announced at an exclusive ceremony at The Royal Society in London in October. The panel of judges includes journalist, author and TV personality, Lorraine Kelly; best-selling author LJ Ross; Irish author and founder of The Alliance of Independent Authors, Orna Ross; last year’s winner of the inaugural Kindle Storyteller Award award, David Leadbeater; Metro’s books reviewer and Chair of Judges, Claire Allfree, Editorial Director for Amazon Publishing, Laura Deacon and Claire Johnson, UK Head of Kindle Content.

Claire Allfree, Chair of Judges, Kindle UK Storyteller Award, said: “I am delighted to be chairing the judging panel for this year's Kindle Storyteller UK Award. Now in its second year, it is a wonderful way of unearthing fresh new voices in literature whom readers can relate to. This year's shortlist endorses the values of original, imaginative storytelling the prize seeks to celebrate and has given us an extremely wide selection of books - from Regency romance to a riotous sounding urban fantasy, from a backstage memoir by a classical musician to a novel written intriguingly from the point of view of someone who has passed away. I can't wait to get stuck in.”

The shortlisted authors on the news:

Helen Harper, Box of Frogs: “I am beyond thrilled to have been shortlisted. It's such an honour that my madcap urban fantasy, Box of Frogs, has been selected."

Audrey Harrison, Lord Livesey’s Bluestocking: “As an independent author it’s a real affirmation that readers appreciate the research and detail in my stories. I wish I could express how lucky I feel. I truly am living the self-published dream.”

Hannah Lynn, The Aftelife of Walter Augustus: “I am genuinely stunned to have had my novel shortlisted for this award. There is such an amazing variety of stories out there, and such a wealth of talent, to have The Afterlife of Walter Augustus acknowledged in this way is truly wonderful.”

Andy Maslen, Hit and Done: “When I heard I'd been shortlisted for the Kindle Storyteller Award, I was knocked sideways. The fact that readers play a pivotal role in selecting the titles is fantastic, as they're the people I care most about pleasing with my books.”

Martin G Willis, Just Another Drummer: “I'm absolutely thrilled that Just Another Drummer has been selected. Just to be in the final is an incredible feeling and something I'd never ever have imagined in my wildest dreams! For once, I'm actually speechless!”

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a fast, free and easy way for authors to publish their books in print and digital to a global audience, and receive up to 70 per cent royalties on their work. On any given day, up to 25 per cent of the Top 100 books on the UK Kindle store are published by authors who have decided to keep control by going it alone through KDP. Readers can access the shortlisted titles on the Kindle Store on any device with the free Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, PC and Mac, and on Kindle e-readers and Fire Tablets.
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For more information please contact The Academy PR on 020 7100 7100 or kindle@theacademypr.com, or visit www.amazon.co.uk/storyteller

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