Amazon’s Kindle Storyteller Award has returned for 2025 across Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK, with entries now open until 31st August to authors who self-publish their story via Kindle Direct Publishing.
The annual writing prize is designed to champion the best self-published writers from across Europe, offering both new and bestselling Kindle Direct Publishing authors the chance to win a cash prize, as well as an audiobook recording with Audible to enable winners to reach a wider audience.
The campaign celebrates literary talent and independent publishing across Europe and has been running in some countries for over a decade, with France celebrating its tenth year this year.
Commenting on the success of the award, Darren Hardy, Kindle Direct Publishing lead for Europe said: “The Kindle Storyteller Awards celebrate diverse storytelling in multiple languages across borders, and what is so fantastic about independent publishing is that it allows authors to maintain complete creative control which enables these stories to exist. Amazon is proud to champion writers, and through this prize we aim to spotlight authors and their amazing work.”
Bettina E. Pfeiffer, winner of the Kindle Storyteller Award 2024 in Germany, achieved considerable sales success with the publication of her high-fantasy novel Die Legende der Feuerrosen via Kindle Direct Publishing. On winning the prize, she said: “Winning the Kindle Storyteller Award was a phenomenal experience, an honour and a wonderful validation. Receiving such an award as an author is like an accolade that shows you're on the right track.”
The 2024 UK winner, JD Kirk, expressed a similar sentiment and said: “It has been several months since I won the Kindle Storyteller prize, and I still don't think it's quite sunk in! Winning the prize helped bring new readers to my books, and with the support of them, my existing fans, and Amazon's KDP team, the success of my self-published titles has only continued to grow.”
How do I enter?
The Kindle Storytelling Award is open for entries until 31st August 2025 for authors aged 18+ who self-publish their story via Kindle Direct Publishing.
How is the prize judged?
Readers play a pivotal role in helping to choose the initial shortlist of stories, with bestseller rankings and reader reviews taken into account. A range of factors including plot, originality, creativity of content, and the quality and style of writing are taken into consideration. The winner will then be announced in the Autumn. For more information on each locale submission, you can visit them here: France, Germany (incl. French/German language entrants from Switzerland and Austria), Italy, Spain, and the UK.