Awards Changes

Ann Bannon Voting
(Effective for 2024 Awards)

To vote for the Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award, voters must be subscriber for the Golden Crown Literary Society Newsletter. To become a subscriber, follow this link to enter your email address. This is the email address that will allow you to vote on RankedVote in April. If you have any questions, reach out to the Awards Administrators, awards@goldencrown.org. Finalists will be announced April 17th and the last day to become a subscriber to be able to vote is April 22nd at 5pm PST.

Special Category Nominations
(Effective for 2023 Awards)

Due to changes in the Special Categories (Ann Bannon, Debut, & Tee Corinne) process last year, all nominations must be made at the same time. Nominators are no longer able to nominate a book only for a Special Category. All Special Category Nomination must be made on the same application as the Genre Nomination. This means that nominators will need to coordinate with Author/Publisher on who will make the nomination, which categories it will be nominated in, and how it is paid for.

For example, if you are an author whose publisher nominates their book, but only in the Genre Category and you would like it nominated in a Special Category, you will need to talk to your publisher about adding the Special Category nominations to that application.

Physical Books
(Effective for 2024 Awards)

The fee for nominating physical books incresed from $40 to $50. Nominators will no longer need to send 5 copies to the Awards Administrators.

Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award
(Effective for 2023 Awards)

In its pilot year $22,000 in prize money was distributed to authors at the July 1 Goldie Awards Ceremony during GCLS’s 19th Annual Conference in Denver, CO.

Ann Bannon Prizes

Finalists for the 2023 Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award were determined by averaging judges’ scores on 18 essential elements of good novels, plus a 19^th cross-genre item common to all novel categories. Winners were selected via a single round of ranked-choice voting open to the public. Here are the 2023 results,

· Gold Ann Bannon Award for first place ($3,000) – If I Don’t Ask by E.J. Noyes, Bella Books.

· Silver Ann Bannon Award for second place ($2,000) – Just a Touch Away by Jae, Ylva Publishing.

· Bronze Ann Bannon Award for third place ($1,000) – Broken Beyond Repair by Emily Banting, Sapphic Publishing.

Genre-Category Prizes

Authors of the top-scoring novel in each of 2023’s 12 genre-specific categories received a $1,000 prize. Books scoring highest on the essential elements and cross-novel items, plus specific statements in its genre category, included:

· Contemporary Romance: Short Novels – Trial and Error by Carsen Taite, Bold Strokes Books.

· Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length Novels – The Last Lavender Sister by Melissa Brayden, Bold Strokes Books.

· Contemporary Romance: Long Novels – Plain English by Rachel Spangler, Bywater Books.

· Erotic Novels – Escorted by Renee Roman, Bold Strokes Books.

· General Fiction – Dead Letters from Paradise by Ann McMan, Bywater Books.

· Historical Fiction – Once in Berlin by Jo Havens, Self-published.

· Mystery/Thriller/Crime – Delafield by Katherine V. Forrest, Spinsters Ink.

· New Adult Fiction – Catching Feelings by Ana Hartnett Reichardt, Bold Strokes Books.

· Paranormal/Occult/Horror – The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan, Shattered Scepter Press.

· Romantic Blend – Enigma by Suzie Clarke, Bold Strokes Books.

· Science Fiction/Fantasy – Endurance by Elaine Burns, Mindancer Press/Bedazzled Ink.

· Young Adult Fiction – Can I Trust Her? by Frances Lucas, Bella Books.

Winners of $1,000 prizes in three “non-novel” categories, determined by books that Goldie judges scored highest among relevant 2023 entries, included:

· Fiction Anthology/Collections – Defiant Hearts by Lee Lynch, Bold Strokes Books.

· General Non-Fiction – Half In: A Coming-of-Age Memoir of Forbidden Love by Felice Cohen, Dividends Press.

· Poetry Poems/Collections – Time Out of Time by Arleen Paré, Caitlin Press & Dagger Editions.

Debut Novel

The top-scoring Debut Novel, determined by how Goldie judges rated first-time novels on items common to all novel categories, received a $1,000 prize. The 2023 winner was The Barrens by Kurt Johnson and Ellie Johnson, Arcade – Skyhorse.