Announcing the 2023 Amazon UK  Storyteller contest, with a grand prize of £20,000, or around $25,500, based on the current conversion rates. The winner will also get a marketing campaign from Amazon, which is likely to drive a significant amount of sales.

The contest requires writers to publish their entry via Kindle Direct Publishing, as both an ebook and a print book. Entrants are also required to enroll in “KDP Select,” which requires the book to be exclusively available from Amazon for 90 days. Amazon makes it very easy to publish both versions, including cover design, layout, etc.

Keep in mind that self-publishing with KDP will make the book “published” in the eyes of publishers, and will make it significantly harder to publish with traditional publishers.

This contest seems to be a recruitment drive for Amazon, in an attempt to build their roster of books.

The entry does not need to be a full-length manuscript. It must be at least 24 pages for the print edition, though it would be surprising for a book to win if it was not full-length.

Judging will happen in stages, with the first round being determined by Amazon’s estimation of “commercial viability (including, without limitation, with regards to the Book’s sales, borrows and customer feedback).”

Writers from all over the world are welcome to enter the contest.

To enter the contest, authors must publish it on the Kindle, and add the keyword “StorytellerUK2023” in the keywords metadata field, when you publish your book on KDP.amazon.co.uk. The book must also be enrolled in the KDP Select program, which offers some benefits, as well as additional restrictions.

If you were already planning on self-publishing with Amazon, this is a great opportunity. If not, be aware that entering this contest may not be worth the restrictions, especially if you were aiming for a traditional publishing company. (Self-publishing makes it nearly impossible for a manuscript to get published by a traditional publisher.)

The deadline to enter the contest is August 31st, 2023.

To learn more, read the contest’s submission guidelines.