BOLINGBROOK, Ill. – The Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project will announce the winner of their fifth annual writing contest at Fountaindale Public Library (300 W. Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook) on Thursday, April 26 at 1 p.m. This library-managed and librarian-judged project reflects the power of collaboration between Illinois libraries across the state and celebrates and supports local authors.
The 2018 contest finalists are Sarah’s Heart by E.S. Beidas (nominated by Westmont Public Library), The Sweetest Heartbreak by Heather Bentley (nominated by Fox River Grove Memorial Library) and Morwen Cottage by LeAnn L. Morgan (nominated by Galesburg Public Library). Local librarians selected the finalists from 46 entries after three rounds of evaluation. Two of the finalists’ works are available for the public to read now on BiblioBoard.
The winner of the 2018 contest will win a $1,000 cash prize, statewide recognition by libraries as the top self-published book, print book sales to Illinois libraries and a book tour of Illinois libraries and more.
The Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project invites all self-published Illinois authors of adult fiction to submit their books through their local libraries to be evaluated by a panel of librarian judges. Developed by a group of library marketing professionals, the project is an effort to demonstrate the power of libraries and librarians to seek out and promote high quality titles from the rapidly growing world of self-publishing. Currently, 32% of bestsellers on Amazon are self-published.
Past contest winners include The Things We Save by Joanne Zienty (2014), The Commons Book I: The Journeyman by Michael Alan Peck (2015), Lines by Geralyn Hesslau Magrady (2016) and The Towers Still Stand by Daniel Rosenberg (2017).
For more information about the contest, author biographies and to watch a live stream of the event, visit soontobefamous.info.
The Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project is a partnership between BiblioBoard, Reaching Across Illinois Library Systems (RAILS) and the Illinois Library Association (ILA), with additional support provided by the American Library Association Digital Content Working Group, the Public Library Association (PLA) and Illinois Heartland Library System.
