Categories & Criteria

General criteria for the prizes can be found here. For prize-specific criteria, please see the Categories section.

• The book must have an ISBN.
• The book must have a print run of at least 350 copies within its first twelve months of publication.
• The book must be at least 48 pages long, unless it is a children’s picture book in which case it must be at least 24 pages long.
• The book must show in print that it was published in the appropriate eligible year (2023).
• The main language of the book must be English, or any of the traditional languages of the Indigenous peoples of British Columbia or Yukon.
• The book may have been published anywhere.
• With the exception of the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize, the author must have lived in BC/Yukon for the past 12 months or have lived in BC/Yukon for at least three of the past five years.
• To be eligible, self-published books must have gone through a formal editing process carried out by a third party. Self-published books are not eligible to enter the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award.
• Guide books and how-to books will not be considered. Cookbooks will not be considered, except for the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award.
• Anthologies are only eligible for the the following categories: Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes, Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, and the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. The editor(s) of the anthology and at least 50% of the contributors must meet the BC/Yukon residency requirements.
• More than half of the book’s content must be new work.
• In the event there is more than one author, the primary creator must fulfill the BC/Yukon residency requirements or at least 50% of the authors must fulfill the BC/Yukon residency requirements.
• If a title is submitted for a category it does not meet the eligibility requirements for, no refunds will be issued. Please review the criteria for each prize carefully before submitting.
• The submission form, payment and submission copies must be received by the BC and Yukon Book Prizes by the December 1st deadline. Books that arrive after this date may not be considered, and no refunds will be issued.
• Book submissions must be shipped by mail or courier, as we currently do not accept in person drop offs.
• Five copies of the submitted book must be provided for the jury for each prize category entered, with the exception of the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award which does not require any books to be sent.
• Submissions must be made using the BC and Yukon Book Prizes Official Entry Form.
• The entry fee of $40.00 per prize category must accompany the Official Entry Form.

All entries not selected for the shortlists will be kept confidential. See How to Enter for more details.

• The publishers of finalist books will be expected to participate in the shared marketing cost of print and online ads placed in periodicals and online books-related spaces announcing the finalists. Cost per book per category is $250.
• The publishers of winning books will be expected to participate in the shared cost of print and online ads placed in periodicals and online books-related spaces announcing the winners, and of the winner promotional items which are distributed to BC libraries and bookstores. Cost per book is $300.
• All publishers, authors, and illustrators are invited to attend the Soirée which is a free event.
• Tickets to the BC and Yukon Book Prizes Gala are not provided to finalists so must be paid for by the finalist publishers in order for them to attend.
• The publishers of winning books will be expected to provide up to 7 copies of the book for the “Win the Winners” contest.
• The publishers of finalist books will provide a 50% discount on books purchased by the BC and Yukon Book Prizes for the Adopt-a-Library Program.

If a book is shortlisted for more than one category the publisher will be charged the requisite amount for each category a book appears within.

By submitting your title for a BC and Yukon Book Prize, you are agreeing to these terms.