A very Happy New Year to you for 2026! This year marks ten years since The Carousel Aware Prize for IndependentAuthors (The CAP Awards) began in 2016, and we invite you to join us in making this tenth anniversary one to remember. Thank you so much to all of you who have participated in The CAP Awards in some way since we began. Careers of both winning and shortlisted authors have been enhanced along the way, and thousands of euros have been donated to our charity Aware over the years. Submissions will be open this year from the 1st of February 2026 until the 31st of March 2026. See submission terms and conditions. Where possible, the categories will be judged by previous winners of TheCAP Awards. See information on this year’s judges. For our anniversary year we would like to make The CAP Awards the best that we can. Every aspect of the awards is run by volunteers, and all money earned on behalf of the awards goes to Aware. The awards can only continue with your help and we would like to let you know of ways in which you can be a part of our continuing success. We have been blessed over the years to have dedicated committee members running different aspects of the awards, such as, collating book entries, running PR and Media, website administration, working on graphic design and monitoring social media. Many of the committee have been made up of people who are indie authors themselves, those who are involved in the book industry in some way, or readers who see the benefits of promoting the indie book industry. Some members give one year (or 10), depending on their circumstances. Please give this role some consideration as The CAP Awards cannot continue without its volunteer committee members. If you would like to join the committee, please send us an email. - Sponsorship
Each year, individual categories are sponsored by companies and individuals related to the book industry and other interested parties who are instrumental in helping us to expand our Awards. If you, or someone you know would be interested in sponsoring one of our awards, please email us at info@capawards.ie - Sponsoring a submission place
The Carousel Aware Prize offers some free submission places for writers who might otherwise not be able to afford to enter The CAP Awards. These places will be awarded to authors who meet low-income criteria. If you would like to sponsor a submission, please click here. - Reading Groups
The long lists for the awards are chosen by groups of readers with guidance and direction from committee members. If you or an interested group would like to come on board with this or would like some more information, please get in touch at info@capawards.ie - Libraries
Once the long lists are chosen, libraries and librarians around the country take part in choosing the short lists. We are very thankful to the librarians who continue to take part each year, and to those who take part on a once off basis. Please ask at your local library if they would like to participate in the process and get back to us at info@capawards.ie Without your help each year we would never have reached this ten year anniversary and we are indebted to you all for your continuing support.
EXCITING NEWSIn the 10th Anniversary year of The Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Irish Authors, we are very proud to have An Post, winner of the Best Bookshop of the Year, Chapters Bookstore, Dublin , as our overall sponsor. “Chapters Bookstore Dublin, is Ireland’s largest independent bookshop, known for a unique blend of new titles, extensive second-hand treasure, and a packed programme of events and community nights. We support The CAP Awards because the reality of publishing is that a book can be exceptional and still not fit a big publisher’s list: the rota is full, the category is crowded, the marketing story is hard to pitch. Independent publishing keeps those books alive, and The CAP Awards help them find visibility, readers, and the celebration they deserve, while raising funds for Aware.” Submissions for The CAP Awards are now open in five categories and will continue until the 31st of March 2026. Please get your entries in as early as possible. See submission terms and conditions. We have one more category awaiting sponsorship. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in sponsoring one of our awards, please email us at info@capawards.ie Please continue to share news of The CAP Awards through the media, emails, and social media. This year’s awards evening will take place on the evening of the 9th of October. FEEL THE FEAR AND HIT SUBMIT“By the time I was fourteen the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing.” — Stephen King We wanted to take this opportunity to applaud those of you who have entered The Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors so far this year and over the past ten years since the award began. At various times, authors have said to me that they are afraid to enter their book into The CAP Awards, as the fear of not being long or short listed is too hard to take. This year we are delighted to see that many of you who have been apprehensive in the past have decided that this is the year to feel the fear and hit submit anyway. Those of you who have a few books published know the feeling of being rejected by publishers, agents, competition judges, book shops, readers, and media. Nobody told you when you had finished what you thought was the difficult job of writing your books, that the harder part was developing a thick skin when it was time to present your manuscripts to the world. It’s difficult to accept the disappointment of not winning when you have no feedback on your book, as readers and judges can’t give feedback on each piece. So, huge kudos to all who have submitted. And to all of you who have an indie book on the shelves, why not go for it? The incredible feat of publishing your book is behind you, and the worst thing that can happen is that you will have donated €40 to the mental health charity Aware. We also need to congratulate all the amazing writers who have not been long or short listed in the past but who show up to the awards evening each year to support their fellow writers. Over the years a wonderful community of authors has developed from involvement in The CAP Awards and great friendships have grown. Also, great acknowledgement goes to the writers who have not made it to long or short listing in previous years, but who re-submit their book again. Sometimes a new reader or judge picks it up and likes what they read and they make the long or short list second or third time around. So, don’t give up after the first try. The Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors is the only award open to Indie-published authors in Ireland, so, don’t let it pass you by. We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all our sponsors: Chapters Bookstore, Patricia Gibney, Dr Mary O’ Kane, JM Agency, Carousel Writers, Writers’ Café Atop a Hill and our anonymous sponsors. Thanks also to our patron, Booker prize winner, Paul Lynch for his continuing support. We are indebted to our readers, librarians and judges and to all who give up their time and expertise voluntarily for The CAP Awards. May we remind you that we still have some sponsored places for authors who are not in a position to pay for submission. (Apply to info@capawards.ie ). Keep spreading the word… Submissions to The CAP Awards close on the 31st of March and books will be received up until the 10th of April. Details @ www.capawards.ie | 
