The Carol Awards are ACFW’s recognition for the best Christian fiction published in the previous calendar year. The Carol Awards are named after Bethany House’s former editorial director, Carol Johnson, who launched the career of Janette Oke, and remained an advocate for Christian fiction her entire career.
2026 Carol Award Guidelines:
1. Each title must be the author’s work of original fiction published in print or digital form.
2. The manuscript should conform to traditionally accepted understanding of Scripture and Christian world view. The ACFW Executive Board may order the disqualification of submissions not meeting this requirement.
Books may either be traditionally published or independently/self-published.
3. Co-authored entries are allowed. If one of the authors is a current ACFW member, then the title can be submitted for the member entry fee.
4. The title must have an original copyright date (printed on copyright page) between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. In the rare event a book was released in 2025 but has a copyright date of 2024, please provide a letter from the publisher and a .pdf of the publisher’s catalog reflecting the title and release date to carolawards@acfw.com at least two weeks prior to the deadline to be considered for entry.
5. All entering authors are required to check the “Accept” box on the entry form for the Contest Release, indicating acceptance of terms.
6. Entry may NOT have been previously entered in the Carol Award contest.
7. Publishers may not enter for their authors.
8. Entry must be an English language edition.
9. Audio books cannot be entered.
10. Books must be written from a traditionally accepted understanding of Scripture and Christian world view. The ACFW Executive Board may order the disqualification of submissions not meeting this requirement.
11. Books not meeting the above-defined requirements will be disqualified and the entry fee forfeited.
1. The entering author shall submit an electronic copy in .pdf form of each title entered in the contest. Once the book has been submitted, there are no changes allowed. Print copies will not be accepted.
2. The author is responsible for choosing the appropriate Carol Award category for their title.
3. Please note, if entering the Novella category, please list the name of your novella AND the name of the collection (if in a collection) on the entry form. For example, My Story from This Great Novella Collection.
4. All authors will need the following in order to complete the online entry form:
- high resolution photo of book cover – must be no less than 300 dpi and at least 4” x 6” in size.
- editor names (Maximum of 2)
- Check the correct Traditional publishing house name or check Independent Author box. If the publisher is not a Traditional Publisher, your entry must be listed as “Independent Author.” If your publisher is a Traditional publisher but is not listed on the drop down, click “Other” and enter the name of that publisher. This is ONLY for Traditional Publishers not in the current drop-down list on the entry form.
- electronic copy of the book(s) being entered in .pdf form
5. Entrants are responsible for submitting the .pdf entry in the correct category. Only the author can decide what that category is. ACFW contest staff or Board members are not allowed to tell the author which category is best for any entry. Payment will be required to be via PayPal or with credit card from the PayPal site (you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this method), prior to the contest entry deadline.
6. No title shall be entered in more than one category, with the exception of the Debut Author category, in which case, the title may be entered in BOTH Debut Author and the entry’s genre category, but may not be entered in the Debut Author category alone.
7. Entries in the Debut Author category are limited to a book already entered in this contest that is the first book an author has ever published. If an entry has co-authors, all authors must be Debut Authors. Previous works of fiction, regardless of length, genre, or market disqualify the author from the Debut Author category unless that work of fiction is a novella that was included in an ACFW Chapter compilation. Novellas may not be entered in the Debut Author category.
8. There is no limit to the number of eligible titles an author may enter in each category (except only one entry may be made in the Debut Author category and that entry must be the first book published by the author).
1. If less than seven (7) entries are received for any one category, that category will be closed, and the author’s alternate choice category will be used. In this event, ACFW will send the entries to the correct judges. No action is required from the entrant.
2. Authors shall understand and agree that all scores are final once submitted by the judge into the contest system. Scores are determined by each judge according to an established guideline/scoresheet. No altering of scores shall be permitted. The highest three (3) scores in each category will be named as finalists. A discrepancy judge will be called upon if a judge feels a book should be disqualified or if the judges’ scores are inconsistent. Scores will not be returned.
3. The top three (3) titles in each category will continue to the final judging round. In the event of a tie, previous round scores will be used to break the tie.
- Contemporary
- Debut Author
- Historical (through Vietnam era)
- Historical Romance (through Vietnam era)
- Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
- Novella (15K-45K)
- Romance
- Romantic Suspense
- Short Novel (45K-70K)
- Speculative
- Young Adult
Fee of $50 for ACFW Members per entry or $135 for Non-Members must be paid online via PayPal or credit card, or mail a money order or check made out to ACFW and sent to:
ACFW, P.O. Box 101066, Palm Bay, FL 32910-1066
DO NOT SEND CASH.
Authors who are not ACFW members will pay a fee of $135 per entry. You may join ACFW at the time you enter the contest, then pay the $50 per entry fee. Please ensure you join ACFW early enough for membership to process before the entry deadline.
THERE ARE NO REFUNDS.
Completed entry forms, payment and electronic book submissions must be RECEIVED by March 1, 2026 at 4:00pm central. There are no exceptions.
Final round judges are subject to change.
• January 2, 2026 – Contest officially opens.
• March 1, 2026 – Contest closes at 4:00pm CENTRAL**. (Completed entry forms, payment and electronic book submissions must be RECEIVED by this date).
• The top 3 Carol Finalists for each category will be announced May 2026 (DATE TBA)
• Winners will be announced during the Awards Gala at ACFW’s national conference. The 2026 Conference will be held in Memphis, Tennessee at The Peabody Hotel, August 27-August 30, 2026.
**All contest entry information, appropriate fees, and books must be received by the contest coordinator no later than 4:00pm CENTRAL March 1, 2026. Failure to meet the appropriate deadline shall result in disqualification, and the entry fee shall be forfeited.
Questions may be directed to: carolawards@acfw.com
Each finalist who attends the Conference will receive a silver pin.
Each winner who attends the Conference will receive the Carol Award and a gold pin. Winning editors will receive a certificate that is provided to and emailed from their author after the conference. Pins are only given to attendees of the conference.
Winners who do not attend the Awards Gala must make arrangements for someone to accept the award for them. Finalists and winners who do not attend the conference will be provided a link after the conference to pay shipping costs for any trophies they are awarded. Pins are only given to attendees of the conference.