NM Book Awards
The New Mexico Book Awards, a nearly two-decades-old book competition, was slated to cease this year. Instead it will continue under new management by New Mexico Writers, who will continue the mission, in the words of Paul Rhetts, founder of the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards, “to uncover and honor the best in New Mexico books.”
Authors, designers, publishers, and publicists from New Mexico (or any book with a creative connection to New Mexico) are eligible for the New Mexico Book Awards.
The 2025 NM Book Awards is closed for entries. Entries will be judged May through August.
See below for entry eligibility, submission fee/instructions, judging, and category information for 2025.
Finalists will be announced at the end of September. Winners will be announced before mid-November.
Please email us with your NM Book Awards questions.
Sign up for The New Mexico Writer to stay informed about the NM Book Awards: NMW Newsletter Signup
NM Book Awards Information for 2025
Eligibility
- Open to authors, designers, publishers, and publicists anywhere; books must have a direct creative connection to New Mexico (for example, subject, cover design, author, publisher).
- Books with a publication date or copyright date on or after January 1, 2023 are eligible.
- Winning books of a previous New Mexico-Arizona Book Award are not eligible for re-submission; finalists can be re-submitted.
- Submission of a single book to multiple categories is accepted.
- Multiple books by a single entrant are accepted.
- Judges are eligible to enter but may not judge in their entry category.
Submission Fee
$50 per entry per category.
Payment methods: mail a check with your entry OR pay with major credit card online via Square.
Submission Instructions
Download (see below) and complete the Entry Form for each title being submitted.
See Entry Form for payment, mailing, and other submission instructions.
Judges needed! Help us discover great New Mexico books. Sign up here to be a judge in the NM Book Awards. You’ll be asked for your name, email, mailing address, how many books you want to judge, and which categories you’d like to judge in.
Judges can be booksellers, librarians, teachers, authors, publishers, agents, or avid readers. Each book will be read by at least three judges. Judges will typically have 2-3 months for reading and scoring their assigned books. This is a volunteer position, but judges may keep or donate the books they receive.
The deadline for judging is August 30, 2025. Books will be mailed out starting in May.
- Anthology
- Anthropology/Archaeology
- Arts (art, music, or photography)
- Autobiography & Memoir
- Biography
- BIPOC Author or Subject
- Business & Career
- Coffee Table Book
- Cookbook/Gardening/Crafts/Hobby/Home
- Fiction – adventure or drama
- Fiction – cozy mystery
- Fiction – crime
- Fiction – fantasy
- Fiction – historical
- Fiction – mystery/thriller
- Fiction – sci-fi
- Fiction – other
- First Book by Author or Publisher
- LGBTQIA+ Author or Subject
- Health/Humor/New Age
- History
- Multicultural
- Nature/Environment/Animals/Pets
- Nonfiction – general
- Parenting & Family
- Philosophy/Religion
- Poetry
- Political & Current Events
- Reference
- Self-Help & Guides
- Sports/Recreation
- Travel
- Young Adult (high school)
- Juvenile (grades 3-8)
- Young Readers (grades 1-3)
- Children’s Picture Book
- Children’s Bilingual Book
- Cover Design (6×9 or smaller)
- Cover Design (larger than 6×9)
Note: The eBook category has been removed during this transition year. The eBook format will return next year as an entry option in the other categories. Please contact us if you have any questions about eBooks.