Applications are now being accepted for the 2012 SCBWI Book Launch Awards!

Hilary Graham formed a BAND - a boy-band that in her book Reunited was fictional... but she used her 2011 Book Launch Award to actually produce two of their songs, and even take the no-longer-so-fictional band on her book tour!  Find out more about Hilary's creative marketing here!

And Sherry Shahan used her 2011 Book Launch Award to give herself the time to promote her latest adventure novel Ice Island.  In addition to contacting schools and creating a blog for educators, Sherry tied her story featuring teen mushers and their faithful huskies into the IditaRead project, which this year had over 4,700 student participants for a total race mileage (minutes reading) of 4,869,905.  Read more about Sherry's adventures in launching her book here!

And now it's your turn... What would you do with a budget to promote YOUR book launch?  Would you create a launch event?  A book tour?  Curriculum materials?  Advertising?  A Book Trailer?  A website?  Would you donate books to schools or libraries?  If you've got a book coming out in 2013, write up your plan... and maybe you'll win the SCBWI Book Launch Award to make that plan a reality!

The SCBWI Book Launch Award provides two annual awards of $2000 each for an author or illustrator to use for marketing a book scheduled for release during the next calendar year.

The money can be used for any kind of promotional purpose that will increase sales and visibility of the book, such as launch events, speaking engagements, book tours, curriculum materials, advertising, book trailers, website development, or community events. With this award authors and illustrators can now take their marketing strategy into their own hands, something that is becoming increasingly important due to the ever-shrinking availability of marketing dollars in most publisher's budgets. 

Check out all the details here, and apply!  Note that the application deadline is July 1, 2012.

Illustrate and Write On,

Lee