Terms & Conditions

By submitting, nominating, voting, or otherwise participating in the BookTok Indie Author Awards, participants agree to abide by these Terms & Conditions, as well as all Rules & Eligibility guidelines published on the awards website.

Participation in any aspect of the awards constitutes full acceptance of all policies, procedures, and enforcement decisions made in good faith by the awards organizer.

Participants are responsible for ensuring that:

• Submitted or nominated works meet indie eligibility requirements

• Publication dates fall within the defined eligibility window

• Category selections are accurate and appropriate

The organizer reserves the right to verify eligibility at any time and may remove entries found to be in violation of eligibility standards.

All submitted information must be accurate and truthful, including but not limited to:

• Author name

• Publisher status

• Publication date

• Category selection

• Retailer links

Providing false, misleading, or incomplete information may result in removal, disqualification, or vote invalidation.

Participant data is collected solely for the purpose of administering the awards process.

This may include:

• Author names

• Book titles

• Publication information

• Contact emails

• Voting activity data

The BookTok Indie Author Awards do not sell, distribute, or share participant data with third parties.

Data provided by authors, nominees, or voters will never be shared, licensed, or used for external marketing purposes.

Information is used exclusively for:

• Awards administration

• Eligibility verification

• Communication regarding submissions or nominations

• Public voting operations

• Promotional recognition of finalists and winners

All data is handled in good faith and with respect for participant privacy.

For full details, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

All books, cover art, and associated materials remain the intellectual property of their respective rights holders.

By participating, entrants grant permission for the awards to use publicly available materials for promotional purposes, including:

• Book covers

• Titles

• Author names

• Retailer links

Usage is limited to awards marketing, finalist promotion, winner announcements, and event-related communications.

Voting is conducted through a reader-driven public process.

Participants agree not to engage in vote manipulation practices, including:

• Automated voting systems

• Bot activity

• Fake account creation

• Coordinated artificial vote inflation

Violations may result in vote removal, entry disqualification, or broader participation restrictions.

7 — Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Acknowledgment

By submitting or participating, authors acknowledge and agree to the awards’ AI usage policies as outlined in the Rules & Eligibility documentation.

Key acknowledgments include:

• AI-assisted editing tools (grammar, proofreading, light revision) are permitted

• AI-generated narrative content that substantially authors the work is not eligible

• Authors may be asked to disclose AI usage if eligibility concerns arise

Participants further acknowledge that:

• Failure to disclose requested AI usage details may result in disqualification

• Deliberate misrepresentation of AI authorship constitutes a violation of awards policies

The awards operate in good faith but reserve the right to review works where AI authorship is credibly questioned.

The awards organizer reserves the right to:

• Remove ineligible submissions

• Reassign categories

• Disqualify manipulated entries

• Adjust timelines or procedures if required

• Investigate eligibility or voting concerns

All decisions are made in good faith to preserve fairness and integrity.

Authors may request removal of their work at any time by contacting the official awards email.

Removal requests must include:

• Book title

• Author name

• Category

Requests will be processed as promptly as possible.

The BookTok Indie Author Awards are recognition-based only.

No cash prizes, royalties, or financial compensation are provided.

Recognition may include:

• Digital awards

• Social media promotion

• Community recognition

By participating, entrants agree to release and hold harmless the awards organizer, volunteers, and affiliated contributors from any claims arising from:

• Participation in the awards

• Voting outcomes

• Category placement decisions

• Promotional usage of publicly available materials

The awards are independently organized and are not affiliated with or endorsed by:

• TikTok

• BookTok

• Amazon

• Goodreads

• Any publishing platform

Platform references are used for informational or retail linkage purposes only.

The organizer reserves the right to update these Terms & Conditions if necessary.

Updates will be communicated transparently via the official awards website.

Continued participation constitutes acceptance of revised terms.