Please read the nomination requirements prior to submitting your nomination(s) to the Sultry Listeners Awards.
Release Date
All audiobook nominees must be released between August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024 in audio within the United States. Titles cannot be a “re-release” or “reissue” of a previously published title.
Genre
All audiobook nominees must fall within the Romance Genre.
Romance defined as having 1. a central love story between characters and 2. an emotionally satisfying, happy ending (aka. HEA).
The sub-genre of romance, such as "Historical Romance", "Romantic Suspense", "PNR (Paranormal Romance)", "Contemporary" and so on are the categorization to the romance books. Please refer to the "Ultimate Guide to the Romance Genre" and/or "Romance and Its Subgenres Explained" articles for the definition/requirements of sub-genres and additional information.
Own Voices / BIPOC Romance Category Nomination Criteria:
Nominees (aka Author) and at least one main character in the story (audiobook/book) must identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color or other underrepresented group or ethnic group in a specific country or territory.
This may include:
- African American / Black / African and/or Caribbean descent
- East Asian (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Mongolian)
- Hispanic or Latina/e/o/x
- Indigenous Peoples (including Native American / Alaskan Native)
- Middle Eastern / North African
- Pacific Islander
- South Asian (including Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan)
- Southeast Asian (including Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Thai, and Vietnamese)
Tropes
The common romance tropes, for example "Aga Gap", "Aliens", "Alpha Male", "Kink"/"BDSM", "Small Town", "Enemies To Lovers", "Fake Relationship", " etc. are "a plot device or theme used within a romance novel giving a recognizable starting point to the story that a reader can recognize" (SheReadsRomanceBooks) and are not listed as a nomination category. If its a "Mafia" romance set in current times, please nominate it in the contemporary romance, unless it takes place in the 1920s which makes it a historical romance or if it has triggers or content warnings which makes it a dark romance. Aliens? nominate it in Sci-fi.
Publishing
Audiobooks can be nominated regardless of being Traditionally published, Indie or Self-Published. Their release date MUST fall within the August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024 window.
Submitting Nominations
Nominations open August 12, 2024 and close September 9, 2024.
All nominees must be full length titles. There is a new category specific for Novella/Short Story and the nominees can be any sub-genre.
- Novels are 40,000 words (200 pages) or longer
- Novellas are between 17,500 (35 pages) and 40,000 words (200 pages)
- Short stories are between 1,500 words (3 pages) and 7,500 words (35 pages)
The form must be filled out completely for it to be included as a nomination. If any information is missing, the title will not be included.
Titles must be submitted in the correct category. If the nominated title is submitted in the wrong category they will be removed and not be included.
The direct link to Audible (US link) or Libro.fm for the title must be included in the submission form. If any information is missing, the title will not be included.
Favorite Narrators Nominations
- New Narrator defined as having 20 or less titles published by the time of nomination submission. If nominated narrator does not have the number of published tiles by the time of nomination, they will not be included.
- Up-And-Coming Narrator defined as having between 21 - 50 titles published by the time of nomination submission. If nominated narrator does not have the number of published tiles by the time of nomination, they will not be included.
- Favorite Narrator defined as having 51 titles or more published by the time of nomination submission. If nominated narrator does not have the number of published tiles by the time of nomination, they will not be included.
IMPORTANT:
If your favorite title(s) and/or narrator(s) are NOT included in the nominations it is either because 1.) they did not meet the requirements mentioned above or 2.) they were not nominated by listeners/fans.