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, 2024 through July 31, 2025 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 / Authentic Voices / BIPOC Romance Category Nomination Criteria:
The author (nominee) AND at least one main character in the story must identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC), or as a member of another underrepresented racial, ethnic, or cultural group, and/or as a person with a disability.
This includes creators and characters from diaspora communities, multicultural backgrounds, and those living with visible or invisible disabilities, as well as individuals from historically marginalized groups whose stories are often excluded from mainstream publishing and media.
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, 2024 through July 31, 2025 window.
Submitting Nominations
Nominations open on August 1, 2025 and close August 31,2025.
All nominees must be full length titles. There are categories 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)
All sections of the form must be completed for a nomination to be accepted. Incomplete (missing information) submissions will not be considered.
Titles must be submitted in the correct category. Any title submitted under the wrong category will be disqualified and not included.
The submission form must include a direct link to the title on Audible (U.S. link only), Libro.fm, Kobo, or Apple Books. If the title is currently available for purchase only by the Author's website, a release date MUST be included on the Author's buy page. If the Author's buy page does not include the release date, it will be disqualified and not included. Submissions that include other links (e.g., Goodreads, social media) or incorrect links (e.g., series page instead of the individual title) will be disqualified and not 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 likely due to one of the following reasons: (1) they did not meet the eligibility requirements listed above, or (2) they were not submitted by listeners or fans.