Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off
Literary contest
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The Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO) is an annual literary contest intended to bring greater visibility to self-published English-language fantasy authors.
The SPFBO has been operated since 2015 by the author Mark Lawrence. He distributes about 300 novels submitted by the authors to ten fantasy bloggers to review. Each blogger selects a finalist, which is then reviewed by all ten bloggers. The winner is the finalist with the highest average review score.[1][2]
The contest has been credited with making high-quality self-published novels discoverable, and with boosting the careers of the winners.[3][4] Though not the primary purpose, it has helped several authors find publishing contracts.[1] These include Jonathan French, the 2016 winner, and Josiah Bancroft, whose book Senlin Ascends, despite losing out before the final stage of the same competition, was reviewed so positively that it gained widespread attention in the fantasy community.[5]
In 2023, the winner of the annual "cover contest" associated with the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off withdrew the winning cover after accusations that the entry was generated by AI. The entry was later also disqualified by Lawrence, who said there was "compelling evidence that the cover was at least partly AI generated, breaking the rules of the contest". The cover contest has been discontinued.[6]
Winners
| Year | Winner | Title | Score out of 10 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Mike McClung[7] | The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids | 8.00 | |
| 2016 | Jonathan French[8] | The Grey Bastards | 8.65 | Commercially published by Crown in 2018, ISBN 9780525572442 |
| 2017 | Rob J. Hayes[9] | Where Loyalties Lie | 8.10 | |
| 2018 | J. Zachary Pike [10] | Orconomics | 8.65 | |
| 2019 | M.L. Wang [11] | The Sword of Kaigen | 8.65 | |
| 2020 | Justin Lee Anderson [12] | The Lost War | 8.35 | Commercially published by Orbit in 2023, ISBN 9780356519531 |
| 2021 | J. D. Evans [13] | Reign & Ruin | 7.70 | |
| 2022 | Olivia Atwater [14] | Small Miracles | 8.65 | |
| 2023 | Morgan Stang | Murder at Spindle Manor | 7.85 | |
| 2024 | J. L. Odom | By Blood, By Salt | 7.70 |
Finalists
SPFBO 1 (2015)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids | Michael McClung | 8.00 |
| 2 | Bloodrush | Ben Galley | 7.75 |
| 3 | The Weight of a Crown | Tavish Kaeden | 7.30 |
| 4 | City of Burning Shadows | Barbara J. Webb | 7.15 |
| Sins of a Sovereignty | Plague Jack (Simon Watts) | ||
| 6 | What Remains of Heroes | David Benem | 7.00 |
| 7 | Shattered Sands | W.G. Saraband | 6.70 |
| 8 | Under a Colder Sun | Greg James | 6.60 |
| 9 | Priest | Matthew Colville | 6.30 |
| 10 | A Soul for Trouble | Crista McHugh | 6.25 |
SPFBO 2 (2016)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Grey Bastards | Jonathan French | 8.65 |
| 2 | Path of Flames | Phil Tucker | 7.70 |
| 3 | Paternus | Dyrk Ashton | 7.30 |
| 4 | Fionn: Defence of Rath Bladhma | Brian O'Sullivan | 7.20 |
| 5 | Larcout | K.A. Krantz | 6.70 |
| 6 | Assassin's Charge | Claire Frank | 6.35 |
| 7 | The Music Box Girl | K.A. Stewart | 6.30 |
| 8 | The Moonlight War | S.K.S. Perry | 5.95 |
| Outpost | F.T. McKinstry | ||
| 10 | The Shadow Soul | Kaitlyn Davis | 5.10 |
SPFBO 3 (2017)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Where Loyalties Lie | Rob J. Hayes | 8.10 |
| 2 | Sufficiently Advanced Magic | Andrew Rowe | 7.60 |
| The Crimson Queen | Alec Hutson | ||
| 4 | Devil's Night Dawning | Damien Black | 6.70 |
| 5 | Jack Bloodfist: Fixer | James Jakins | 6.55 |
| 6 | The Way Into Chaos | Harry Connolly | 6.45 |
| 7 | The War of Undoing | Alex Perry | 6.30 |
| 8 | Chaos Trims My Beard | Brett Herman | 6.00 |
| 9 | Tiger Lily | K. Bird Lincoln | 5.45 |
| 10 | Pilgrimage to Skara | Jonathan S. Pembroke | 4.35 |
SPFBO 4 (2018)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orconomics | J. Zachary Pike | 8.65 |
| 2 | Gods of Men | Barbara Kloss | 8.05 |
| We Ride the Storm | Devin Madson | ||
| 4 | Sworn to the Night | Craig Shaefer | 8.00 |
| 5 | Symphony of the Wind | Steven McKinnon | 7.40 |
| 6 | Aching God | Mike Shel | 6.90 |
| 7 | Ruthless Magic | Megan Crewe | 6.35 |
| 8 | Out of Nowhere | Patrick LeClerc | 5.50 |
| 9 | The Anointed | Keith Ward | 5.10 |
| 10 | Sowing | Angie Grigaliunas | 4.55 |
SPFBO 5 (2019)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Sword of Kaigen | M. L. Wang | 8.65 |
| 2 | Fortune's Fool | Angela Boord | 8.35 |
| 3 | Blood of Heirs | Alicia Wanstall-Burke | 8.20 |
| 4 | A Tale of Stars and Shadow | Lisa Cassidy | 7.75 |
| 5 | Kalanon's Rising | Darian Smith | 7.70 |
| Never Die | Rob J. Hayes | ||
| 7 | Beggar's Rebellion | Levi Jacobs | 7.25 |
| 8 | Blade's Edge | Virginia McClain | 6.90 |
| 9 | A Sea of Broken Glass | Sonya M. Black | 5.85 |
| 10 | Spark City | Robert J Power | 4.80 |
SPFBO 6 (2020)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lost War | Justin Lee Anderson | 8.35 |
| 2 | Black Stone Heart | Michael R. Fletcher | 8.05 |
| 3 | Shadow of a Dead God | Patrick Samphire | 7.80 |
| 4 | Voice of War | Zack Argyle | 7.15 |
| 5 | Last Memoria | Rachel Emma Shaw | 7.10 |
| 6 | Wind From The Wilderness | Suzannah Rowntree | 6.95 |
| 7 | Darkness Forged | Matt Larkin | 6.60 |
| 8 | The Combat Codes | Alexander Darwin | 6.35 |
| 9 | The Fall of Erlon | Robert H Fleming | 6.10 |
| 10 | Nether Light | Shaun Paul Stevens | 6.05 |
SPFBO 7 (2021)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reign & Ruin | J. D. Evans | 7.70 |
| 2 | Legacy of the Brightwash | Krystle Matar | 7.60 |
| 3 | Shadows of Ivory | Bryce O'Connor and TL Greylock | 7.30 |
| 4 | Norylska Groans | Michael R. Fletcher and Clayton W. Snyder | 7.10 |
| 5 | Burn Red Skies | Kerstin Espinosa Rosero | 7.05 |
| 6 | The Mortal Blade | Christopher Mitchell | 6.90 |
| 7 | The Forever King | Ben Galley | 6.85 |
| The Iron Crown | L.L. MacRae | ||
| 9 | We Men of Ash and Shadows | HL Tinsley | 6.75 |
| 10 | Hall of Bones | Tim Hardie | 6.45 |
SPFBO 8 (2022)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Small Miracles | Olivia Atwater | 8.65 |
| 2 | The Thirteenth Hour | Trudie Skies | 8.35 |
| A Song For The Void | Andrew C. Piazza | ||
| 4 | Miss Percy's Pocket Guide (to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons) | Quenby Olson | 8.20 |
| 5 | The Umbral Storm | Alec Hutson | 8.05 |
| 6 | Scales and Sensibility | Stephanie Burgis | 7.40 |
| 7 | A Touch of Light | Thiago Abdalla | 6.95 |
| 8 | Tethered Spirits | T. A. Hernandez | 6.60 |
| 9 | Mysterious Ways | Abbie Evans | 6.25 |
| 10 | Fire of the Forebears | L.A. Buck | 6.00 |
SPFBO 9 (2023)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murder at Spindle Manor | Morgan Stang | 7.85 |
| 2 | Hills of Heather and Bone | K.E. Andrews | 7.80 |
| 3 | The Fall is All There Is | C.M. Caplan | 7.55 |
| The Last Ranger | J.D.L. Rosell | ||
| 5 | Cold West | Clayton Snyder | 7.35 |
| 6 | A Rival Most Vial | R.K. Ashwick | 7.20 |
| The Wickwire Watch | Jacquelyn Hagen | ||
| 8 | Daughter of the Beast | E C Greaves | 6.80 |
| 9 | The Last Fang of God | Ryan Kirk | 6.70 |
| 10 | Master of the Void | Wend Raven | 6.50 |
SPFBO X (2024)
| # | Title | Author | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | By Blood, By Salt | J. L. Odom | 7.70* |
| 2 | Mushroom Blues | Adrian M. Gibson | 7.70 |
| 3 | Runelight | JA Andrews | 7.45 |
| 4 | The Forest at the Heart of Her Mage | Hiyodori | 7.30 |
| 5 | The Oathsworn Legacy | K. R. Gangi | 7.25 |
| 6 | By A Silver Thread | Rachel Aaron | 7.20 |
| 7 | The Humane Society for Creatures and Cryptids | Stephanie Gillis | 7.10 |
| 8 | Gates of Hope | J E Hanford | 6.95 |
| 9 | The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword | Dewey Conway & Bill Adams | 6.60 |
| 10 | Wolf of Withervale | Joaquín Baldwin | 6.10 |
*Tiebreaker: The most blogs with the book as their top finalist score