Indie Ink Awards 2025: Judging Phase

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We’re getting closer to the announcement of the Indie Ink Awards 2025 winners. The date is Saturday, September 19, at 10 am PDT/1 pm EDT. If you want to join the ceremony or be notified of the winners as they’re announced, follow me on Bluesky for live updates. I’ll also be informing when the nomination phase for the Indie Ink Awards 2026 goes live, which should be later this year.

Meanwhile, here’s what I read and judged this year for the contest. For the Writing the Future We Need categories, judges are required to have lived experience. I’m just realizing this year I fanned out on them.

1. The Ice Moves for No One, by Arlo Z. Graves

Cover of The Ice Moves for No One by Arlo Z. Graves. Blue background with Ice growing on both sides. Big white letters with the title cover from top to bottom between a white zeppellin on top and an axe at the bottom.

Category Judged:

Writing the Future We Need: Neurodivergent Representation by a Neurodivergent author

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2. Blackblood, by Kree Sullivan

Cover of Blackblood by Kree Sullivan. Illustration of three people riding the hood of a giant truck. The shorter one is standing in the center, with long hair in a braid and wearing a black trench coat and a gun strapped on the side. The one on the left has short dark hair and wears all black; black veins run through their arms, chest, and neck. The one on the right is broad and tall, with short blond hair, and wears a white shirt and a blade strapped on the side. The title is on top in a dripping black typography.

Category Judged:

Writing the Future We Need: Trans or Nonbinary Representation

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3. Fractured Magic, by Em Rowene

Cover of Fractured Magic by Emeric Rowene. An illustration of a shirtless man with dark skin and wavy, black hair is shrouded in green mists, occupying most of the cover. In the foreground, a blonde man with pointy ears wearing a brown trench coat lifts a lantern. The title is in yellow letters at the bottom.

Category Judged:

Writing the Future We Need: LGBTQ+ Representation

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4. The Memoir of Johnny Daywalker, by Meghan Davis

Cover of The Memoir of Johnny DayWalker by Meghan Davis. Portrait of a Young Man with light skin and short dark hair, vampire fangs peeking between his lips. A red band covers his eyes in the foreground with the title in white letters over it.

Category Judged:

This Book Made Me Hungry/Thirsty (not the horny kind, there’s been confusion)

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Read my review of The Memoir of Johnny Daywalker.

5. First Oaths, by C.J. Tuma and Quinn Cameron

Cover of First Oaths by C.J. Tuma and Quinn Cameron. Illustration of a dark haired man with stubble looking dumbstruck as he is pulled from his shirt into a kiss by a blond man with delicate features and burn scars on his hands. Trees on the background surround them.

Category Judged:

Writing the Future We Need: Asexual or Aromantic Representation

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Read my review of First Oaths.

I’ll be sharing reviews for the rest of the books I judged. Subscribe to be notified when they go live.

About Indie Ink Awards:

Books by marginalized authors, self-published books, and books by small presses often get overlooked. The Indie Ink Awards is a unique event that brings together the writing community to celebrate books that have made an impact on us. This is our way of highlighting the future we want to see in books–by uplifting those that shine.

All awards are segmented into two categories: Best-In and the Writing The Future We Need awards. The “Best In” awards should exemplify the chosen category. We are looking for exceptional inclusion and diversity in works nominated for “Writing the Future We Need” awards.