Giveaways and contests are a fantastic book promotion tactic. Whether you’re trying to promote a book launch or create buzz for a backlist title, giveaways are a great way to grab readers’ attention. In exchange for taking an action you specify — for example, sharing the post, subscribing to a newsletter, or submitting fan art — readers get something in return that makes them excited to participate. And suddenly, your readers are helping spread the word, whether it’s by broadcasting your book to their friends and followers, or by creating new great content around your titles!
Single books are a classic giveaway prize for authors and publishers and can be enough to engage readers. But what else can you offer to make your contest or giveaway more enticing? Here are some prize examples from authors and publishers to help inspire you.
Signed copies from multiple authors
When multiple authors join forces for a group book giveaway, the prize tends to be more interesting (many free books are better than one!). Each author is able to reach new fans via cross-promotion with the other authors — in order to participate, each author promotes the giveaway to their fans. Adding in signatures can make these book bundles even more enticing!
Authors A.L. Jackson and A. James teamed up to run a signed paperback bundle featuring books with single moms. To further increase engagement from their readers, the duo asked to hear everyone’s favorite microtropes, kicking off a ton of conversation in the comments.
Wearable items
Clothing and other wearable items like bags or headbands can be exciting prizes for readers eager to represent an author or book they care about. And it doesn’t hurt that if you give away something wearable connected to your books, fans can become walking advertisements for you.
In the leadup to her paperback release, Leah Johnson gave away a delightful custom backpack inspired by her book.
Aiden Thomas ran an Instagram giveaway offering up a gorgeous set of branded pins.
An ereader loaded with a book
Ereaders are a pricier prize, but can be worth the extra exposure you get by offering something with a higher value. To celebrate her release day, Casey Dembowski gave away a free Kindle preloaded with her new book.
Advance reader copies (ARCs)
Offering ARCs as a giveaway prize is a great way to offer winners an early look at an author’s newest work — and can also lead to some early reviews. Tashie Bhuiyan announced her ARC giveaway on TikTok, making sure to highlight the fun content readers could expect from her upcoming release.
@tashiebhuiyan the COUNTING DOWN WITH YOU book giveaway is finally here!!! good luck everyone 😌✨ #booktok #yabooks #bookrecs #authorsoftiktok #bookrecs #fyp #desi
Dutton Books announced an ARC giveaway on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting two comparable authors to give readers an idea of what they were in for.
And don’t forget, readers love collaborations! Five authors teamed up with book community Underlined to offer readers the chance to get a first look at their new fantasy titles.
Annotated books or ARCs
Getting exclusive access to an author’s writing insights and behind-the-scenes thoughts can be extremely intriguing for readers. Fans who preordered Ivy L. James’s recent book were entered to receive an annotated ARC of one of her already-released books.
Namina Forna ran a birthday giveaway of an annotated ARC of her new book, sharing that she might even recruit her author friends to add their signatures to the prize! In order to enter the competition, her fans only needed to show proof of a preorder or a local library request.
Shared content book bundles
Giving away several books that have subject matter in common can provide an awesome experience for readers interested in that specific content. Doubleday, Penguin Press, and Viking Books put their minds together for the ultimate brainpower giveaway.
Gift cards
Everyone loves free books, but you can really make someone’s day by giving them money, too! Book giveaways often include a small monetary gift card along with the book, usually to a book retailer, coffee chain, or another popular store relevant to the content of the book.
During the Preorder Campaign for her new book, Lori M. Lee selected a winner every couple of weeks to get a $20 gift card to the independent bookstore of their choice. All readers needed to do to enter the contest was retweet Lori’s announcement or share her preorder graphic.
Meet and Greets
Awarding fans with in-person opportunities to connect with authors they love is another great prize! Kandi Steiner offered readers two tickets to a meet and greet — all they had to do was follow her Instagram account and tell her their favorite part about meeting an author!
Faber offered a meet and greet giveaway for a recent release diving deep into the history of ABBA, and even threw in tickets to their virtual concert series — because who doesn’t love ABBA?
Posters
Book posters can be an exciting giveaway item since they allow fans to show off their love for an author’s work. St. Martin’s Press ran a sweepstakes where winners received one of 250 posters inspired by J.D. Robb’s In Death series.
Yummy treats
Readers love devouring books, but why not give them something they can actually eat? Non-perishable edible items can be creative and delicious prizes to dole out, especially when they’re related to a book you’re marketing. To celebrate her children’s book becoming available for preorder, Allison Wortche included lollipops as part of a colorful prize pack.
A swag prize pack
Prize packs make winners feel like they’re opening a gift. Even if the pack includes basic items — one book, bookmarks, branded items like pencils or buttons, makeup, etc. — it’s a way to make a prize feel really special without spending all of your budget.
To celebrate Agustina Bazterrica’s newest release, Scribner hosted a giveaway of a collection of branded items for readers to have a spooky journaling session.
Check out this TikTok giveaway for a swag bundle promoting C.L. Turner’s new release. The set included a signed copy of her debut novel, a bracelet, a bookmark, and a custom sticker — a much more enticing prize than any one of these items by itself!
@c.l.turner_author ✨ Author Giveaway! ✨ With less than a month until my release date, I couldn’t resist an author giveaway! Like, share & follow for your chance to win a little book bundle! There will be one winner per social media platform, multiple entries across different platforms are absolutely welcome. #author #writer #book #novel #authorsoftiktok #writersoftiktok #booktok #CapCut #romance #fyp #giveaway #writing #aesthetic #witchy
Prizes for the entrant and a friend
There are creative ways to get fans to spread the word of a giveaway aside from simply sharing or liking a social media post.
Amy Harmon ran a contest where the prize was two signed books for the contest entrant and two for their friend, with both lucky individuals also receiving a map of the setting of Amy’s series. Each entrant needed to tag a friend in the Facebook post… a clever way to get fans to spread awareness for Amy’s books.
Bloomsbury UK took to X to award one deluxe goodie bag for an entrant and one for their friend, also asking the participants to tag their pal in the comments.
Character cards
Character cards are a popular prize to give out — readers often appreciate the artistic designs and the chance to get acquainted with a book’s players. Susan Dennard used Instagram to announce the opportunity for fans to win the full set of beautiful character cards from her series.
To match her card-inspired cover, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé gave away creative character designs made to look like actual playing cards.
Subscription to a streaming service
Offering subscriptions to a streaming service can be a great way to give back to fans, especially when you can give access to the platform where readers can find a TV or film version of an author’s book. In honor of the Netflix adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books, Macmillan announced a sweepstakes to win the full book series along with a yearlong Netflix membership.
Book-themed mug
Readers love books, and they love sipping a warm beverage of choice while reading them! So book or author-branded mugs can make great prizes. Doug Kari gave one away with a copy of his book in partnership with Books That Make You, a reading community.
A phone call with the author
A phone call with the author is a unique and exciting prize for any reader to receive! You don’t need to commit to a set amount of time, so the call can be as long or short as you’d like. Capstone teamed up with Mackin to offer young readers the chance for a virtual meeting with author Saadia Faruqi. Winners also received four books and bookmarks to celebrate the hundredth day of school!
Autographed bookmarks or bookplates
Signed bookmarks or bookplates are great, personalized giveaway prizes for marketing campaigns on a budget. Jane Washington gave away a copy of her book with a signed bookplate to members of her Facebook group.
Audiobooks
Offering audiobooks as prizes can help you connect with readers who’d rather listen to a particular story. Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes ran a giveaway for six lucky winners to receive a Google Play audiobook code — all they had to do was retweet and follow!
Sarah Sundin announced on her Facebook page that she’d be running a reader photo contest where five winners would receive the audio version of her new book.
Fun accessories
Sometimes authors give away accessories that are inspired by objects found in their books. Piu DasGupta ran a giveaway to support her book’s launch, with the winner receiving a vintage-style necklace with a gem that resembles a magical stone from her story (and a signed copy of the book, of course!)
Reading accessories or home goods
If you have a bigger marketing budget, or if you form a clever co-marketing partnership, you can give away items that help readers improve their reading experience or enhance their home. Algonquin ran a giveaway where they offered a book bundle, a reading light, a set of colorful glasses, and a bamboo cheese board for readers to host the perfect summer reading party!
Holiday gift bundle
Hosting festive sweepstakes is a great way to get readers in the holiday spirit! A group of romance authors ran a Christmas-themed giveaway of ten seasonal novels.
You can use other holidays, too — Penguin ran a Valentine’s Day–themed giveaway for readers to get an early look at two upcoming releases.
This post was originally published in February 2022, and has been updated with new examples.
