You may remember a few years ago when I participated in SPFBO 2016. I’ve been busy the past few years, so I’ve only paid a little attention to the contest since then, but it’s still going strong. The fourth year just wrapped up, and the next one is upon us. I’m hoping to follow along more closely this time.

Mark Lawrence announced SPFBO 5 will start on July 1, with submissions opening tomorrow morning. The contest format is the same as always: between 250-300 books will be read by 10 different blogs (some of which may have more than one person reading the books), and ultimately one winner will be chosen. It’s a great way to see many different fantasy novels which have been self-published.

I plan to enter the contest again (I previously entered A Flight of Marewings, which was eliminated in the first round) and I also want to read some of the other entries. I wrote reviews of several books in the 2016 contest, and I actually discovered one of my favorite authors that way. They Mostly Come Out at Night was my favorite book that year. I’m always waiting for the next Yarnsworld book from Benedict Patrick.

So if you love fantasy and you want to try out some new self-published authors, watch out for the start of the next SPFBO! There’s sure to be a lot of great fantasy novels you can discover through the contest.