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Book Review Contest Rules 2026

2026-02-20 · 12:41 UTC ·Astral Codex Ten ·4 min read

Brief

Astral Codex Ten’s Feb. 20, 2026 post sets the rules for its biennial book review contest and emphasizes a mostly blind evaluation process. Entrants are asked to submit a single book review through a Google Form containing their name, email, book title, and a link to a Google Doc prepared exactly as it would appear if published as a finalist. To reduce favoritism, Scott Alexander says the Doc itself should not include the author’s name or clear identity signals, though ordinary personal references are acceptable if they would not reveal the entrant to the average reader. While there is no mandated format, he points contestants to previous ACX finalists and his own reviews as models, noting that successful entries have often run 2,000-10,000 words and historically skew nonfiction and technical. He also signals possible limited preference for underrepresented categories like fiction, poetry, and pre-1900 works, capped at no more than 25% of finalist slots.

Why it matters

Astral Codex Ten announced its 2026 book review contest, with submissions due May 20, 2026 and only book reviews allowed because even-numbered years are reserved for books.

Key details

  • Entrants may submit one review per person or team via a Google Form linking to a Google Doc; the Doc must be readable by "Anyone with the link" or it may be disqualified.
  • Reviews have no formal word-count limit, but past finalists and winners were typically 2,000-10,000 words, and submissions should omit names or obvious identity clues to preserve blind judging.
  • The contest timeline is readers selecting about 10 finalists in spring 2026, one finalist posted per week over the summer, and winner voting in late summer or early fall.
  • Prizes start at at least $2,500 for first place, $1,000 for second, and $500 for third, plus publicity, free ACX subscriptions, blog sidebar links, and the chance for winners to pitch future articles; up to 25% of finalist slots may be reallocated toward nontraditional categories such as fiction, poetry, or pre-1900 books.
Cleaned source text

title: Book Review Contest Rules 2026

author: Astral Codex Ten

content_type: newsletter

publication: substack.com

published: 2026-02-20T12:41:34+00:00

source_url: gmail://19c7b1225266b548

word_count: 838

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Book Review Contest Rules 2026

Feb 20

READ IN APP

It’s that time again. Even numbered years are book reviews, odd-numbered years are non-book reviews, so you’re limited to books for now.

Write a review of a book. There’s no official word count requirement, but previous finalists and winners were often between 2,000 and 10,000 words. There’s no official recommended style, but check the style of last time’s finalists and winners or my ACX book reviews (1, 2, 3) if you need inspiration. Please limit yourself to one entry per person or team.

Then send me your review through this Google Form. The form will ask for your name, email, the title of the book, and a link to a Google Doc. The Google Doc should have your review exactly as you want me to post it if you’re a finalist. _Don ’t include your name or any hint about your identity in the Google Doc itself, only in the form._ I want to make this contest as blinded as possible, so I’m going to hide that column in the form immediately and try to judge your docs on their merit.

(does this mean you can’t say something like “This book about war reminded me of my own experiences as a soldier” because that gives a hint about your identity? My rule of thumb is that if I don’t know who you are, and the average ACX reader doesn’t know who you are, you’re fine. I just want to prevent my friends or Internet semi-famous people from getting an advantage. If you’re in one of those categories and think your personal experience would give it away, please don’t write about your personal experience.)

Please make sure the Google Doc is unlocked and I can read it. By default, nobody can read Google Docs except the original author. You’ll have to go to Share, then on the bottom of the popup click on “Restricted” and change to “Anyone with the link”. If you send me a document I can’t read, I will probably disqualify you, sorry.

Readers will vote for the ~10 finalists this spring, I’ll post one finalist per week through the summer, and then readers will vote for winners in late summer/early fall. First prize will get at least $2,500, second prize at least $1,000, third prize at least $500; I might increase these numbers later on. All winners and finalists will get free publicity (including links to any other works they want me to link to), free ACX subscriptions, and sidebar links to their blog. And all winners will get the right to pitch me new articles if they want (sample posts by Lars, Brandon, Daniel, etc).

In past years, most reviews have been nonfiction on technical topics. Depending on whether that’s still true, I might do some mild affirmative action for reviews in nontraditional categories - fiction, poetry, and books from before 1900 are the ones I can think of right now, but feel free to try other nontraditional books. I won’t be redistributing more than 25% of finalist slots this way.

Your due date is May 20th. Good luck! If you have any questions, ask them in the comments. And remember, the form for submitting entries is here.

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