[citation needed] The IPPY Awards are open to authors and publishers worldwide who produce books written in English and intended for the North American market.

According to the IPPY website, the awards 'reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing.

In 2017 the contest drew over 5,000 entries, and medals were awarded to authors and publishers from 43 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces and 15 countries.

The outstanding medalists are chosen for exemplifying 'daring spirit' with a book that is 'the most heartfelt, unique, outspoken and experimental among all entries.

Among the fiction gold medalists was Elena Ferrante's The Story of the Lost Child, originally published in Italy and issued in English by Europa.

Juan Felipe Herrera, the United States Poet Laureate, won an IPPY gold medal in 2005 for Featherless (Desplumado).

General Categories:[11] E-Book Categories Regional Categories (Awards for "Best Fiction" and "Best Non-Fiction" in each region) The IPPY Awards were criticized by Writer Beware, an advocacy website sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), which stated that it was one of several profiteer awards run by the Jenkins Group and that 'even among profiteers, however, Jenkins is unusual in the amount of extra merchandise it hawks to winners.