CALIBA presents the 2026 Golden Poppy Awards in recognition of the most distinguished books written and illustrated by creators who have made California their home.

Committees for each category are made up of booksellers throughout the state tasked with developing a list of five finalists and one winner.

Eligible Titles Must

• Have a publication date between Nov. 16th, 2025-Nov. 15th, 2026 
• Be available for resale through traditional wholesale channels, fully returnable, and at standard industry discounts. 
• The author/illustrator must live in California during the writing/illustrating process but does not need to be a resident at the time of publication/consideration. 
• In the non-fiction categories, work primarily focused on the State of California written by non-residents will be considered. The non-fiction committee will have final approval of these submissions.
• Books by authors who have won in the same category within the last two years would not be eligible for a Golden Poppy in the current year.
• We support human created work. Applicants will be asked to attest that their submission was not created by AI. To learn more, visit CALIBA's AI Policy webpage.

2026 Timeline for Submissions

Beginning today, January 20th, publishers are welcome to complete the submission form for eligible titles. Once the CALIBA office verifies eligibility, they will provide publishers with committee lists. Review copies should be submitted as early as possible upon receipt of committee lists.

Don't wait! The earlier review copies are received,

the more time committees have to review.

We suggest that publishers send review copies by:

February 28th - Winter/Spring Titles Deadline

April 30th - Summer Titles Deadline

June 19th - Fall Titles/Final Submission Deadline

Click here for more details.

Final submission forms must be submitted by June 19th, 2026 at 5PM PT. The office will not process titles submitted after this date. Judges are not obligated to consider review copies that arrive after July 10th. 

In the event of a dispute regarding eligibility, CALIBA will decide whether a book is eligible, and its decision will be binding.