Summer Reading FAQ

How do I sign up?

• Technically, no sign up required, though you do need to be a member of Indie Fantasy Addicts! Just start reading books on June 21, and post your reviews in IFA, and start logging points. You MAY sign up for a team to double your fun. Team signups can be found here.

How long does it go for?

• IFA's Summer Reading Challenge goes from June 21-Sept 21!

How do I find indie fantasy books?

• There are so many ways! First, you can lurk in Indie Fantasy Addicts and watch all the fabulous book reviews rolling in, and see what other people have read and recommend. If you're looking for something specific, you can also ask the group for recommendations! And then, there's the Indie Book Database, which is maintained by two generous volunteers and updated every year.

What genres are allowed?

• These are the subgenres we welcome at IFA:

  • High/Epic Fantasy

  • Sword and Sorcery

  • Dark/Grimdark

  • Portal (second-world settings)

  • Historical

  • Romantic Fantasy/Fantasy Romance (second-world)

  • Modern/Urban (no Paranormal Romance or "man-chest" covers!)

How do I know if a book is indie?

•  We've started up a "Is it Indie" megathread, so you can go here and check the comments to see if anyone has asked about that same book, or leave a comment asking if the book you're looking at is indie and one of our admins will answer. You can also find a handy flowchart at the bottom of this page!

What do I do after I finish reading?

• Two things: 1. Post a review in Indie Fantasy Addicts using the hashtag #SRC2025 and 2. Log your points using the Record Book Points form on the SRC page. Oh, and then of course, celebrate!

What happens if I DNF a book?

• You can still submit the book for points, based on the number of pages you actually read. You do not have to post a review. 

How do I post my reviews?

• Head over to Indie Fantasy Addicts and share your thoughts! Not sure what to write? Check out our review guidelines here.

What else is involved in the SRC?

• So much! Besides reading and reviewing, you can join a team for more camaraderie. You can participate in twice-weekly games hosted by our authors (which are worth 10 points each). You can play our team "sport" each week called Scholar's Scroll & Quill Challenge (not for points, but for glory!). You can watch fun bonus videos to learn more about our authors. You can get weekly updates on how the challenge is going by our stick-figure-drawing-master, Janice.

Who are the admin?

• The IFA admins run Indie Fantasy Addicts in their not-so-spare time! Many of us are authors in the community (plus one dedicated indie fantasy reader!), and we all pour our love right back into the group. You can read more about us here. Oh, and to thank the admins for their tireless work, if you read their books during the SRC, you get an additional 10 points per book!

What is the Adventure Wheel?

• The adventure wheel is a way to expand your reading horizons, and get a chance to win extremely cool prizes. It's also a huge achievement to complete one, and you can read more about it below.

What is Scholar's Scroll & Quill Challenge?

• A new activity for 2025, SS&Q is our "school sport" where you can compete against the other groups. Every Wednesday, a theme will be posted (for example: Book titles that feature fantastical beings or creatures). Your team needs to come up with book recommendations for that week's theme, because on Thursday, the official "Recommendation" thread will be posted, where you and your teammates put those recommendations. Each team will have their own thread that they need to comment under in order to be counted. Each person can only post 1 book title. If more than one team posts the same book as another team, those two books cancel out! So, ideally, coordinate within your team before posting. Each Friday, the commenting will close on the "Recommendation" thread, and numbers will be tallied! The winner will be announced around 4pm PST. Who will win the school year tournament??

What are Featured Reads?

• Each month we highlight 3 books per month which are worth and extra 50 points! (And still 10 more on top of that if they're an admin!) This year we're releasing them all at once for your TBR planning purposes. They can be read at any time during the challenge, or even BEFORE the SRC starts. You can see them all here.

 What if I've already read a Featured Read before SRC starts? Do I miss out on bonus points?

• You do not miss out on bonus points! Featured Reads are a super special exception. Simply re-post your old review (or write a new review if you never posted one), after June 21, and log the points in the form to claim those bonus points!

Do I HAVE to read Featured Reads?

• Nope! If you don't want to read them, you don't have to. If any of them have triggers you do not wish to read, please skip them.

What are the categories this year?

• Sword & Sorcery

• Grimdark/Dark

• High/Epic

• Contemporary/Urban

• Medieval/Historical

• Coming of Age/YA

• Science Fantasy & Progression

• Low Fantasy/Magical Realism

• Cozy Fantasy

• Diverse/BIPOC

• Romantic Fantasy

• Debut Author

How do I know if a book falls into one of those categories?

• Check out our Adventure Wheel page for definitions.

Can I read multiple books by the same author in different categories on my wheel?

• No more than 2 books by the same author per wheel.

How many wheels can I complete?

• As many as you want! Each will earn you an entry into a drawing from the Adventure Prize Hoard.

Are they worth points?

• Nope. Just glory and more chances at winning fancy prizes!

What are the prizes?'

• Our generous authors have donated deluxe goodies to the Adventure Prize Hoard, which will include things like special editions, books with swag, book boxes, and more.

How do I log my Adventure Wheels?

• Go to the Record Adventure Wheel form on the main SRC page.

How many winners will be chosen to pick from the pool?

• We will decide once we close down donations for the prize pool; a small percentage of the total prizes, so that each person who wins gets a good selection to choose from.

Do short stories and novellas count?

• No. Books have to be over 160 pages to count

Do rereads count?

• No, they do not.

How many points do I get?

• One for every 10 pages. A 120 page book is 12 points!

Where do I log points?

• The Point form, which you can find on the main page of the Summer Reading Challenge along with all the other forms you'll need. 

I've done the SRC before, do I really have to read the description on the forms?

• YES! Things change a little every year.

Does Capitalization matter when I put in my name, etc.?

• No! It does not. 

What if I spell my name wrong?

• Please don't, or you will become split and become two people, and then you will have an evil doppelganger to worry about. Oh, and your points won't be together.

How do I figure out how many pages a book is?

• Amazon will list the paperback page count, which is preferred, no matter what format you read it in.

Does it HAVE to be the paperback version?

• Ideally, yes. Please try to use the paperback page count visible on Amazon.

What if I can't find it on Amazon? 

• If you can find the author and ask about word count, you can assume 350 words per page. 

What if it's an Audiobook, and I can't find the paperback page count?

• You can calculate it as 40 pages per hour.

Can I reread books?

• Yes, as long as the reread happens during the SRC.

Will I get points for rereads?

• Half points! We want to encourage you to try new things, but we know that sometimes you need a refresher or want a comfort read!

Do rereads count toward the adventure wheel?

• Alas, they do not. Adventure awaits in the unknown this year.

Can I just edit my previous review or add an extra line? 

• No. A reread requires a completely new review (or a whole new review-length section) if you want to score points. We always notice something new on a reread, so tell us all about it!

What if I've already read the featured reads? Do I need to write a new review?

• This is the one exception. If you already read the Featured Reads, even if it wasn't during the SRC, you can post your old review and claim all the juicy points!

What if I'm rereading an admin book?

• You still get half points, but you still get the full 10 bonus points!

Where can I find the form?

• The Bonus Point form is on the main page of the Summer Reading Challenge along with all the other forms you'll need. 

Is the form editable? 

• YES! In fact, editing your form is the best way to keep track of what games and activities you have or haven't done. 

How do I edit? 

• You can follow the link in your email! Please make sure to add it to your bookmarked or favorited emails when it arrives!

What happens if I lose the link? 

• You can just submit a new form with the bonus points GOING FORWARD. You should not check off the ones you already did. The forms will add it all up for you, but won't know how to check for duplicates, and your admin are too underpaid to do it manually unless you ask very nicely.

Can I just submit a new form every week? 

• YES, but only for the games you've done SINCE your last submission. See above about the forms not liking duplicates.

Where do I find the games? 

• You can find the games on the Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook Group, and also here!

Do I have to play a game the day it posts? 

• NO. Any time during the challenge is fine.

What is Little Stack?

• It's a platform that helps authors gain visibility. This year, you can follow one author on there a week for bonus points!

Can I just follow 13 authors in the first week? 

• Yes, but you only get points for 1 per week. We love and encourage the enthusiasm, but you can only claim your points once a week!

What if I don't want to follow authors or play games? 

• That's ok! We are all here for the books, after all. 

Will there be a leaderboard showing me live rankings of my points?

• Nope! We have changed our points reporting and therefore the ranking system.

Without a leaderboard, how will I know if I'm winning?

• Just like at school, you won't know your final grade until the end of the term. But don't worry, we faculty are on it. We will post regular updates!

How will I know if there's an error? 

• Check your email! Every time you submit a book, you will get an email with all the information you input, so you can make sure everything was done right, and edit if needed.

How will I know if someone is cheating? 

• Don't worry, the admin are on it. If you suspect evildoing, please report it here (and not via DM to the Admin)

Is it worth playing if I'm not at the top? 

• YES everyone is getting access to the same number of book prizes this year. The top of the class (top 10%) will get bonus swag prizes, but books will be distributed evenly!

When will the rankings be posted? 

• Sunday evenings by Allegra

When will we get to choose our prizes?

• After the SRC ends. The higher you score, the earlier you get to choose, but everyone gets the same amount.

What are the prizes?

• Our awesome authors generously donate tons of signed books, ebooks, audiobooks, swag, and more! This general prize pool is what everyone gets to choose from at the end of the summer. You get access to it in waves, going in order of points ranking. Everyone who participates will be eligible for the same amount of prizes.

• Reach the top 10% of the points roster and you get first pick of the SRC Prize Pool, plus a cool physical prize from the admin team.

• EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. who participates in the SRC is entered into a random drawing for our Fantastic Prize Collection! Those who win will get to choose from special editions, hardcovers, and more!

• Anyone who completes an Adventure Wheel gets entered into a random drawing for the Adventure Prize Hoard! Those who win will get to choose from a collection as glorious as a dragon's hoard: special editions, hardcovers, book boxes, and more!

• Join a team and at the end of the summer, team captains will announce the top participants (engaged, best reviews, best book recs, etc.) to win an IFA swag prize.

• Become part of a story. Another prize available to Every Single Person who enters the SRC is Tuckerization! A small pool of authors has volunteered to write you/a character you create together into their story! We'll select the winner(s) at random and you'll work with the author to craft this experience.

How will we get our prizes?

• Authors will promptly send out prizes once everyone eligible has chosen theirs (if not sooner)