Why a contest, not an algorithm
Most platforms decide who gets seen with a recommendation engine nobody can audit. Season One is the opposite: real curators and real audiences vote, in public, on a fixed schedule — and the result is a live event, not a silent ranking change.
Multi-stage, not a single vote
Each contest runs across multiple stages — a Qualifying Round, Semifinals, and a live Finals — so fans have repeated reasons to come back across the whole run, not just once. Some stages are a straight vote, where the top vote-getters advance; others are head-to-head, bracket-style matchups where fans vote on each pairing and the loser is eliminated. A single contest can mix both formats across its stages.
A loss isn't a dead end
When an entry is eliminated, everyone who voted for it gets a prompt to keep supporting that creator — send them a consolation message they'll actually read, share their storefront with friends, or go buy their other work. The fans who believed in a creator stay engaged with that creator, win or lose.
Eliminated entrants are automatically paired as mentors to whoever beat them. A mentor who submits real, substantive feedback to the entry they mentor earns a credited role on that entry's page — and if that entry goes on to win, a share of the prize (see below). Losing isn't the end of your stake in the contest.
Real prize money
Winners are paid from the ecosystem fund — the same 10% of every sale that funds discovery boosts and network marketing — credited into their IndieStarlight wallet once staff finalize the contest after voting closes. Real dollars, not points. More on the wallet →
Up to 10% of the prize is set aside for the winner's mentors — the eliminated entrants who gave them real, substantive critique along the way (see above) — split evenly among however many actually did. If nobody mentored the winner, that 10% stays with the winner instead.
The Season One timeline
Three tracks, three nights
Best Independent Book
Small-press and self-published work, judged across multiple stages by curators and the audience — see how it works above.
Best Independent Track
Judged across multiple stages by curators and the audience — see how it works above.
Best Independent Film
Short and feature-length film, judged across multiple stages by curators and the audience — see how it works above.
Each contest runs two months from the day its medium goes live. Full rules and submission requirements publish before each window opens — starting with Books on October 1, 2026.
Sponsor the biggest nights of our first year
A small number of launch-event sponsorships are open across the Books, Music, and Film contests and their live winner-announcement nights.