The Hermes Award
Named for the god of travelers and messengers — those who move between worlds without a map, carrying their message alone. Hermes traveled light. No institution behind him. No machinery. Just the message and the road. The indie thriller author knows exactly how that feels.
The Hermes Award is presented annually to the best indie thriller of the year.
This award exists because great thrillers are being written outside the traditional publishing system every year and going unrecognized by every major award. That ends here.
Presented at the Homer Awards gala ceremony, John & George Hotel, Tolo, Argolida, October 22, 2027.
Scoring criteria
· Narrative tension: Does it compel you to keep reading?
· Originality: Does it do something the genre hasn’t seen before?
· Character: Do you believe in the people on the page?
· Reader impact: Will you think about this book a month from now?
Eligibility
Publication
Must be published in English between
October 1, 2025, and October 1, 2026
Indie definition
No Big Five or major independent publisher deal. Small press, hybrid, and fully self-published authors all qualify.
Who nominates
Any Thriller Book Retreat member. Post a verified Amazon review of at least 50 words — that review is the nomination.
How it works
Any Thriller Book Retreat member posts a verified Amazon review of at least 50 words for any qualifying indie thriller. That review is the nomination. No forms. No fees. No permission from the author needed.
Our team checks all nominated titles against eligibility rules. Correctly categorized, published in English within the eligibility window, and no major publisher deal.
Thriller Book Retreat members vote on all eligible nominated titles. The 10 titles with the most votes become the longlist. Longlisted indie authors are contacted personally — many will not know they were nominated.
The elected Reader Voice juror and the Community & Genre Voice read the longlist of 10 and score against four criteria. Results sealed immediately.
The Hermes Award is presented live at the Homer Awards gala ceremony, John & George Hotel, Tolo, Argolida, October 22, 2027.
Key dates
Submissions open October 1, 2026
Submissions close December 31, 2026
Longlist announced February 15, 2027
Shortlist announced
May 1, 2027
Gala ceremony October 22, 2027
About Hermes
Hermes was the messenger of the gods — the only Olympian who could move freely between the world of the living and the world of the dead, between mortals and gods, between worlds that had no other connection.
He was the god of travelers, of boundaries crossed, of things that move between worlds. He was also the god of luck — the unexpected find, the thing you stumble on that changes everything.
The indie thriller author knows exactly how that feels. Writing without a major publisher. Publishing without the machinery. Finding readers one by one, without the weight of a marketing department or a distribution deal behind them.
The Hermes Award exists because those books deserve to be found. And because the readers who find them — and nominate them — are doing exactly what Hermes did. Carrying the message across a boundary it might never have crossed alone.
The artwork
Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo (1719–1795)
Mercury · Detail from The Elevation of the Great Elector into Olympus · 1751 Ceiling painting, Marble Hall, City Palace, Potsdam · Destroyed 1945· Public domain
Hermes — known to the Romans as Mercury — depicted here in flight, carrying his message between worlds. The original ceiling painting was destroyed in 1945. Only details survive.
The Homer Awards use public-domain classical paintings from the Greek tradition to represent each award.
Join the community
The Aphrodite Award is nominated by two communities — Solo Travel to Greece and Thriller Book Retreat. Join either community to nominate your favorite romance set in Greece.