Last Updated on August 17, 2026

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We will not give any information about you to others without your express permission. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information National Indie Excellence® Awards (“NIEA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, how we use and share it, and the choices you have.

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1. Who We Are

National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) is operated by SMARKETING, LLC. This Privacy Policy applies to indieexcellence.com, our online store at store.indieexcellence.com, our contest entry process, our Speakers Bureau, and any other services we offer under the NIEA name (collectively, the “Services”).

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2. Information We Collect

• Contest entry information: your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, book title(s), author name, category selections, uploaded book cover image, and, for eBook entries, the uploaded book file.

• AI-use disclosure: whether you used AI tools in creating your submitted work, and any description you provide of that use, collected as part of the entry process.

• Payment information: processed through our third-party payment processors (currently PayPal and Stripe, and our online store's payment provider). We do not store full credit card numbers on our own servers.

• Speakers Bureau information: if you opt in, the bio, photo, and contact or booking information you provide, which may be published publicly on our website.

• Newsletter and communications: your email address, if you subscribe to contest updates or our newsletter.

• Website usage information: IP address, browser type, device information, and similar technical data collected automatically, including through cookies and similar technologies (see Section 5).

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3. How We Use Your Information

• To process and administer your contest entry, including sharing relevant entry information — including your AI-use disclosure — with our jurors, solely for evaluation purposes.

• To notify you about your entry status, judging results, and contest deadlines.

• To fulfill orders for award medals, certificates, seals, and merchandise.

• To feature Winners and Finalists (name, book title, category, and cover image) on our website, in press releases, and on social media.

• To maintain and display your Speakers Bureau listing, if you opt in.

• To send newsletters or contest updates, if you subscribe.

• To improve our Services, and to detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, or violations of our Rules & Guidelines.

 

4. How We Share Your Information

• With jurors, solely for the purpose of evaluating your entry. Judges' identities are not published.

• With third-party service providers who help us operate the Services, such as payment processors, our email/newsletter platform, and website hosting.

• Publicly, if you are named a Winner or Finalist — your name, book title, and category are published as part of the contest results — or if you opt into the Speakers Bureau.

• With sponsors, only in connection with a Sponsorship Award or Juror's Choice Award prize you have been selected to receive.

• We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own independent marketing purposes without your express permission.

• We may disclose information where required by law, or where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, comply with legal process, or protect the safety of any person.

 

5. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our site may use cookies and similar technologies (such as pixels or web beacons) to recognize your browser or device, remember preferences, and measure the effectiveness of our content and any advertising. We may also use third-party analytics or advertising companies that use these technologies on our behalf; information collected this way is used in aggregate and is not used to personally identify you outside of preventing fraud or abuse.

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6. Data Retention

We retain entry, order, and account information for as long as needed to administer the current contest cycle, fulfill orders, respond to inquiries, and meet our legal and recordkeeping obligations. When information is no longer needed for these purposes, we delete or anonymize it, except where we are required to keep it longer by law or to resolve a dispute.

 

7. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of the personal information we hold about you, or to ask us to stop using it for certain purposes. To make a request, contact us at support@indieexcellence.com. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

 

8. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

NIEA is based in California. If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives you additional rights, including:

• The right to know what categories of personal information we've collected about you and how we've used and shared it.

• The right to request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions (for example, information we need to retain for legal or recordkeeping purposes).

• The right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. NIEA does not sell personal information.

• The right to not be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights.

The categories of personal information we collect are described in Section 2 above and generally fall under identifiers (name, email, phone, address), commercial information (purchase and entry history), and, if you choose to disclose it, information about your creative process (your AI-use disclosure). To exercise any California privacy right, contact us at support@indieexcellence.com.

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9. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children, and entrants must be at least 18 years old (see our Terms of Service). We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.

 

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. The most current version will always be posted on this page, with its effective date noted above.

 

11. Contact Us

National Indie Excellence® Awards c/o SMARKETING, LLC

703 Pier Ave, Suite B-684, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

support@indieexcellence.com