FAQs

Find answers to frequently asked questions here! If you need more help, contact BookishFirstHelp@bookish.com.

Please be advised some publishers are currently experiencing shipping delays. Check the "Shipping Information" topic in the Forum for the most up-to-date shipping estimates.

1. What is BookishFirst?

BookishFirst is a unique book reviewing community for the US, which offers:
- A first look at new books before they’re published.
- A chance to share and compare opinions of those books with fellow readers.
- Free books!
- Additional reward points to be exchanged for even more free books.
Every week we feature new books on our homepage that you can win in a raffle. If you do win a copy, we ask that you write and share a review – and the more times you share, the more reward points you earn towards claiming other free books.

2. Who can use BookishFirst?

BookishFirst is open to anyone 18 years old or over who is a resident of the United States. We can only send prizes and free books (print and ebook) to mailing addresses in the US.

3. Can I use BookishFirst if I am outside of the US?

We welcome readers from anywhere in the world to browse BookishFirst to find out about new books and read excerpts. But we can only send prizes and free books to mailing addresses in the United States.

4. How can I win books?

Every week we feature a book (or several books) on our homepage that you can win in a raffle. To enter the raffle, you need to click on a book, read the excerpt (a “First Look”) and write a short blurb based on what you thought about the excerpt (a “First Impression”). You’ll then be automatically entered into the raffle for that book. Please note that if your First Impression is not based on the excerpt of the book provided, your First Impression may be removed and the points earned will be revoked.

You’ll also need to have registered with BookishFirst and completed your mailing address information so that we can send you the book if you win. Double-check that your mailing address is up-to-date before you enter a raffle. Please note that if you provide a P.O. Box address you might be excluded from winning a particular raffle due to how publishers are able to ship (this includes raffle entries and book claims). Once you have been selected as a winner, we cannot ask a publisher to replace a book sent to an incorrect address. Please note: BookishFirst and the publisher are unable to guarantee the condition of books on arrival due to the shipping process. You may request a replacement book only if the delivered book is un-readable.

All winners will be notified by email, shortly after we draw the winners each Tuesday.

5. How and when will I receive the books I’ve won?

Please be advised some publishers are currently experiencing shipping delays. Check the "Shipping Information" topic in the Forum for the most up-to-date shipping estimates.

After the raffle ends and we've drawn the winners, we provide the publisher with the names and addresses of the winners. Please keep in mind that the book will be shipped directly from the publisher, once it is available to send. Sometimes it can take a little longer due to shipping delays or book availability issues. Please reference the Estimated Ship Date of the book in your winner email and if you have not received your book 14 days after the Estimated Ship Date, please email BookishFirstHelp@bookish.com. Also, please note that we cannot provide assistance on tracking or replacing books once 2 months have passed since the Estimated Ship Date.

Please ensure that your mailing address is up-to-date before you enter a raffle. Once you have been selected as a winner, we cannot ask a publisher to replace a book sent to an incorrect address.

Occasionally some publishers offer ebooks of hardcovers or paperbacks, or give you a choice of formats – this will be clearly indicated underneath the book on the Homepage and Books page. If you do choose to receive an ebook format, the publisher will email you with details on how to download the copy you have won. Publishers who provide ebooks ask us to remind you that the ebook files are for you as the winner only and should not be copied or circulated to other people.

6. Do I need to review the books I win?

Yes, please! In exchange for sending you free pre-publication books, we ask that you review the book on bookishfirst.com within three weeks of receiving your copy. As an extra incentive, you’ll receive 100 reward points for each review. You’ll also receive an additional 100 points each time you share a review on another book site (such as Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and Google Play).

7. What can I do with my points?

Exchange them for more books! On BookishFirst it’s easy to accumulate reward points by submitting First Impressions and by writing and sharing your full Reviews. Once you’ve collected 2000 points (we’ll email you when you do!), you can exchange them for the book of your choice from the current raffle. Simply click the green "Claim this book with your points!" button on that book’s page and the book is yours – without needing to write a First Impression or enter the raffle. If you don’t want any of the books in the current raffle, just wait for the next weekly raffle with a book you like and redeem your points then.

You can check how many points you have and how close you are to a free book on the My Profile page.

*Please note that if there are multiple books in a current raffle, readers can use their points to claim only one of those books and will not be eligible to win any other books in the current raffle. Also, there is a cap on the number of book claims available for each book (to be fair to everyone trying to enter the raffle). Once the cap has been reached, the "Get it now" button will appear gray and a message will appear that there are no books left to claim. Tip: If you would like to use your points to claim another book in a future raffle, we'd suggest doing so early in the week (Monday/Tuesdays are best) before the cap may be reached.

8. How do I earn points?

It’s easy to accumulate points in lots of different ways on BookishFirst:
- 500 points for joining BookishFirst.
- 100 points for each First Impression you write.
- 100 points for each Review you write (within three months of publication).
- 100 points for each time you post a review on another book site, such as Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Google Play Books (within three months of publication).
- 300 points for posting a review to Amazon up to seven days after publication.
- 100 points for earning the Top Review Award (chosen monthly by the BookishFirst Team. If your review is chosen, you will be notified via email and your review will be featured in the BookishFirst Forum).
- 100 points for referring a friend to BookishFirst, when they sign up using your referral code and then activate their account.
-Additional opportunities to earn points may occur in the BookishFirst Forum.

We’ll email you when you have enough reward points (2000) to claim a free book.

We’re delighted if you share your review on other book-related websites such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play Books, and other book retailers; Goodreads and other book review sites; book blogs; and other reputable book sites. You’ll earn 100 points for each shared review.

It’s easy: just press the "Share Your Review" button on the book’s page. Follow the instructions to copy your review to other sites (we’ve included quick links to some common book sites, and/or you can add your own) and, once we’ve checked the link to your review, we’ll credit the points to your account. Click here for a step-by-step guide.

Please make sure that your link points directly to your review on the book site (and not just to the homepage), so we can verify it quickly. If no direct link to your review is possible, please link to the general book or review page or whichever page will make it easiest to find your review. For the most common sites (such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads), we give you quick links to the right pages once you click the “Share Your Review” button.

Note: Points for reviews and sharing reviews are not awarded for books that were published over three months ago, since we want to reward readers who write and share a review before or shortly after publication of the book.

We’ll give you BONUS points for linking your review within seven days following publication day to Amazon – a whopping 300 points!

For most book sites you’ll be able to post your review just as soon as you’ve read your free copy - even before the publication date. But on Amazon, your review must be posted on the day of publication, or as soon after that as you can, so that other readers have the benefit of your opinion just as soon as the book is available. You’ll be rewarded with TRIPLE the usual points!

To help you remember the publication day so you don’t miss out on BONUS points, we’ll send you an email reminder. And we’ll also put a reminder at the right time on the My Reminders page of MY POINTS. You’ll then have two days to post your review to Amazon.com to claim the BONUS points.

11. Can I invite my friends to join BookishFirst?

Yes! You can invite your friends and followers to join BookishFirst...and you'll both earn points! Look for your personal Referral Code in your Points Awarded section of your Profile. Click the Referral Code button to generate an email, or copy the code to share online. When someone new joins BookishFirst using your referral code, you'll each get 100 points!

12. My friend sent me a Referral Code to join BookishFirst. How do I use it?

To use the Referral Code, just go to BookishFirst.com, click Sign Up, and paste the code into the Referral field of the registration form. Once you activate your account, you will both immediately earn 100 points!

13. Where can I see which books are available to win?

Books that are available to win in the current raffle are shown at the top of our homepage. Raffles begin every Monday with new books, and you have until the end of the following Monday (11:59pm ET) to enter. There’s also a countdown on the homepage and on each book’s own page to show how long you have left to enter the raffle.

Make sure to sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know which books are in the upcoming raffle!

Books that will be in an upcoming raffle are shown at the bottom of the homepage and on the Books page, with a countdown.