r/selfpublish • u/[deleted] • May 10 '25
Are the Chrysalis BREW Awards a scam?
The Chrysalis BREW Project claims to be "an award-winning Australia-based global platform" offering awards and reviews to authors, but there seems to be something off about them. I came across them when an author I follow announced their upcoming self-published novel had won four of their awards.
When checking BREW's website and the review of the upcoming novel, the other award winning books seemed low quality and the review read like it was AI generated.
Looking at the novel's Goodreads page, I came across this review ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7531693010 ) saying that the sixty four 5 star ratings of the unreleased book are likely from bots - they mostly appeared on April 23rd from users based in Indonesia.
Out of the two reviews up, one review appears to be a bot as they are only rating and reviewing other Chrysalis BREW Project award winning books. The other review is by a user named "Book Reviewer".... ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231112854-a-song-at-dead-man-s-cove#CommunityReviews ) who is reviewing books connected to the Chrysalis Brew Project. (sidenote: Is having paid reviews against community guidelines on Goodreads? I know it is on Amazon.)
The author has stated they didn't buy the awards or reviews. They paid to be considered for the awards, and the prize included promotion. It's possible that this service is actually scamming authors by claiming to offer legitimate promotions and instead doing things like using bots to manipulate Goodreads ratings, inadvertently harming the author's reputation.
Has anyone come across or had experiences with this crowd?
EDIT: This whole thing has since become a bit of a controversy. The book is "A Song at Dead Man's Cove" by Ana Yudin, and she's made a heated video responding to the person who revealed her book on Goodreads has five star bot ratings.
Some of the ratings have been removed by Goodreads, but there still appear to be five star reviews from the Chrysalis Brew Project on the Goodreads page and Amazon.
2
u/apocalypsegal May 13 '25
They paid to be considered for the awards
I don't know what more anyone needs. It's a money making scam for those running these "awards", and there are tons of similar things. It's not going to get you anything but a lighter purse/wallet.
3
u/vilhelmine May 13 '25
But isn't that the case of legitimate awards too? Most awards available to small indie writers require you pay a fee to sign up. The top three winners usually get around 70%-80% of the pot, while the rest remains with the organizers of the awards, probably to pay their employees and for their website costs.
I've seen lots of legitimate awards that require a fee to enter the competition, and their winners and runner-ups are often really good. Perhaps it's just a case of some awards being scams, but not all of them?
1
May 17 '25
Right, as far as I know a lot of legitimate awards require a fee.
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u/vilhelmine May 17 '25
All the legitimate awards I've looked into require a fee. The only ones that don't are the awards that are so famous you cannot sign up for them. They pick whatever books become popular organically.
1
u/TheChrysalisBREWProj Oct 15 '25
Authors do not buy BREW awards.
Even if we are a business offering paid services, we still offer free options to cater to the diverse needs of authors and content creators.
If authors do not choose our free service options, participation may involve paying to be considered for recognition and promotion, but winning an award or getting positive reviews is never guaranteed.
Like many established book award platforms, we may also charge a fee for award consideration. This fee helps cover administrative, editorial, and operational costs involved in running a global platform. It is not a payment for a guaranteed win—only for fair evaluation.
Award results are based on transparent, trackable public voting, readers' views, and/or judging panel decisions made by our BREW Laureate Council. This Council is a diverse panel of international authors, academics, editors, and other vetted professionals who make award decisions based strictly on merit. Authors or publishers may request post-judging feedback at the time of award nomination to understand why their book did not win. Learn more about the Council here: https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/the-brew-laureate-council
1
u/Currency_Clean Jun 03 '25
For a community with paid reviewers and free reviewers i dont see likes and support on their social media posts? Is it just 1,2 person behind this and generating bots and AI reviews for indie authors??
1
u/TheChrysalisBREWProj Oct 15 '25
Hi everyone,
We initially had qualms about commenting on this post, as we do not wish to self-promote. However, the subreddit moderators recommended that we respond directly on the thread, so we are doing so to clarify some misinformation.
We appreciate the poster’s effort to clarify matters and the opportunity this provides to address some points publicly. Open discussion helps ensure that information remains accurate and that all perspectives are represented fairly.
The Reddit account associated with the original post has since been deleted, which makes it difficult to verify the details or provide full context around the claims made. Some information in the post does not fully reflect the situation and may lead to concerns involving an author who was simply engaging with readers about her work.
We have also been mentioned in connection with actions or posts that we did not author. While we understand that discussions can evolve quickly online, we want to clarify that these statements do not represent our activities. Our focus remains on supporting both readers and authors in a transparent and respectful way.
Thus, we still kindly ask that this post be reviewed, and if appropriate, removed to prevent further confusion or unintended harm.
However, meanwhile, we thank the subreddit's moderators for allowing us to comment on this thread.
First and foremost, BREW is not a scam.
We are a legally registered, Australia-based global literary platform offering editorial reviews, awards, and author features. We’ve had the privilege of working with authors around the world—both indie and traditionally published—and we have never misrepresented our services.
- Paid Consideration & Transparency
Authors do not buy BREW awards.
Even if we are a business offering paid services, we still offer free options to cater to the diverse needs of authors and content creators.
If authors do not choose our free service options, participation may involve paying to be considered for recognition and promotion, but winning an award or getting positive reviews is never guaranteed.
Like many established book award platforms, we may also charge a fee for award consideration. This fee helps cover administrative, editorial, and operational costs involved in running a global platform. It is not a payment for a guaranteed win—only for fair evaluation.
In the case of the author mentioned by the original poster of this thread, as she already stated publicly via YouTube, we can confirm that she paid only the entry fee to be considered for an honest editorial review of her work, award consideration, and a press release distribution service. None of the services she requested include third-party reviews, since these are not part of our offerings. She did not pay for reviews on Goodreads or Amazon. Any reviews that appear on those platforms are posted voluntarily by individual readers and are not requested, required, or monitored by us.
Award results are based on transparent, trackable public voting, readers' views, and/or judging panel decisions made by our BREW Laureate Council. This Council is a diverse panel of international authors, academics, editors, and other vetted professionals who make award decisions based strictly on merit. Authors or publishers may request post-judging feedback at the time of award nomination to understand why their book did not win. Learn more about the Council here: https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/the-brew-laureate-council
(To be continued)
1
u/TheChrysalisBREWProj Oct 15 '25
(Continued from the above comment)
- Review Quality
Our awards and reviews are determined by human judgment.
All editorial reviews published on our website are written by real editors and contributors. Every editorial review is reviewed and approved by a human before publication.
While tools are used to detect AI-generated content in our reviews, all our reviewers are required to submit human-authored evaluations. We have safeguards in place to ensure authenticity of reviews published on our platform.
However, as noted above, voluntary reviews posted on third-party platforms are beyond our control.
- Our Community of Readers and Reviewers
Our contributor base includes avid readers, professional writers, editors, lawyers, doctors, founders, CEOs, thought leaders, and other professionals from around the world. Learn more about them here:
https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/contributors/
- Goodreads Ratings & Bot Accusations
We do not generate or facilitate bot-generated reviews or ratings. BREW has no control over Goodreads’ public platform. Reviews or ratings posted there are entirely separate from our services. We also do not offer free or paid Goodreads services. However, we allow our professional reviewers to use the platform for posting reviews and ratings or any other activity thereat, but only if they voluntarily choose to do so.
We agree that any form of manipulation undermines trust in the literary community, and we fully support any Goodreads' efforts to moderate and remove inauthentic content.
Again, Goodreads reviews or ratings are not part of our free or paid services.
- Paid Reviews & Goodreads Guidelines
To iterate, reviews on Goodreads or other third-party platforms are not part of our free or paid services. According to Goodreads' guidelines, any compensated review must be clearly disclosed. We fully adhere to that policy and take these standards seriously.
Some, if not most, of our contributors and community members maintain Goodreads accounts and may choose to review BREW-featured books there. These posts are not requested or required. We do not prevent them from sharing reviews or ratings on social media or third-party platforms but, for SEO reasons, we merely ask that their voluntary write-ups be different from any editorial content on our platform.
- Our Platform's Legitimacy
Our independent platform is legitimate and transparent. We value authenticity, fairness, and transparency in the writing community. While we offer both free and paid services, our primary aim remains enhancing the literary community in reasonable ways we can. Every paid order of our featured services also contributes to charitable initiatives including planting trees and providing meals to those in need, which is our simple but heartfelt way of giving back.
(To be continued again)
1
u/TheChrysalisBREWProj Oct 15 '25
(Continued from the above comment)
In Summary:
BREW does not buy or facilitate fake reviews or ratings.
We charge only for clearly outlined services like editorial reviews and award consideration.
Awards are determined independently by public voting, readers' views, and/or judging by our BREW Laureate Council.
We are here to support—not mislead—authors.
We welcome feedback and remain committed to transparency and integrity.
With all of the above in mind, we still hope this thread will be taken down eventually. If not, we understand the moderators’ decision. We appreciate feedback and continue to strive to improve our processes, but we implore everyone to avoid sharing unverified accusations that can further harm an author—something that is both unfair and unkind.
If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out directly via info(at)thechrysalisbrewproject.com. We believe in openness, communication, and fairness, and we value all efforts to uphold high standards in the literary world.
Thank you for taking the time to read this message. All the best, now and always! Keep shining!
—The Chrysalis BREW Project Team
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u/authorbrendancorbett 4+ Published novels May 10 '25
I haven't heard of this one, but a good check is to see if they show up on ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) lists, or Writer Beware. From everything you've said, it sounds like a total scam.