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KDP Categories

Categories are the sections of the Amazon site where customers can find your book. Think of browse categories like the sections of a physical bookstore (fiction, history, and so on). During title setup, you'll choose two Browse Categories from a list. This list is based on the BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) code. We use the two categories you choose, along with your selected keywords, to place your book into Amazon categories. We reserve the right to change the browse categories of a book at any time to ensure a positive customer experience. Learn more about categories including how to choose, view, and update them below.


Contents


Choosing categories


Book categories are intended to offer readers the highest-quality search results to make purchase decisions. To make it easier for readers to find you and your book, we recommend that you:

  • Choose accurate categories. Choosing categories that accurately describe your book's central topic or storyline helps readers find your book where they expect it to be. Do not choose one category that's explicitly fiction and another that's explicitly nonfiction, or mix categories such as Fiction, Nonfiction, and Comics. For example, if you publish a werewolf romance book, choose “Romance > Fantasy" as a category instead of "Nature > Animals > Wolves."
  • Add fewer categories. Being selective with specific categories helps readers find your book in their area of interest. Our analysis of customer activity shows that having more than a few categories decreases the relevancy of those categories and does not improve discoverability. For example, if you publish a historical travel journal from a famous traveler, choose "Essays & Travelogues" as a category instead of "History > World."
  • Focus on subcategories. Categories typically contain subcategories. For example, the History category has subcategories such as United States and 19th Century. We automatically display your book in the top-level categories when you select a subcategory. Therefore a book in the “History > United States > 19th Century" subcategory will also show up in searches for general history and United States history.
  • Give your categories time to perform. After you choose categories for your book, we recommend limiting changes to allow time for your book to gain momentum with readers. If you frequently change your categories, historical customer activity for your book may be recalculated based on your new categories, which could impact your sales rank.

We do not tolerate inaccurate or unexpected categorization that misleads or manipulates our customers. Your book categories must comply with our Content Guidelines.

To ask questions and learn from other KDP authors, visit our KDP Community.

Add or Update Categories


During the title setup, you can select the two most accurate categories. We will then add your book to all relevant categories on the Amazon Store after it is published. This means the categories you add during title setup and the categories shown online won’t necessarily match.

To add or update categories:
  1. Go to your Bookshelf, and click the elipses (...) button under the KINDLE EBOOK ACTIONS, PAPERBACK ACTIONS, or HARDCOVER ACTIONS menu next to your book.
  2. Choose Edit eBook Details, Edit Paperback Details, or Edit Hardcover Details.
  3. Under the Categories section, click Choose Categories (print book) or Set Categories (eBook).
  4. Select the two most relevant categories for your book.

Check our Timelines help page to learn more about how long does it takes for changes to appear.

Note: Companion books, also referred to as summaries, study guides, or analysis books, can't be added to any category outside of the Study Aid category on Amazon. See Companion guides to learn more about companion books.


Adding children's or teen and young adult categories


Age range is an optional field you can add to make it easier for young readers to find your books. The Amazon Store filters books by age, so adding this information improves the discoverability of books in these categories.

To list your book in the Children or Teen & Young Adult category, you should choose at least one Juvenile Category (BISAC Subject Code).

Children's Categories:


  • Set the minimum recommended reading age from 0 to 11 years old.

Teen & Young Adult:


  • Set the minimum recommended reading age from 13 to 17 years old.
  • For Amazon.de, set the minimum recommended reading age from 12 to 15 years old.


Teen & Young Adult categories and Children categories cannot be added together to the same book. We recommend choosing the youngest age a reader could be to enjoy the book.

Note: On Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, titles with a Juvenile Category and a minimum recommended age of 12 may be categorized in Children’s or Teens. This depends on other information about the book. Keep in mind that an independent category will show for Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.es, and Amazon.it.

See Entering Age and Grade Ranges to learn which age grade is appropriate for your book’s audience.


Adding Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels


The Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels category is reserved for fiction or nonfiction books of sequential art, an illustrated storytelling medium in which adjacent images, or a combination of images with text, are used to make the narrative.

The Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels category should not be used:
  • For an illustrated book unless it is a fixed layout comic format book.
  • In addition to another book category. Example: Literature & Fiction with a Comic category.

View Amazon categories


To see the existing Amazon categories, go to the Amazon store and search for books in the menu at the top of the page or the menu at the left side.

You can find links to the print and eBook store by marketplace in the table below:

Amazon categories


MarketplaceFor eBooksFor print books 
Amazon.comUS Kindle StoreUS Books Store
Amazon.co.ukUK Kindle StoreUK Books Store
Amazon.caCA Kindle StoreCA Books Store
Amazon.com.auAU Kindle StoreAU Books Store
Amazon.deDE Kindle StoreDE Books Store
Amazon.nlNL Kindle StoreNL Books Store
Amazon.frFR Kindle StoreFR Books Store
Amazon.itIT Kindle StoreIT Books Store
Amazon.esES Kindle StoreES Books Store
Amazon.com.brBR Kindle StoreBR Books Store
Amazon.inIN Kindle StoreIN Books Store
Amazon.co.jpJP Kindle StoreJP Books Store

Note: Categories can vary between marketplaces.



Restricted categories


These categories are assigned automatically in the Kindle Store and can’t be added or modified.



Series categories


We're regularly adding to the list of series categories. However, we're currently unable to accept requests for new series categories. Check back later to see if the category you're looking for was added to the list.



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