Individual Artist Fellowships 2020: For the state of Delaware residents

Deadline:  August 1, 2019

Cash Prize:  $6,000

Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $3,000 each are given annually to Delaware poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in Delaware for at least one year prior to application and who are not enrolled in a degree-granting program. Using the online submission system, submit an artist’s statement, a résumé, and 15 to 20 pages of poetry or prose by August 1, 2019. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines at http://arts.delaware.gov/grants-for-artists.

Delaware Division of the Arts, Individual Artist Fellowships, 820 North French Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. Roxanne Stanulis, Coordinator.

E-mail address: roxanne.stanulis@delaware.gov

Website: http://arts.delaware.gov/grants-for-artists

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence: Honoring Louisiana’s Traditions and Promoting Great New Fiction

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence honors Louisiana’s revered storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines, and serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level. The book award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, is now in its 13th year and has become nationally recognized in its role of enhancing visibility of emerging African-American fiction writers while also expanding the audience for this literature. The annual award of a $10,000 cash prize is to support the writer and help enable her/him to focus on her/his art of writing.

The 2019 panel of judges are themselves renowned contributors to the literary world. They are Anthony Grooms, Edward P. Jones, Elizabeth Nunez, Francine Prose and Patricia Towers.

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation sponsors the winner’s travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to receive the prize at a ceremony attended by Ernest Gaines where the author reads an excerpt from the selected work of fiction. A reception follows. The evening is free, open to the public and attracts a diverse audience.

The literary award winner also participates in educational activities at selected area schools and after-school programs in keeping with the Gaines Award’s interest in emphasizing the role of literature and arts in education. Through small creative writing workshops with the winning author, students are encouraged to pursue reading, delve into their own creativity, and to consider becoming an author.

Criteria for the 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence:

• A work of fiction (novel or collection of short stories) that will be published in 2019. Galleys for a 2019 publication are also accepted.
The nominee must be a rising author, not yet widely recognized for their work.
• Author must be an African-American U.S. citizen.
• Self-published books will not be accepted. Self-published is publishing one’s work independently and at one’s own expense.
• Emailed entries will not be accepted.

The winning author must be willing to attend the award ceremony on January 30, 2020, and participate in educational outreach activities during that week.

To enter a published book or galley for review, send the completed REGISTRATION FORM and 8 copies to:

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
c/o Baton Rouge Area Foundation
100 North St., Suite 900
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802

Non-winning entries will be donated to an area nonprofit. Ineligible entries will not be returned.

The Literary Award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to honor Mr. Gaines, is designed to inspire and recognize rising African-American writers of excellence as they work to achieve the literary heights for which Ernest J. Gaines is known. 

DEADLINE: Entries must be RECEIVED at the Foundation offices by August 15, 2018.

TIMELINE:

April 1, 2019 – August 15, 2019  Eligible entries for 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence will be accepted. See criteria for submission above for eligibility. All entries for the book award will receive written notification of receipt.

November 2019  The winner will be selected by a national panel of judges. The judges reserve the right not to issue the award if they feel the selection pool lacks an acceptable candidate. Once the winner is selected, written notification will be sent to all eligible entries.

January 30, 2020  The 12th Annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Ceremony will take place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

For additional information, please email gainesaward@braf.org

Visit the website for complete details: http://www.ernestjgainesaward.org/

 

The New Voices Award 2019: Writing Contest for Picture Books by Authors of Color and Native Nations

The New Voices Award is given annually by children’s book publisher Lee & Low Books for a children’s picture book manuscript by a writer of color or Native/Indigenous writer.

Established in 2000, the New Voices Award encourages writers of color and Native nations to submit their work to a publisher that takes pride in nurturing new talent. Past New Voices Award submissions we have published include The Blue Roses, winner of the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People; Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story, a Texas Bluebonnet Masterlist selection; and It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw, winner of the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award Honor.

2018 Winner and Honor

SD Youngwolf of Moffat, Colorado is the winner of the company’s nineteenth annual New Voices Award for his manuscript, The Echo People. The Echo People is the story of two children who go on a special journey with their grandfather and, through their different experiences, learn how we create our own realities through the words and actions we give to the world. Patty Cisneros Prevo of Wheat Ridge, Colorado has received the New Voices Award Honor for her picture book manuscript, Unstoppable: Thirteen Adventures Alongside Athletes with Physical Disabilities. Prevo introduces readers to a variety of modern-day athletes with physical disabilities who have overcome challenging obstacles to achieve great successes in their lives.

Read more about the 2018 winner and honor recipients.

Eligibility

1. The contest is open to writers of color and Native nations who are residents of the United States, 18 years or older at the time of entry, and who have not previously had a children’s picture book published.
2. Writers who have published work in other venues and genres, including children’s magazines, young adult, and adult fiction or nonfiction, are eligible. Only unagented submissions will be accepted.
3. Work that has been published in any format, including online and self published, is not eligible.
4. Manuscripts previously submitted for this award or to LEE & LOW BOOKS will not be considered.

Submissions

1. Manuscripts should address the needs of children of color and Native nations by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to non-traditional family structures, gender identity, or disabilities may also be included.
2. Submissions may be FICTION, NONFICTION, or POETRY for children ages 5 to 12. Stories with anthropomorphic animal characters will not be considered.
3. Manuscripts should be no more than 1500 words in length and accompanied by a cover letter that includes the author’s name, address, phone number, email address, brief biographical note, relevant cultural and ethnic information, how the author heard about the award, and publication history, if any.
4. Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced on 8-1/2” x 11” paper. A self-addressed, stamped envelope with sufficient postage must be included if you wish to have the manuscript returned.
5. Up to two submissions per entrant. Each submission should be mailed separately.
6. Submissions should be clearly addressed to:
   LEE & LOW BOOKS
   95 Madison Avenue, suite 1205
   New York, NY 10016
   ATTN: NEW VOICES AWARD
7. Manuscripts may not be submitted to other publishers, mentorship contests, writing contests, or to LEE & LOW’s general submissions while under consideration for this award. 
8. LEE & LOW BOOKS is not responsible for late, lost, or incorrectly addressed or delivered submissions.

Dates for Submission

All submissions must be postmarked by August 31, 2019. If you want to know whether your manuscript has arrived safely, use an express shipping service or USPS Delivery Confirmation. A self-addressed, stamped envelope with sufficient postage must be included if you wish to have the manuscript returned.

Prize

The Award winner receives a cash prize of $2,000 and our standard publication contract, including our basic advance and royalties for a first-time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash prize of $1,000.

Announcement of the Award

1. The Award and/or Honor Award winners will be notified no later than December 31, 2019. 
2. We will announce the winners on January 21, 2020.
3. The judges are the editors of LEE & LOW BOOKS. The decision of the judges is final.
4. At least one Honor Award will be given each year, but LEE & LOW BOOKS reserves the right not to choose an Award winner.
5. For FAQ and previous winners, visit leeandlow.com/writers-illustrators/new-voices-award.

Check out the New Voices Award Winners & Honors Collection.

Visit the website: https://www.leeandlow.com/writers-illustrators/new-voices-award