Founded in 2020 in partnership with Red Hen Press and the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance, the Ann Petry Award seeks to publish prose literature by Black authors. The Ann Petry Award is for a work of previously unpublished prose, either a novel or a collection of short stories or novellas, with a minimum of 150 pages, by a Black writer. The awarded manuscript is selected through an annual submission process, with primary review by the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance, who will winnow the submissions to a list of finalists for the final judge.
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To be certain that every manuscript finalist receives the fairest evaluation, all manuscripts shall be submitted to the judges without any identifying material. Bios, acknowledgements, and other identifying material shall be removed from judged manuscripts until the conclusion of the competition.
Please remove all names, bios, acknowledgements, and other identifying material from the submitted manuscript, and include only your name, contact information, and a short biographical statement in the cover letter field of Submittable.
The Ann Petry Award of Red Hen Press and Peauxdunque Writers Alliance is committed to maintaining the utmost integrity of our awards. Judges shall recuse themselves from considering any manuscript where they recognize the work. In the event of refusal, a manuscript score previously assigned by the managing editor of the press will be substituted.
The Ann Petry Award will consist of $3000 and publication of the awarded manuscript by Red Hen Press. In addition, the opening chapter or story of the awarded manuscript will be published in the Peauxdunque Review.
There is no submission fee.
Please use double-spaced, 12-pt. Times New Roman font. Title only on the cover sheet, with no other identifying information on the manuscript itself. The entry should be a minimum of 150 pages.
Given the high volume of submissions they receive, please expect a response time of three to twelve months. They appreciate your patience. Phone calls, emails, and letters will not speed up the process and are strongly discouraged.
Benefits
Award details
- $3000
- Book publication by Red Hen Press
- The opening chapter or story of the awarded manuscript will be published in the Peauxdunque Review
- Four-week residency at The Community Library’s Ernest and Mary Hemingway House in Ketchum, Idaho
Eligibilities
The award is open to all Black writers, with the following exceptions:
- Authors who have had a full-length work published by Red Hen Press, or a full-length work currently under consideration by Red Hen Press
- Employees, interns, or contractors of Red Hen Press
- Relatives of employees or members of the executive board of directors
- Relatives or individuals having a personal or professional relationship with any of the final judges where they have taken any part whatsoever in shaping the manuscript, or where, for whatever reason, selecting a particular manuscript might have the appearance of impropriety
Application Process
- Entries will be accepted via Submittable only
- With your submission, be sure to include:1. A cover letter that includes the author’s name, contact information, and a brief synopsis of the work. For award submissions, this should be the only information included in your Cover Letter. For General Submissions, please include the above information and describe the author’s background, list any publication credits if applicable, and explain why the work is a fit for Red Hen Press.
2. The work itself. For General Submissions, writers may submit either the full manuscript or a sample of between 20 and 30 pages. Please keep in mind that full manuscripts take longer to review. All manuscripts should include page numbers on every page.
Application Deadline: July 31, 2022
Application ClosedOfficial link
