2008 Prairie Schooner Book Prize Series
Recent Winners
The winner of the 2008 Prairie Schooner Book Prize in poetry is Kara Candito for her manuscript, Taste of Cherry. She will receive a $3,000 prize and publication by the University of Nebraska Press. Her poems and critical prose have appeared or are forthcoming in Best New Poets 2007, Poet Lore, the Florida Review and the Pedestal Review. She has received awards for her poetry, including an Academy of American Poets prize and a scholarship from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. She has worked in the publishing industry in New York City, taught E.S.L. in Rome and earned a M.F.A. in poetry from University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in English at Florida State University, where she specializes in poetry and literary theory.
The runner-up in the poetry category is Adrian Matejka for his manuscript, Mixology. He will receive a $1,000 prize. Matejka is a Cave Canem fellow and the author of The Devil's Garden (Alice James Books). His work has appeared or his forthcoming in the American Poetry Review, Crab Orchard Review, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review, and Pleiades. He teaches creative writing and English Literature at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
The winner of the 2008 Prairie Schooner Book Prize in short fiction is Anne Finger for her manuscript Call Me Ahab. She will receive a $3,000 prize and publication by the University of Nebraska Press. Finger has published four other books, including two works of nonfiction, Elegy for a Disease: A Personal and Cultural History of Polio (St. Martin's Press) and Past Due: A Story of Disability, Pregnancy and Birth (Seal Press); a collection of short stories, Basic Skills (University of Missouri Press); and a novel, Bone Truth (Coffee House Press). She has taught creative writing at Wayne State University and the University of Texas, as a writer-in-residence at the Woman's Building in L.A and the San Francisco Independent Living Resource Center, and in elementary, middle, and high schools. She has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, Djerassi, Centrum, and Hedgebrook. Her short fiction has appeared in the Southern Review, Kenyon Review, and Ploughshares, among other journals.
The runner-up in the fiction category is Michael Kardos for his manuscript One Last Good Time. He will receive a $1,000 prize. Kardos’s short stories have appeared in the Southern Review, Short Story, Crazyhorse, Blackbird, the Florida Review, among other journals, and he has received awards from Prism International, Gulf Coast, Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Santa Fe Writers Project. He is an assistant professor of English and creative writing at Mississippi State University.
Thank you for your patience while we made our decision.
Guidelines
Eligibility
The Prairie Schooner Book Prize Series welcomes manuscripts from all writers, including non-US citizens writing in English. Both unpublished and published writers are welcome to submit manuscripts. Writers may enter both contests. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but we ask that you notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted for publication somewhere else. No past or present paid employee of Prairie Schooner or the University of Nebraska Press or current faculty or student at the University of Nebraska will be eligible for the prizes.
Manuscript
We prefer that fiction manuscripts be at least 150 pages long and poetry manuscripts at least 50 pages long. Stories and poems previously published in periodicals are eligible for inclusion. Novels are not considered; one novella along with stories will be considered (please don't send single novellas or a collection of novellas).
Xeroxed copies are acceptable. Please do not bind manuscripts with anything other than a binder clip or rubber band. The author's name should not appear on the manuscript. All entries will be read anonymously.
Please send two cover pages: one listing only the title of the manuscript, and the other listing the author’s name, address, telephone number, and email address.
An acknowledgements page listing the publication histories of individual stories or poems may be included, if desired.
No application forms are necessary.
Entry Fee
A $25 processing fee must accompany each submission, payable to Prairie Schooner.
Prizes
Winners will receive $3000 and publication through the University of Nebraska Press. One runner up in each category will receive a $1000 prize.
Notification
Please include a self-addressed postage-paid postcard for confirmation of manuscript receipt. Please use a standard postcard -- small index cards will not be accepted by the post-office.
A stamped, self-addressed business size envelope must accompany the submission for notification of results.
No manuscripts will be returned. All non-winning manuscripts will be recycled.
Winners will be announced on this website on or before July 15th, 2008. Results will be mailed shortly thereafter.
Address and Deadlines
Manuscripts should be mailed with a postmark between January 15th and March 15th, 2008 to:
Prairie Schooner Prize Series
Attn: Fiction or Poetry
201 Andrews Hall
PO Box 880334
Lincoln NE 68588-0334
Any questions, please send an email to jengelhardt2@unl.edu
For information on submitting to the magazine, please see our submission guidelines.
Contest Code of Ethics
Prairie Schooner, as a member of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, subscribes to this code of ethics for our annual Book Series Competition:
CLMP's community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines -- defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.
The Prairie Schooner Book Prize Series Manuscript Selection Process
We employ a Book Series Coordinator who works for the contest only in an administrative capacity. Her office is far removed from the Series Editor´s office and from the magazine´s editorial offices. She receives all manuscripts, opens and removes identifying information, and assigns each a number. Her data base is confined to a dedicated computer in her locked office. All manuscripts are read anonymously.
We employ a group of experienced, paid screeners that changes from year to year. The Coordinator assigns anonymous, numbered manuscripts to each screener, who receives instruction in ethical selection procedures. No current or former paid employee of Prairie Schooner or the University of Nebraska Press, nor any member of the faculty, nor any student at the University of Nebraska is eligible for the contests. Screeners must return any manuscripts familiar or recognizable to them; such manuscripts will be reassigned to a different screener.
Each screener reads all manuscripts assigned and selects 3 top choices from his/her group of approximately 50. The screener provides evaluative paragraphs about his or her top three choices. The Coordinator receives the returned manuscripts from each screener and forwards the screeners´ top choices to a senior reader.
The top three selections from each screener are given by the Coordinator to one of two senior readers. These senior readers choose up to ten finalists from among the screeners' choices. These manuscripts are sent to members of our national literary board—two are selected each year, in each genre—for further readings. Their ranked responses are sent directly to Hilda Raz, the Senior Editor of the Prairie Schooner Book Series, who makes the final selections in both poetry and short fiction, taking into consideration the comments of the literary board, senior readers, and screeners.
Throughout the screening process and until the winners are selected, only the Book Series Coordinator, who may not serve as a screener, knows the identity of the writers.
Contact Information
Any questions, please contact James Engelhardt at jengelhardt2@unl.edu
